From the Melbourne Argus, 4 September 1879
- 'The case of personation … discovered at the Kew Lunatic Asylum, proves to be one of the most extraordnary affairs that has ever come under public notice.
Three marriages
- 'It appears that the woman, who for the past 20 years has passed as a man under the name of Edward de Lacy Evans, has been married to three different women, and the secret of her disguised sex has never been even suspected, although she has during the period mentioned worked continuously as a miner.
- 'For many years she has been following this occupation in Sandhurst, as an ordinary wages man breaking quartz, and doing her work with the best of the other workmen at several of the mines here.
- 'She might possibly have carried on the fraud unsuspected to the end of her days, but for the fact that a few weeks ago she began to exhibit symptomsof insanity, which gradually became more pronounced, and eventually her condition grew so bad that she was sent to the lunacy ward of the hospital.
- 'Some 15 months ago the woman between whom and the supposed man the form of marriage had been gone through, gave birth to a child and, strange as the statement undoubtedly is, this woman passing as Evans' wife stoutly mantained that she never knew the secret of her presumed husband's sex.'
At this point the newspaper report starts to refer to Evans as 'he', rather than the previous 'she', and after giving some details of his symptoms and treatment in the hospital, continues, with Evans' description continuing to change backwards and forwards between 'he' and 'she':
- 'There is some uncertainty as to the place of his birth. He says he was born at Paris, others say he was a native of Jersey, whilst his hospital record gives Kilkenny as his birthplace. He speaks with an Irish accent.
- 'Dr Poland, resident-surgeon of the hospital, having examined Evans, states that she has herself had one or more children. It is rumoured that Evans was married several years ago in Melbourne, but regarding this the evidence is not complete.
Nurse's identification
- 'One of the nurses at present at the Bendigo Hospital says that she can almost positively identify Evans as a fellow passenger of hers, who came out to this colony in the ship Ocean Monarch 30 years ago. The girl – for this interesting character was then of girlish appearance – went under the nameof Ellen Tremaye.'
The report indicated that Evans married a fellow passenger, and some time later married a Sarah Moore, who had two children, both of whom died young. She died in 1867 and Evans married Julia Mary Marquand the following year. He gave his age as 28.
- 'She states that she was 25 years of age when the marriage ceremony was performed, and that she became acquainted with Evans through her sister having been a friend of his former wife. He proposed marriage to her, but her parents opposed the match. Evans, however, induced her to go to Ballarat with him, and the marriage took place there. For a fortnight after they were married they lived separately, he at the place where he was working and she at an hotel. Subsequently they lived together.
- 'In appearance the man personator is feminine as regards the formation of the features, but carries a decidedly masculine expression, though the face is as clean of hair as that of an infant. Miss Marquand says that Evans represented to her that he had had two children by a former wife in France, and that these had been sent to Ireland.
- 'Evans was visited by a large number of acquaintances at the hospital today, but she seldom gives an intelligible answer to questions. She appears to be very cunning. Insane persons generally are so, but in her case it is believed the trait is not to be altogether attributed to madness. To a gentleman who visited her she said in reply to interrogations: "Oh, it's all over now: you may as well finish me at once".
- 'The affair has created a profound sensation in Sandhurst'.
