Amy Bock
Encyclopedia
Amy Maud Bock was a Tasmania
n-born New Zealand
female confidence trick
ster and male impersonator, whose trials and cross-dressing
interlude have made her a subject of perennial historical interest in her adopted country.
and finally settled in Melbourne
in 1874. Mary Ann Parkinson was in fragile mental and physical health, and died soon afterwards in a psychiatric institution.
For the next decade of her life, Amy Bock worked as a teacher in Gippsland, Victoria, until she encountered legal trouble after she was found to have received goods under false pretences in 1884. Alfred Bock persuaded her to emigrate to New Zealand, where he lived in Auckland with his second wife.
, but this position was to prove short-lived. After a few weeks of employment, she began what would later become a habitual pattern that involved emotional inducements to her employers to part with their money or subterfuge designed to secure their property, followed by her flight, and then tearful and repentant return, pleading the malignant influence of her kleptomaniac mother on her perennial habit of theft.
Bock first came before the New Zealand courts in April 1886, at the Resident Magistrates Court in Wellington
. As in Gippsland, she was charged with receiving stolen goods in Christchurch, and sentenced to one month's imprisonment at Addington Prison in that same city.
By July 1887, she was back before the court on fraud
charges, and sentenced to six months' detention at Caversham Industrial School in Dunedin
. The governor was impressed by her manners and social skills and offered her a position as a teacher after she was released in January 1888. However, she was found to be engineering her escape through correspondence with a supportive but fictitious aunt. She left the school and took up independent music instruction, only to fall afoul of the law once again. She was back in court in April 1888 for her habitual offence of receiving goods under false pretences. She was sentenced to another two months of imprisonment.
In 1889, Bock shifted to Akaroa
, on Banks Peninsula
(near Christchurch
on the South Island
). She again found work as a governess, but reoffended and was sentenced to concurrent six-month sentences for theft and false pretences in April 1889. On release, she returned to Dunedin, where she served as a housekeeper until June 1890, when she tried to pawn her employer's chattel
.
After a three year period of imprisonment, Bock resettled in Timaru
at the quarters of the local branch of the Salvation Army
, but was later apprehended trying to pawn her landlady's watch in April 1893. In November 1893, she moved to Oamaru where she once more obtained money by false pretences, tried to defraud a furniture seller, and was imprisoned again in January 1894.
After Bock's last interim conviction, she seemed to have finally reformed, spending some time at a Catholic
-run Magdalen Asylum
for 'fallen' women until she resurfaced in 1902. Masquerading as Molly/Mary Shannon, she defrauded investors of sums required to start a fictitious poultry farm, and was again imprisoned for two years in March 1903. She earned remission for good behaviour, and was freed late in 1904. She found work at Rakaia
as "Amy Chanel", but was later found to have tried to alter a cheque, and served a three-year sentence.
In 1907, she was released and lived quietly in Christchurch for a year. In 1908, she became a housekeeper to Arthur Vallance, and tried to pawn his furniture, eluding apprehension by inventing another fictitious aunt, a Miss Charlotte Skevington. At this point, Bock began her most audacious masquerade, as a male.
coast, where "Percy" wooed Agnes Ottway, the daughter of the landlady. Bock maintained her male impersonation through adept use of letters purported to be from lawyers, postal orders and small loans. "Percy" and Agnes even married on 21 April 1909, but it was not to last as the "groom" was arrested at "his" mother-in-law's hotel, 3 days after the wedding. It was at the time of the arrest was when Agnes discovered the secret behind "Percy". Bock was then taken back to the Dunedin Supreme Court, and was declared an habitual criminal.
Bock was given a two-year suspended sentence, conditional on her probationary residence at a Salvation Army home. She complied with the order and settled down in her twilight years. Bock died on 29 August 1943.
Bock has had a posthumous career in New Zealand feminist studies, where her active criminal career and gender masquerade have aroused interest It is possible that the "Percy Redwood" masquerade might suggest that she was either lesbian
or bisexual, although Agnes Ottway quickly had the marriage annulled when she found out her "husband's" actual gender
. More recently, she has been the subject of a historical autobiography
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n-born New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
female confidence trick
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
ster and male impersonator, whose trials and cross-dressing
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
interlude have made her a subject of perennial historical interest in her adopted country.
Early life (1859-1884)
Bock was born to Alfred Bock and Mary Ann Parkinson in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1859. Her family was itinerant, moving from Hobart to Sale, VictoriaSale, Victoria
Sale is a city in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. It is the seat of the Shire of Wellington as well as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale and the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland. It has a population of around 13,336, and is expected to reach a population of 14,000 soon...
and finally settled in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1874. Mary Ann Parkinson was in fragile mental and physical health, and died soon afterwards in a psychiatric institution.
For the next decade of her life, Amy Bock worked as a teacher in Gippsland, Victoria, until she encountered legal trouble after she was found to have received goods under false pretences in 1884. Alfred Bock persuaded her to emigrate to New Zealand, where he lived in Auckland with his second wife.
