When Fact Becomes Fiction

Name: When Fact Becomes Fiction
Start: 2026-09-02T13:00:00+09:30
End: 2026-09-02T13:00:00+09:30
Location: Genealogy SA

When Fact Becomes Fiction
Re-presenting pioneering policewoman Kate Cocks

About

This month for Wednesdays @ 1, Dr Lainie Anderson will join us to share her journey from historical research to historical fiction.

Kate Cocks was a household name in early twentieth-century Adelaide, internationally recognised for her groundbreaking work as the first equally-paid policewoman in the British Empire. When she wasn’t patrolling the city with a five-foot cane to separate canoodling couples, she was marching young women out of opium dens and forcing abusive husbands to their knees to recite the Lord’s Prayer. By the turn of the century, however, Kate Cocks had been all but lost to history. In 2024, South Australian author Lainie Anderson completed a PhD researching Cocks’ life and exploring how a work of popular murder mystery could do justice to this significant figure from the past. Lainie’s talk retraces the path from fact to fiction, and the opportunities and challenges of bringing real characters back to life.

Dr Lainie Anderson OAM is a writer whose 35-year career in journalism and public relations includes 17 years as a columnist with Adelaide’s Sunday Mail as well as stints at the Herald Sun and London’s The Times. In 2024, Lainie completed a PhD with UniSA, researching the life of Kate Cocks, the inspiration behind her best-selling Petticoat Police Mystery series. Lainie is vice-president of the History Council of SA, board trustee with the History Trust of SA and a state representative on the Federation of Australian Historical Societies. You can find more about her historical mysteries at her website: lainieanderson.com.au.