Hill End based artist Rebecca Wilson will launched her solo exhibition, Kate Kelly: Sister of an Outlaw, at Virgin Walls, a new gallery in Blackheath on Saturday, April 12.
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The Blackheath exhibition is the first stage in a travelling, “pop-up” tour, which will include Bathurst and Orange and ending in Forbes as part of the biennial Lachlan-Kalari River Arts Festival in October.
Kate Kelly (1863-1898) was the younger sister of Ned Kelly, the infamous bushranger.
An excellent horsewoman, she rode as a decoy for the Kelly gang and was known for delivering supplies and ammunition when the gang was hiding-out.
She became a celebrity after her Ned was hanged in Melbourne Gaol in 1880.
After the Kelly gang’s demise, Kate travelled widely with her older brother Jim, performing on horseback and exhibiting weapons and other Kelly memorabilia, until she moved to Cadow Station near Forbes to escape the limelight.
“I have my own biases now about the people and the dramatic events in Kate’s life.”
Kate’s life ended abruptly at the age of 36. She was found dead, possibly through suicide, in Forbes Lake about a week after she had been reported missing.
Kate’s surviving brother Jim collected her three children (three others had died) and “Ma Kelly” (Ellen) then raised her grandchildren at Eleven Mile Creek.
Ms Wilson grew up in Forbes, where Kate Kelly spent the final years of her life.
“I see Kate as a strong female figure of skill, adventure, love and spirit,” Wilson said.
“At the same time, like all of us, she was flawed, complicated and probably misunderstood.”
Ms Wilson’s relatives gave Kate Kelly, then known under the alias Ada Hennessey, her first job as a domestic servant at Cadow Station.
As part of a long-term project, she has researched the life and times of Kate Kelly for many years.
In her ongoing series of paintings, she has felt compelled to provide a personal vision of Kate’s life and how it intertwines with her own family history.
“During my research it became apparent that some local people viewed Kate as a drunk and a no-hoper while others, including my uncle, told me that she was known as a lovely and generous woman.
“In fact, people were sometimes offended by my desire to tell Kate’s story.
“They see it in black and white, but her life was simply not like that. My research revealed an innocent person born into a family who suffered greatly and who were often the victims of circumstance,” she said.
“I have my own biases now about the people and the dramatic events in Kate’s life.”
