[1] Around 1880, he publicly acknowledged his identity, including performing at the Melbourne Waxworks under the tagline "The Wonderful Male Impersonator",[2] and in Sydney as "The Man-Woman Mystery".

[3] Evans told miners he worked with in Australia that he was born in France, had stolen £500 as a boy, and fled to County Waterford, where he acquired his Irish accent.

According to her, Evans dramatically rode a horse through a gathering called by John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough, only to be "dragged off her pony" and forced to "clear out.

"[7] In 1856, Edward De Lacy Evans arrived in Victoria, Australia, during the gold rush boom period, aboard the Ocean Monarch as part of the 'assisted immigration scheme.'

[3] Evans traveled under the name Ellen Tremayne and, in the information provided, stated that he was 26 years old, born in County Kilkenny, a Roman Catholic, a housemaid, and literate.

[3] For most of the voyage to Australia, Evans wore a distinctive outfit: 'a green merino dress and sealskin coat reaching almost to her ankles' paired with a men's shirt and trousers.

'[9] This, coupled with apparent 'sexual attachments' formed with some female cabinmates, led to speculation among passengers that Evans was a man impersonating a woman.

[3] One such companion, identified as Rose Kelly, reportedly fell ill and disembarked at Rio de Janeiro en route.

[9] Fellow passengers speculated that the 'real' Edward De Lacy Evans had enticed 'Ellen Tremayne' to take passage with him by sending his trunk ahead, only to abandon her later.

[8] Alternatively, a later theory suggested the clothes were Evans' own and that he had chosen to travel in female guise either out of fear of disclosure among men or a preference for the company of women.

[4] As a condition of his assisted passage, Evans (under the name Ellen Tremayne) was indentured as a maidservant to McKeddie, a Melton hotelkeeper, earning 25 shillings per week.

'[10] Wearing male clothes and calling himself 'Edmund De Lacy,' Evans married Delahunty in a Roman Catholic ceremony at St Francis' Church.

[3] Delahunty justified her actions, dismissing objections to her apparent act of bigamy by asserting that her first marriage was not valid because Evans was a woman.

[3] He lived with Moore in several nearby towns[11] and owned shares in several gold mines, paying property rates in Sandhurst and the neighboring district of Eaglehawk.

[11] Marquand was a French dressmaker's assistant who lived with her sister and brother-in-law, Jean Baptiste Loridan, a prominent Sandhurst businessman and owner of the City Family Hotel.

[3] Around this time, Evans sustained a work injury, and although he "welcomed the child as his own," he was reportedly "deeply disturbed by the circumstances in which his wife became pregnant.

"[17]On 4 September 1879, the Bendigo Advertiser ran the headline "Extraordinary Case of Concealment of Sex" and reported: "One of the most unparalleled impostures has been brought to light during the past few days, which it has ever been the province of the press of these colonies to chronicle, and we might even add is unprecedented in the annals of the whole world.

"[18] While still at Bendigo Hospital, Evans disclosed knowledge of the father of his child, voiced concerns about his wife's infidelity, and expressed worries about financial troubles and potentially losing his house.

[3][20] In late December 1879, Evans participated in events organized by panorama showmen Augustus Baker Pierce and William Bignell in Geelong and Stawell.