The Kate Kelly Project

The Kate Kelly Project (KKP) is a cultural development endeavour based in Forbes, NSW, to creatively explore the life and times of Kate Kelly, whose body was recovered from the town lagoon in October 1898. More >>

Left: Portrait of Kate Kelly painted in 1894 by Patrick William Marony (1858-1939). Oil on canvas ; 107.1 x 61 cm. Courtesy NLA.

This project was initiated in 2006-07 by Australian writer Merrill Findlay and New Zealand composer Ross Carey. Since then, it has sprouted a number of unexpected off-shoots, including
- a Kate Kelly Walking Trail and occasional KK tours >>
- a Campaign to save the historic Quong Lee's store where Kate Kelly almost certainly shopped >>
- rehabilitation of the Kate Kelly Catchment, including the ephemeral stream which flows into the lagoon near where her body was found >>
- restoration of 'Chinaman's Bridge' which crosses this little creek >>
-- and creation of 'quiet space' overlooking the lagoon where Kate may have died

NEWS UPDATE! 19 December 2008.
The Kate Kelly Project has been awarded a Regional Arts Fund grant of nearly $8,000 to enable the writer and composer to complete Stage II of the music-theatre event. More >>

RAF Press Release, 18 December 2008: Regional Arts Fund delivers 22 major new projects to regional NSW >>

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional and remote Australia. The Kate Kelly Project gratefully acknowledges this financial assistance.

Music-theatre work-in-progress >>
- Project leaflet >> [pdf 67kb]
- Introduction to the Kate Kelly Project >>
- The six stages of the KKP >>
- KKP Stage I: Putting flesh on her bones >>
- KKP Stage II: Kate Kelly Song Cycle >>
- KKP Stage VI: Live event >>
- First grant from the RAHS >>
- Project Partners >>
- Project acknowledgements >>

Kate Kelly Walking Trail
Inaugural Kate Kelly Walking Tour, 21 June 2008 [pdf 24kb] >>
Forbes Shire Council has now agreed to install signs at sites associated with Kate Kelly and to formally establish a Kate Kelly Walking Trail as a tourist attraction. More on this initiative soon.

KATE KELLY TOURS IN 2009
1. Kate Kelly Guided Tour, Forbes Heritage Week, May 2009
2. Kate Kelly at the Forbes Bush Ranger Festival, October 2009
Meet Kerry Neaylon and/or Merrill Findlay at the Forbes & District Historical Museum for stories about Kate Kelly's life and times, then accompany them on a tour of significant Kate Kelly sites, including her grave in the Forbes cemetery, Browne Street in which her husband's family lived and where Kate and her children may have also lived, and the lagoon where her body was found in October 1898. Contact Forbes Shire Council or the Forbes Tourist Centre for more information.

Saving Quong Lee's Store >>
- Campaign to save what may be Forbes' last physical link with its substantial Chinese heritage >>
- Appeal to the 2008 Royal Australian Historical Society conference to help stop the imminent demolition of QL's >>
- Statement by RAHS President, Dr Ian Jack, about options for conserving Quong Lee's [pdf 13kb] >>
- News report about efforts to save this historic building >>
- What you can do to help stop the bulldozers >>

Rehabilitating 'Kate Kelly's Catchment'
A community collaboration initiated through the Kate Kelly Project to rehabilitate the catchment of the very degraded ephemeral stream which flows under Chinaman's Bridge to enter Forbes Lagoon near where Kate's body was recovered in October 1898. The lagoon foreshore will also be revegetated as part of this initiative. Planting is expected to begin in March/April 2009. More soon.

KKP talks & presentations
NEW!! Kate Kelly goes to the RAHS Conference, 2008 >>
NEW!! Kate Kelly goes to Gooloogong >>

Writer Merrill Findlay and bush ranger expert Kerry Neaylon are happy to talk about the Kate Kelly Project and the Kelly Legend. For more information, please email Kerry or Merrill.

Press Coverage >>
The Kate Kelly Project is slowly making ripples in the local and regional media >>

Background resources >>
NEW!! Report on Kate's death and inquest, Forbes & Parkes Gazette, 18 October 1898 [pdf 32 kb] >>
NEW!! The Kelly Family: a brief introduction, by Kerry Neaylon for the Kate Kelly Project 2008 [pdf 61kb] >>
Kate's grave site, Forbes Cemetery >>

Royal Australian Historical Society, Sydney (for our first grant)
Forbes & District Historical Society
Forbes Shire Council
Marg Willmott and the Mitchell Conservatorium, Lachlan Campus
The Forbes Advocate
Kerry Neaylon (KKP research associate and bushranger expert)
Wendy Gross, Forbes
Carissa Bywater, Forbes
Hannah Semler & Arts OutWest, Bathurst
Jane Bennie, Warroo
Rob Willis, Forbes
Joy Russell and the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, Forbes
Sue Riley, Wagga
Peter C Smith, Illawong, NSW
Librarian Bronwyn Clark & Forbes Library
Forbes Arts & Culture Working Group
Norm Wilkinson, Orange
Nancy Gordon, Orange
Gillian Whitehead, New Zealand
Catherine McGrath, Sydney
Carol Dukes, Forbes
Forbes Family History Group
Robert Read, Forbes
Bill McFeeters Wool, Forbes
Elders, Forbes Branch
Karen Purnell, Queenland
Ellen Hollow, Victoria
Louise and Tom Dwyer, Court Press, Forbes
Helen Herbert, Forbes Heritage Committee
David Scobie, Forbes Heritage Consultant