The Life and Crimes of Eugenia Falleni: A Complex Legacy
Eugenia Falleni’s life is one that continues to provoke intrigue and debate. Born in Italy in 1875, Falleni’s life and identity would become the subject of widespread media fascination after being tried for the murder of their wife in Sydney in 1920. The narrative surrounding Falleni is often shrouded in sensationalism, with both historical and contemporary accounts attempting to understand the motivations and experiences of someone living outside the rigid gender and societal norms of the time.
Early Life and Disguised Identity
Falleni was assigned female at birth but, from an early age, felt more comfortable presenting as male. As a young adult, Falleni left their family in Italy and travelled to New Zealand, eventually settling in Australia. The commonly told version of their story involves them “disguising” themselves as a cabin boy on a Norwegian barque, travelling between Wellington and Sydney in the late 19th century. During these years, it is reported that Falleni roamed the Pacific, visiting ports like Honolulu, Papeete, and Suva, socialising with men and living as one of them.
However, some aspects of this narrative are questionable. Certain accounts, fuelled more by imaginative embellishment than hard evidence, claim that Falleni “roistered” around the Pacific, a sailor amongst sailors, drinking and carousing like any other. The veracity of these stories is debatable, and they seem designed more to paint Falleni as a larger-than-life figure than to reflect the reality of their life. What is clear is that Falleni, at some point, arrived in Sydney pregnant, a revelation that would complicate their attempts to live as a man in a conservative society.
Gender, Survival, and Marriage
Falleni’s choice to live as a man can, in part, be understood as a survival mechanism. When questioned by detectives years later, Falleni explained that they dressed as a man for the economic opportunities it offered. A tabloid of the day, Truth, quoted Falleni as saying that they “thought it better to give up life as a woman, because they worked for long hours for a small wage”. As a man, Falleni had greater access to employment, autonomy, and the ability to navigate the world without being confined by the rigid limitations placed on women at the time.
But Falleni’s decision to live as a man went beyond economics. They entered into two marriages with women, a fact that, coupled with their ownership of a dildo (now held in the collection of the Justice and Police Museum in Sydney), suggests that Falleni’s relationships were both emotional and sexual. Living in a world that had no framework for understanding transgender identities, Falleni avoided attributing their gender presentation to sexual or instinctual reasons. Instead, they focused on practical explanations that might be more palatable to the authorities and public of the time.
A "Sexual Invert"?
At the time of Falleni’s trial, the term “sexual invert” was often used to describe individuals whose lives and desires did not conform to the heteronormative standards of the day. This label, considered a pathological condition, was invoked during the trial, most notably by Falleni’s barrister, Archibald McDonnell. He made vague allusions to Falleni being an “invert,” even pointing out that they had “the masculine angle of the arms.” However, the judge, apparently confused by the barrister’s line of questioning, asked if McDonnell was attempting to make an insanity plea. This confusion highlighted the lack of clear understanding at the time about whether “sexual inversion” was related to one’s sexuality, physiology, or mental state.
In truth, it was not in the Crown’s interest to pursue the notion of Falleni as a “sexual invert,” as historian Ruth Ford has argued. Labelling Falleni as such would have undermined the prosecution’s argument, which hinged on portraying them as a fraud, a liar, and ultimately a murderer. The focus was less on understanding Falleni’s complex identity and more on condemning their perceived deception and transgression of societal norms.
The Murder of Annie Birkett
Falleni’s most significant entanglement with the law began with their relationship with Annie Birkett, a widowed mother whom they met while working for Dr. G. R. C. Clarke in Wahroonga, northern Sydney. Birkett and Falleni were married in 1913, and the couple lived together for several years, with Birkett apparently unaware of Falleni’s assigned gender. According to testimony, it was only in 1917, after a neighbour disclosed the truth, that Birkett confronted Falleni about their biological sex.
Their relationship unravelled shortly thereafter, culminating in Birkett’s death under mysterious circumstances. On 1 October 1917, the couple went on a picnic near the Lane Cove River, during which a confrontation allegedly ensued. Falleni later claimed that during this argument, Birkett slipped, hit her head on a rock, and died. Fearing exposure, Falleni panicked and attempted to burn the body to prevent identification. For the next three years, Falleni lived under the shadow of suspicion, telling Birkett’s son that his mother had run off with another man.
Arrest and Trial
Birkett’s charred remains were discovered shortly after her death, but the body was initially unidentified. It wasn’t until 1920, after Birkett’s son came forward with suspicions, that the case gained traction. Falleni was arrested in July 1920 and charged with murder. The trial, held in Darlinghurst courthouse, was a media sensation, with Falleni’s gender identity taking centre stage in the coverage.
During the trial, various witnesses provided testimony that supported both the prosecution’s and defence’s cases. The Crown relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, presenting the fact that Falleni had lived as a man as an indication of their duplicity. The dildo found in Falleni’s home was also brought up, used by the prosecution to suggest that Falleni’s life was based on deception. Yet, as historian Ruth Ford notes, the focus on Falleni’s gender crossing was essential to the prosecution’s case, as it diverted attention from the weak evidence surrounding Birkett’s death itself.
After a brief deliberation, the jury found Falleni guilty of murder, and they were sentenced to death. However, this sentence was soon commuted to life imprisonment, a more common outcome for women convicted of capital crimes during that era.
Life After Prison
Falleni spent over a decade in Long Bay Penitentiary before being released in 1931, reportedly due to their advancing age and ill health. Upon their release, Falleni adopted the name Jean Ford and lived a relatively quiet life, managing boarding houses in Sydney. Their final years were marked by relative anonymity until a tragic accident in 1938, when they were struck by a car on Oxford Street. Eugenia Falleni, or Jean Ford as they were then known, died the following day in hospital at the age of 63.
Legacy and Re-examination
Falleni’s life and crimes have continued to capture public attention, with various attempts made to categorise and understand their gender and sexuality. In 1939, Dr Herbert M. Moran suggested that Falleni’s behaviour was the result of a congenital “disorder,” while more recent biographers, such as Mark Tedeschi, have diagnosed them with “gender dysphoria.” Others, like Alyson Campbell, have wrestled with the desire to impose contemporary identities on Falleni, acknowledging that terms like “lesbian” or “transgender” were not available in the context of early 20th-century Australia.
In the end, Eugenia Falleni’s life remains a complex and tragic story, one that reflects both the limitations of the society in which they lived and the ongoing challenges of understanding and representing historical figures who defy easy categorisation. Falleni’s story reminds us of the human cost of societal constraints on gender and identity, and how the past can still resonate deeply with the present.