Criminal career (1884-1907)
After she settled in New Zealand, Bock found work as a governessGoverness
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
, but this position was to prove short-lived. After a few weeks of employment, she began what would later become a habitual pattern that involved emotional inducements to her employers to part with their money or subterfuge designed to secure their property, followed by her flight, and then tearful and repentant return, pleading the malignant influence of her kleptomaniac mother on her perennial habit of theft.
Bock first came before the New Zealand courts in April 1886, at the Resident Magistrates Court in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. As in Gippsland, she was charged with receiving stolen goods in Christchurch, and sentenced to one month's imprisonment at Addington Prison in that same city.
By July 1887, she was back before the court on fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
charges, and sentenced to six months' detention at Caversham Industrial School in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. The governor was impressed by her manners and social skills and offered her a position as a teacher after she was released in January 1888. However, she was found to be engineering her escape through correspondence with a supportive but fictitious aunt. She left the school and took up independent music instruction, only to fall afoul of the law once again. She was back in court in April 1888 for her habitual offence of receiving goods under false pretences. She was sentenced to another two months of imprisonment.
In 1889, Bock shifted to Akaroa
Akaroa
Akaroa is a village on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name—the name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for 'Long Harbour'.- Overview :...
, on Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves...
(near Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
on the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
). She again found work as a governess, but reoffended and was sentenced to concurrent six-month sentences for theft and false pretences in April 1889. On release, she returned to Dunedin, where she served as a housekeeper until June 1890, when she tried to pawn her employer's chattel
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
.
After a three year period of imprisonment, Bock resettled in Timaru
Timaru
TimaruUrban AreaPopulation:27,200Extent:Former Timaru City CouncilTerritorial AuthorityName:Timaru District CouncilPopulation:42,867 Land area:2,736.54 km² Mayor:Janie AnnearWebsite:...
at the quarters of the local branch of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, but was later apprehended trying to pawn her landlady's watch in April 1893. In November 1893, she moved to Oamaru where she once more obtained money by false pretences, tried to defraud a furniture seller, and was imprisoned again in January 1894.
After Bock's last interim conviction, she seemed to have finally reformed, spending some time at a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
-run Magdalen Asylum
Magdalen Asylum
Magdalene asylums were institutions from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries ostensibly for "fallen women", a term used to imply sexual promiscuity....
for 'fallen' women until she resurfaced in 1902. Masquerading as Molly/Mary Shannon, she defrauded investors of sums required to start a fictitious poultry farm, and was again imprisoned for two years in March 1903. She earned remission for good behaviour, and was freed late in 1904. She found work at Rakaia
Rakaia
The town of Rakaia is seated close to the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the township are the country's longest road bridge and longest rail bridge, both of which cross the...
as "Amy Chanel", but was later found to have tried to alter a cheque, and served a three-year sentence.
In 1907, she was released and lived quietly in Christchurch for a year. In 1908, she became a housekeeper to Arthur Vallance, and tried to pawn his furniture, eluding apprehension by inventing another fictitious aunt, a Miss Charlotte Skevington. At this point, Bock began her most audacious masquerade, as a male.
"Percy Redwood" (1908)
As Percy Leonard Carol Redwood, an affluent Canterbury sheep farmer, Bock holidayed at Port Molyneux on the South OtagoSouth Otago
South Otago lies in the south east of the South Island of New Zealand. As the name suggests, it forms the southernmost part of the geographical region of Otago....
coast, where "Percy" wooed Agnes Ottway, the daughter of the landlady. Bock maintained her male impersonation through adept use of letters purported to be from lawyers, postal orders and small loans. "Percy" and Agnes even married on 21 April 1909, but it was not to last as the "groom" was arrested at "his" mother-in-law's hotel, 3 days after the wedding. It was at the time of the arrest was when Agnes discovered the secret behind "Percy". Bock was then taken back to the Dunedin Supreme Court, and was declared an habitual criminal.
Later life (1911-1943)
Upon her release in 1911, Amy Bock worked at a New Plymouth retirement home, and married Charles Christofferson, a Swedish immigrant, in 1914. Due to Bock's indebtedness, the marriage foundered within that year. By February 1917, she appeared before the New Plymouth Magistrates Court on further fraud charges, and was fined twenty pounds. Fourteen years later, she appeared at the Auckland Supreme Court in October 1931, where she had been remanded to face multiple charges of financial fraud.Bock was given a two-year suspended sentence, conditional on her probationary residence at a Salvation Army home. She complied with the order and settled down in her twilight years. Bock died on 29 August 1943.
Bock has had a posthumous career in New Zealand feminist studies, where her active criminal career and gender masquerade have aroused interest It is possible that the "Percy Redwood" masquerade might suggest that she was either lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
or bisexual, although Agnes Ottway quickly had the marriage annulled when she found out her "husband's" actual gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
. More recently, she has been the subject of a historical autobiography