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Kath Pettingill

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Kath Pettingill
Born(1935-03-27)27 March 1935
Died1 August 2026(2026-08-01) (aged 91)
Venus Bay, Victoria, Australia
Other nameGranny Evil
OccupationBrothel owner
Children10, including Dennis Allen and Victor Peirce[1]
ConvictionDrug trafficking

Kathleen Pettingill (27 March 1935 – 1 August 2026) was an Australian gangster and brothel owner who was the matriarch of the Melbourne-based Pettingill crime family.

Life

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Pettingill was associated with the criminal underworld in Melbourne, from the 1970s to the 2000s. She first worked in a bar, and having herself been a prostitute,[2] she went on to run brothels.[1] She lived with her children in the Richmond area of Melbourne, and a number of her sons were sent to the Turana Boys' Home.

She had a glass eye in place of the one she lost after being shot in 1978 by Kim Nelson and Keryn Thompson. The bullet passed through a closed door at the Collingwood Housing Commission of Victoria flats as she and her son, Dennis Allen, attempted to repay a $300 debt on behalf of her daughter, Vicky Brooks.[3][page needed]

Family

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The following are Pettingill's ten children:

(with Dennis Ryan)

  • Dennis Bruce Allen (1951–1987) – a drug dealer, jailed for rape in 1973 and died in 1987 of a heart attack while in custody awaiting trial for murder.[4]
  • Peter Allen (born 1953) – convicted of armed robbery, who was once Victoria's most dangerous man and spent 28 years in jail.[1]


(with William George "Billy" Peirce (died 1968))

  • Vicki or Vicky Brooks (born 1954; nĂ©e Pettingill) – gave evidence against the family in the Walsh Street trial and subsequently went into witness protection.
  • "Shelley" (born 1956) – real name unknown. Placed for adoption and reestablished contact with Pettingill in 1989.[5]
  • "Stephen" (born 1957) – real name unknown. Placed for adoption and reestablished contact with Pettingill in 1989.[5]
  • Victor George Peirce (1958–2002) – acquitted of the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings, was killed in 2002.
  • Lex Peirce (born 1960) – has a minor criminal record.[1]
  • "David" (born 1961) – real name unknown. Placed for adoption and whereabouts currently unknown.[5]


(with Jimmy Pettingill (died 1972))

  • Jamie Pettingill (1963–1985) – died of a heroin overdose aged 21.[6]
  • Trevor Pettingill (born 1965) – acquitted of the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings, has multiple convictions for firearms and drug-related offences, served several jail terms.[7] Described as a "career criminal".[7]

Death

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Pettingill died from complications of dementia on 1 August 2026, at the age of 91.[8]

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A biography of her life, The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story, was written by Adrian Tame and published in 1996. As of 2007, Pettingill was living in Venus Bay, Gippsland, Victoria.[9]

In the 2011 miniseries Killing Time, Pettingill is a major character, played by Kris McQuade.[citation needed]

Fictionalised versions of Pettingill, as the character Janine "Smurf" Cody, have appeared in both the 2010 Australian film Animal Kingdom portrayed by Jacki Weaver. Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance.[citation needed] In the 2016 TNT television show of the same name, Pettingill was portrayed by Ellen Barkinas "Smurf".

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Coming clean". The Age. 1 October 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Tame, Adrian (1996). The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story. Pan Macmillan. pp. 58, 60. ISBN 978-0-7329-0854-6. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Shand, Adam (2007). Big Shots. Viking Books. ISBN 978-0-670-04071-1.
  4. ↑ Munroe, Ian; Butcher, Steve (3 May 2002). "Brace for more gangland shootings, police warn". The Age. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 The Matriarch ISBN 978-0732908546
  6. ↑ "Crime world loses one of its finest". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Melbourne crime figure's son guilty". Ninemsn. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "Kath Pettingill, matriarch of accused Walsh Street police killers, dies". ABC News. 4 August 2026. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Tame, Adrian (10 June 2007). "Bingo dogs' number's up". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
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