Kath Pettingill


Kathleen Pettingill is the matriarch of the Melbourne criminal family, the Pettingill family.

Family

Pettingill's 10 children are:
Pettingill first worked in a bar, and having herself been a prostitute, she went on to run brothels. She lived with her children in the Richmond area of Melbourne, and a number of her sons were sent to the Turana Boys' Home.
Pettingill has 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.

In popular culture

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.
A fictionalised version of her appears in the 2010 film Animal Kingdom, in which she is portrayed by Jacki Weaver, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
In the 2011 miniseries Killing Time, Pettingill is a major character, played by Kris McQuade.