Kate Kelly facts for kids
Kate Kelly (born Catherine Ada Kelly on July 12, 1863 – died October 1898) was the younger sister of the famous Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly. She is known for helping her family and her brother's gang during a difficult time.
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Early Life of Kate Kelly
Kate Kelly was born in Beveridge, Victoria, Australia. Her parents, John "Red" Kelly and Ellen Quinn, built the house where she was born. Kate was their seventh child.
Soon after Kate was born, her family moved to Avenel. Another child, Grace, was born there. When Kate was four years old, her father, John Kelly, died.
After her father's death, Ellen Kelly moved the family to her sister's house in Greta. A year later, they moved again. They settled in a small hut on their own land at Eleven Mile Creek. Kate helped her mother raise the family. This included three more children from her mother's second marriage to George King.
Kate Kelly's Courage
When their mother was in prison, and their brothers were being hunted by the police, Kate and her sister Margaret took care of the younger children. Kate also helped the Kelly Gang. She sometimes tricked the police, leading them away from her brothers.
Kate supplied the gang with food, ammunition, and news about where the police were. A folk song called "Ye Sons of Australia" talks about Kate helping the Kelly Gang.
The song describes Kate as brave:
- The daring Kate Kelly how noble her mien
- (The brave Kate Kelly who looked like a queen)
- As she sat on her horse like an Amazon queen,
- She rode through the forest revolver at hand
- Regardless of danger, who dare bid her stand.
- (She did not care about danger, who would try and stop her)
The song also places Kate Kelly at the siege at Glenrowan:
- The daring Kate Kelly came forth from the crowd
- (The brave Kate Kelly came out of the crowd)
- And on her poor brother she called out aloud,
- (And to her poor brother she called out loudly)
- "Come forth my dear brother, and fight while you can"
- But a ball had just taken the life of poor Dan
- (But a bullet had just killed poor Dan)
Today, historians believe that some of the brave actions people thought Kate did were actually done by gang member Steve Hart, who sometimes wore a dress.
Ned Kelly's Final Days
After Ned Kelly was captured, Kate often visited him in prison. She also worked hard to raise money for his legal costs. She gathered signatures for petitions asking for Ned to be shown mercy. Kate even begged the Governor, His Excellency the Marquis of Normanby, to save her brother's life. However, Ned was put to death on November 11, 1880.
Life After Ned
On the night Ned died, Kate and her brother Jim Kelly appeared on stage at the Appollo Hall in Melbourne. People paid to see them. Kate and Jim then went to Sydney and continued to perform. Jim even rode Ned Kelly's horse. The police eventually stopped these shows.
Kate was later seen performing as "Ada" in a Sydney "Wild West Show." She then performed in Adelaide using the names Ada Hennessey and Kate Ambrose. She stopped performing because she became unwell.
She worked for a short time at Hill Scott's Hotel in Adelaide. Her poor health then made her return home to Greta. She worked as a servant in Wangaratta and as a maid in Lanceby.
On November 25, 1888, Kate married William Henry Foster, a blacksmith. They lived in the town of Forbes. They had six children, but sadly, three of them died as babies.
On October 6, 1898, Kate was reported missing. Eight days later, she was found drowned in a swamp near Forbes. Some historians think she might have taken her own life. This could have been because she had depression, possibly caused by the death of her sister, Maggie, two years earlier. Kate was buried in the Forbes Cemetery. She was 36 years old.
Kate Kelly in Culture
- Australian artist, William Patrick Maroney, painted a picture of Kate Kelly. This painting is kept in the National Library of Australia.
- The Kate Kelly Project is a music theatre event. It was created by writer Merrill Findlay and composer Ross Carey.
- In the 2003 movie Ned Kelly, Kate is played by Irish actor Kerry Condon.
- The band The Whitlams has a song called "Kate Kelly" on their album, Torch the Moon.
