Amy Bock and the western tradition of passing women

JOHANNA MARY read about them in books. The Johanna Mary is a Wellington writer. tradition gave them an answer She held a PEN-Reader's Digest Fel­ to their problems. The knowl­ lowship at the Stout Research Centre edge that other women had in February-March 1994, to research passed often encouraged their cross-dressing women as background own decision to do so. for a novel. This is an edited and To locate Amy Bock within abridged version of a seminar she gave the tradition of western passing at the Stout Resea rch Centre on 27 women, I'm interested in three July, 1994. areas: motives for the disguise, mechanics of the disguise, and Amy Bock is popularly known as public reaction to it. But first the a Victorian/ Edwardian con art­ story of her masquerade. This is ist. She's famous for disguising a potted version of the article herself as a man and mar.rying a which was in the Otago Daily woman. This exploit was pre­ Times soon after her arrest: sented in the media as an outra­ In January 1909, Amy Bock geous anomaly, deserving the took a job as housekeeper in most sensational attention. But in Roslyn, Dunedin. The family left fact when Bock disguised herself her in charge while they went on as a man she was part of a tradition that stretches holiday. She then pawned their furniture and disap­ back centuries. peared. The police could find no trace. A few days When white settlers colonised New Zealand, one later, a small man in a grey suit, with luggage in­ of the more underground and obscure traditions they cluding a dress basket, came to the door of a board­ brought was that of cross-dressing women. Women ing house in York Place. His name was Percy Red­ who disguised themselves as men, lived as men, and wood, and he needed accommodation. He said he convinced the world that they were men. In current was a clerk, holidaying because of ill-health. He had argot, they 'passed' as men. From now on, I'll call a warm, generous personality and soon became them 'passing women'. popular with the landlady and all the boarders. He We can get a fairly good idea of why some women seemed well-off, and spent money lavishly. took on a male role. Some motives crop up time and After three weeks he visited Port Molyneux, time again: to work as a man and receive male rates where he said his aunt lived. He asked his landlady of pay; to escape the restrictions and poor status of a to save his room while he was gone, as some rela­ female life; to fight a war; to marry or form a roman­ tives and friends would soon be in Dunedin and tic relationship with another woman; to join a male might want it. He left behind the dress basket, say­ lover who has gone to sea or to war; to escape from ing it contained clothes belonging to his aunt. After a hated husband or parent; for safety when travel­ a week he returned, the victim of a catastrophe. He ling; as a criminal disguise; and finally what would said he'd been fishing and, while hauling in a large today be cailed transsexualism, or gender dyspho­ ria. Some women seem to have genuinely felt they OPPOSITE: While masquerading as Percy Redwood, Amy should have been men or actually were men. Back had a professional photographer take some portraits of What linked all these women was the tradition, her. When the media storm over the masquerade blew up, passed down through the centuries. Most passing the photographer- Cecil Wright Pattillo- moved swiftly to women had heard of others who'd done so. Many copyright them. had been told about passing women by friends, had ABOVE: One of the many postcards that were sold to heard them sung about in ballads and folk songs, or capitalise on interest in Back's masquerade.

