Guide to Sydney Crime by Les Wicks - HTML preview

VAGRANT

Kate O’Neil

Miss Bea Miles   Occupation: Rebel*  

I’d always known ‘Authority’ was crooked,

that Society needed a wake-up call,

so when I recovered from the fever,

I, ‘true thinker and speaker,’ gave it my all.

It was my dream job: ‘Rebel.’

I could not stand ‘the hypocrisy, lies, pretence,

conventional speech and behaviour

upon which society is based.’

So priggish. So strait-laced.

So I rebelled, as I felt I ought –

I didn’t care what anyone thought.

I wore a ball-gown to ride a man’s bike,

or sometimes shorts or tennis gear,

an army greatcoat when it was cold.

When my father, against my will,

used his male ‘authority’

to have me put away for years –

some clear-thinking journos heard of my plight,

and knowing I was in the right,

argued the case to have me freed.

‘Authority’ being driven by greed –

the lawyers, the judges, the police -

they are the ones that breach the peace.

I felt compelled to speak my mind –

I was rational - I’d been certified ‘sane’.

My arguments were clear and plain.

I spoke the truth when I told the court,

the officer’s report

was seriously lacking in honesty –

I said my bloomers were not exposed -

until the officer removed my blanket.

And, arrested for smoking next to a sign

saying, Gentlemen requested not to smoke,

my gender defence wasn’t merely a joke.

I was better known than the Prime Minister

because, like him, I preferred

to get around the place chauffeured.

I became a legend, choosing to ride free

on taxis and buses – no ticket for me.

I did what I liked. Said what I thought.

Spent a lot of time in Court -

a ratbag, a rascal, the eccentric Bea.

*The Australian Women’s Register