Edward De Lacy Evans

Edward De Lacy Evans ( – 25 August 1901) was a servant, blacksmith, and gold miner who immigrated from Ireland to Australia in 1856.

Evans gained international attention in 1879 when it was revealed that he was assigned female at birth.

Throughout his life, Evans was admitted to several insane asylums, where doctors attempted to "cure" him of his male identity. Despite these attempts, he lived as a man for at least 22 years. Evans is registered as the father of his child.

Evans told miners he worked with in Australia that he was born in France, had stolen £500 as a boy, and fled to County Waterford, where he acquired his Irish accent. However, a woman living near Corop, who claimed to be a former neighbor from County Kilkenny, identified Evans as the well-born "Ellen Lacy". She alleged that Evans had an illegitimate child, fled to America, and returned to Ireland in the early 1850s as "Mrs. De Lacy Evans". According to her, Evans dramatically rode a horse through a gathering called by John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough, only to be "dragged off her pony" and forced to "clear out."

After his hospitalization, Evans spoke little about his past and was described as "not disposed to be communicative" In 1879, when asked why he had "impersonated a man," Evans replied, "Oh, it doesn't matter, and the sooner they put me out of the way and get done with me the better."

Immigration to Victoria In 1856, Edward De Lacy Evans arrived in Victoria, Australia, during the gold rush boom period, aboard the Ocean Monarch as part of the 'assisted immigration scheme.' This scheme aimed to provide workers and residents needed in the growing colony. This, coupled with apparent 'sexual attachments' formed with some female cabinmates, led to speculation among passengers that Evans was a man impersonating a woman. Delahunty reportedly declared she would marry Evans 'as soon as the ship reached Melbourne.' He was brought before the Police Court, where magistrates agreed with the medical assessment that he was suffering from "softening of the brain." Evans was subsequently involuntarily committed to the "lunatic wards" of Bendigo Hospital.

Kew Asylum and press attention

For six weeks at the Bendigo Hospital, Evans refused to take a bath.

On 30 August 1879, the hospital decided to send Evans and another patient to the Kew Asylum near Melbourne, accompanied by a police constable. On 4 September 1879, the Bendigo Advertiser ran the headline "Extraordinary Case of Concealment of Sex" and reported:

"One of the most unparalleled impostures has been brought to light during the past few days, which it has ever been the province of the press of these colonies to chronicle, and we might even add is unprecedented in the annals of the whole world. A woman, under the name of Edward De Lacy Evans, has for 20 years passed for a man in various parts of the colony of Victoria... As it is almost impossible to give an account of the case without making use of the masculine pronoun when referring to Evans, we propose to use that appellation." While still at Bendigo Hospital, Evans disclosed knowledge of the father of his child, voiced concerns about his wife's infidelity, and expressed worries about financial troubles and potentially losing his house. He remarked, "Everything coming together was enough to drive a man mad." However, dressed in female attire, he appeared "still mentally distressed" when testifying in support of Marquand's unsuccessful lawsuit against Loridan.

A doctored carte de visite of Evans, likely created as a "cut & paste" by Bendigo photographer N. White after September 1879, sold as a curiosity.

Later life and legacy In late December 1879, Evans participated in events organized by panorama showmen Augustus Baker Pierce and William Bignell in Geelong and Stawell. Newspapers noted that "neither mind nor body possesses the vigour once so noticeable." In Sydney, Evans' shows were accompanied by pamphlets promoting "The Man-Woman Mystery".

In 1897, Joseph Furphy, who had lived near Bendigo since the late 1860s, published his first novel, Such Is Life, which included a passing reference to Evans: "one of those De Lacy Evanses we often read of in novels".