18 NEW ZEALAND STUDIES NOVEMBER 1995 groper, had accidentally let his pocketbook fall from basket included hair cut from a woman's head. They his coat into the water. It sunk, containing all his told the police. cash. He'd found a diver who would recover it, but The Otago Daily Times concluded its story in true only for cash up front. So the landlady's sister lent Sherlock Holmes style: him £41 -all her savings. 'By Jove!' suddenly cried Detective Hunt, 'I wonder Percy returned to Port Molyneux, where he if it's Amy!' 'I believe it is', said Detective Herbert. boarded at the house of a respected family the ... Detective Hunt drove to Port Molyneux .... Mr Red­ Ottaways. Debonair, well­ wood was called and came down dressed, the son of a wealthy the stairs cQolly smoking a pipe. mother in Hamilton, Percy was Detective Hunt and the long-lost liked by everyone. He courted and much-wanted Amy Bock the Ottaways' daughter Agnes, were not by any means unknown to each other. and proposed. Agnes accepted. 'The game's up, Amy', said the of­ Mrs Ottaway received letters ficer. from Percy's mother confirming Amy Bock had probably heard his good background and finan­ of other passing women. Perhaps cial status, and saying she and they influenced her decision to Percy' s brothers and sisters pass. Newspapers in 1909 specu­ would attend the wedding. lated wildly over her motives. Preparations began and Percy New Zealand Truth reported that used further clever ruses to bor­ several years earlier Back was a row more money from various friend and patron of Pollard's Ju­ sources. But soon his many credi­ venile Opera Company. Truth tors started to check up on him said it was probably seeing how and become anxious. By 20 April, well the girls in the company the eve of his wedding, he was acted boy parts that gave Back barely managing to placate them. the idea of donning male attire. The big day dawned. Many It was also reported that Back had once said she guests arrived, including the local MP. A lavish feast was tired of defrauding men, as they were too easy, had been prepared, and the ceremony was to be whereas women were much harder to deceive. The elaborate. papers inferred that the novelty of deceiving one of But where was Percy Redwood's family? Percy her own sex into a marriage ceremony very much said he couldn't understand it, but perhaps it was appealed to her. because his sister was getting married in Auckland A Mrs Buxton, at whose place Back stayed in the same day, and his relatives had decided to go to 1902, seven years before her masquerade, told a story her wedding instead. Someone stood in for his which was then reported in the Otago Witness of 5 brother as groomsman, and the ceremony proceeded. May 1909. She and Back were in town one evening, Sure enough a letter of apology from Percy's mother when Back saw a man's ready-made suit in a shop was later read out, confirming Percy's explanation. window, of a size that would just about fit her. She But guests were now talking, comparing notes about told Mrs Buxton a heart-rending story about a poor their experiences with Percy Redwood. They were youth in Invercargill who needed such a suit. She gossiping about his debts, wondering about the ab­ said it was just about the right size for him, and sence of his rich family, and becoming suspicious. wanted to buy it. After the wedding the Ottaways, also apprehen­ The implicaticn is that Back was fabricating the sive, challenged Percy as to his monetary resources. story of the poor youth. It certainly sounds like one He said his mother would be there in a week, and of these, which were full of poor, luckless people would sort out all his financial problems. So the she wanted to help out. If Mrs Buxton's anecdote is Ottaways gave him a week's grace. He was to stay in true, it suggests that Back had at least considered Port Molyneux, and, until he paid his debts, ' his passing as a man, years before her stint as Percy wife would be a wife in name only'. Redwood. Meanwhile two of Percy's acquaintances discov­ A combination of motives is possible for Back's ered that the address he'd given for his mother was masquerade. The most obvious is criminal disguise. fraudulent. Then, enquiring about possessions he left She was already a convicted criminal who had used at his last boarding house, they found that the dress

NEW ZEALAND STUDIES NOVEMBER 1995 19 aliases and disguises (previously all female). This This apparently explained why for a man he was so must have facilitated her decision to pass. We can frail looking, and soft spoken. It was also an excuse also guess that she enjoyed living with male privi­ for him to avoid going outside. When he had to go leges and independence. And she apparently had into town a taxi chauffeured him everywhere, pre­ relationships with women. In her book Out Front sumably so as he wouldn't run into anyone who Julie Glamuzina says that later in her life Amy Back might recognise him as Amy Back. lived with a woman for No evidence suggests many years. Although I that Agnes Ottaway knew don't think wanting to have Percy was a woman. So how a relationship with a woman did Back think she was go­ was one of Amy Back's main ing to keep convincing reasons for disguise, it may Ottaway she was a man af­ have contributed, and an at­ ter they were married and traction to women probably expected to sleep together? made her disguise easier. As mentioned, Percy wasn't How did Back and others allowed by Mr and Mrs pass as men? Many women Ottaway to.sleep with their looked younger dressed as daughter on the wedding men. Back seems to have night. Nonetheless I wonder been no exception. At the how Amy Back planned to time of her masquerade she cope. Historically some was 48 years old. However, passing women married to the certificate of marriage be­ other women who didn' t tween Percy Redwood and know their secret feigned Agnes Ottaway gives Redwood's age as 30. moodiness or illness to avoid sex. One used an old The Dunedin Evening Star noted Back's male ap­ war injury as an excuse for years. Others have used pearance: dildoes. A front view showed a diminutive man, well­ Back wasn't a drinker, but on her wedding day, dressed, neat of limb, with neater feet, and rather good­ as Percy Redwood, it's said she had seven whiskies looking ... She seemed to be holding the coat close to and by the evening was quite drunk. Perhaps she herself, as if to hide her figure. Her face was neat, rather than pretty ... A back view made it almost thought this might relieve her of her conjugal du­ impossible to believe that the little man between the ties. Or maybe she was going to use ill health as an detectives was a woman ... She walked with the slight excuse again. Evidence suggests that in any case she stoop of the scholar, but with a firm tread. Her build wasn't planning to stay with Agnes Ottaway long, was quite ordinary to anyone who did not know the and was in fact scheming to disappear within days. truth, when one knew the facts, there were obvious Newspaper coverage of Amy Back's masquerade peculiarities. The back of her head was a man's, from was very sensational. Although she had a list of past the back rim of a light-coloured cap placed jauntily on the head to the collar of the overcoat, her hair was convictions for false pretences and forgery dating shorn like that of a guardsman on parade .. .. Her walk from the 1880s, and had sometimes made headlines, was not womanly, which must not be taken as having her masquerade as Percy Redwood brought her to a anything to do with decorum. Most men know how peak of notoriety. women walk, and this woman walked more like a During the month after her arrest, Amy Back ap­ man fond of easy-fitting trousers. Altogether, one could peared in court in Dune din four times, and the court­ easily understand why women have been deceived by this woman. As showing how men were deceived, it is rooms overflowed. Newspapers nationwide reported interesting to mention that the bridegroom was meas­ the proceedings in detail. On days when she made. ured and suited at the New Zealand Clothing Factory, no court appearance, the press fed the public with and although her petite form required nothing more details of her past exploits; or comment from people than size 13 1/ 2 for collars and shirts, no one sus­ who knew her as Percy Redwood. Local businesses pected anything 'amiss.' Not even the measurer. also capitalised. Only days after her arrest, book­ Some passing women took on exaggeratedly ma­ stalls advertised 'Amy Back and Percy Carol Red­ cho personas. Back didn't. As Percy Redwood she wood postcards'. These featured bridegroom photos was gentle and kind. Many reported that Percy Red­ wood was effeminate, but hardly any suspected that ABOVE: This portrait photograph by Mr Pattillo is he was actually a woman. He said he had bad health. believed to have been for Agnes Ottaway's locket.

20 NEW ZEALAND STUDIES NOVEMBER 1995 of Percy Redwood, and facsimiles of some of Back's being generally considered a poor victim of the cun­ forged letters On 21 May, one paper ran this odd ning and heartless Bock. Also, 'respectable' newspa­ little advertisement: 'AMY BOCK would be delighted pers didn't talk about sexual matters. The only pa­ with a cup of our tea. Usual price 2s- now 1s 1d.­ per I have come across that did, was Truth, which At Escott's, 119 George Street, Dunedin'. touted itself as a moral crusader daring to say what On 15 May, an advertisement in the 'Sales by other newspapers didn't. In referring to the 'sham' Auction' section of the Otago Daily Times trumpeted: marriage of Amy Bock and Agnes Ottaway, they Monday 17th May, At 1 o'clock sharp. treated the idea of marriage between two women THE AMY BOCK alias PERCY CAROL REDWOOD simply as ridiculous. JEWELLERY AND PRESENTS I believe there's also another reason for fascina­ THE WEDDING CAKE, Etc., JAMES SAMSON & CO have been instructed to sell tion with Back's exploits, and that's the intriguing by auction, at their Rooms, Dowling street, The personality of Bock herself. In 1909, debates raged large and valuable collection of high-class Goods. over whether she was a heartless con-artist, or a These included Agnes Ottaway's wedding and en­ pitiable victim of a lifelong mental illness - klepto­ gagement ring, all the wedding gifts, Percy Red­ mania. Back herself was the originator of the klepto­ wood's bridegroom suit, even the ornaments from mania theory. At her court trials over the years she the wedding cake. had consistently pleaded insanity. She played to the The auction took place. A reporter on the same hilt the faint, sickly, fragile woman the Victorians paper wrote on 18 May 1909 : prized as a feminine ideal. Maybe this image didn't ... It was truly a wonderful crowd: Old folks hob­ often gain Bock lighter sentences, but it won her bling on sticks; little folks losing themselves amid a some public sympathy. forest of legs; women, young, old, middle-aged and But Back's crimes seemed to belie fragility. She otherwise ... An observant spectator would seldom proved herself daring, resourceful, and robust. I think see the same face twice, for crowd relieved crowd, earnest and intent, and wholly fascinated, reminis­ this is another reason for her popularity. In some cent of the pictures one sees of an execution at press descriptions there's more than a hint of admi­ Newgate . ration. Her expertise in forgery is praised, her al­ . . . The things were costly and handsome enough, most foolproof male impersonation marvelled at. but an atmosphere of meanness was over them all, She's 'brilliant'. Her face is 'that of the accomplished and they lay bizarre and pathetic symbols of a cruel actress'. Ah ex-policeman, who had dealt with her sacrilege before a crowd packed from wall to wall, in the past, said 'She is very clever, and, in my opin­ devouring them with hungry eyes, tittering and ap­ plauding as the bids rose shilling by shilling ... ion, would make an exceptional novel writer'. On 27 May, Amy Back made her final court ap­ Sometimes there is a fine line between criminal pearance for this case, and was sentenced to two and hero. Back was a rebel. She played with peo­ years' hard labour. On 17 June, the press reported ple's expectations and then confounded them. She the annulment of her marriage to Agnes Ottaway, never stayed in one town long and moved between and, finally, Amy Back was old news. false identities easily. Maybe many of us have a se­ 'News' can be defined as an incident which dis­ cret desire to experience this kind of freedom. And turbs or challenges the way we think things are or of course, although most reports of Amy Bock are should be. So it makes sense that passing women are written by men, we can guess that for many women big news. They represent disorder in a fundamental of the era, the power and freedom Bock had gained way. They challenge a basic distinction in our soci­ by male disguise had great appeal. ety - that between male and female. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY However, any lesbian connotations to Amy Back's Baynes, Sylvia. Transvestism and the Advancement of Women. The courting of and marriage to Agnes Ottaway were Minorities Trust, 1989. either ignored by the press, or never considered. Dekker, Rudolf, and van de Pal, Lotte. The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe. Macmillan Press, 1989. The only possible mention was in on 8 May Truth Dugaw, Dianne. Warrior Women and Popular Balladry 1650-1850. 1909, which called Bock 'perhaps perverted'.lt's hard Cambridge University Press, 1989. to know exactly what knowledge and attitudes re­ Robson, R W. 'The Adventures of Amy Back'. Otago Daily Times 1909. garding sex were then current in New Zealand. Cer­ The San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project. "'She Even Chewed Tobacco": A Pictorial Narrative of Passing Women in tainly overseas the work of the sexologists was gain­ America'. In Duberman, Vicinus, and Chauncey (eds). Hidden ing popular currency. If people did suspect sexual From History - Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past, NAL motives on Back's part, it was perhaps out of respect Books, 1989. for Agnes Ottaway that they didn't mention it, she Wheelwright, Julie. Amazons and Military Maids. Pandora, 1989.

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