Seventy years ago, Kevin Kelly married Clara Stanger, a beautiful young woman from Curlewis who became the love of his life.
Kevin was barely 15 when he first spotted his future bride at a picnic and for him it was “love at first sight”.
It was a celebration after the breaking of the 1946 drought and a bumper harvest the following year that brought the pair together, with a picnic held at a new dam on a property near Nea.
They were both very young but Kevin knew then that ‘she was the one’.
Kevin and Clara’s paths crossed regularly through the Methodist Church youth group in Curlewis but it was on a train trip with other young people to Moree for a church Crusader Camp that they really connected and knew that it was ‘meant to be.’
Their wedding was a joyful celebration, at the Curlewis Methodist Church, on Saturday, October 16, 1954, with Clara’s school friend Jennifer Davidson as bridesmaid, along with Pat Northill from the youth group and Kevin’s 10-year-old sister Peggy. Kevin’s groomsmen were Don Nowland, army mate Rod Anderson, and school friend Alan Murphy.
Kevin and Clara Kelly on their wedding day October 16, 1954. Their wedding was a joyful celebration, at the Curlewis Methodist Church, with Clara’s school friend Jennifer Davidson as bridesmaid, along with Pat Northill from the youth group and Kevin’s 10-year-old sister Peggy.
Clara and Kevin began their married life together on the Beer family property Dean’s Mountain in a very basic cottage at Premer, with no electricity.
After six months, Kevin began share farming with Clara’s cousin at Allawah near Piallaway. The property only yielded around 300 acres of wheat and a few head of cattle so Kevin also worked casually for neighbouring property owners.
During that time, he picked up some carpentry skills while working with a builder in Curlewis on a few homes. During the 1982 drought, he helped build a new church in the Curlewis community which became their place of worship.
The couple’s family names are synonymous with the Curlewis district where Clara was born in 1932, growing up on the family farm, Piyawoola, on the Wandobah side of Curlewis, while Kevin was born at Tamworth in 1933 and spent his early years at Piallamore where his father worked on his uncle’s property.
Kevin started school at Piallamore and completed his primary education at Curlewis when his father found a position as working manager on the McCormack family property in 1945.
Meanwhile Clara was educated by correspondence for a time before attending Curlewis school where she rode her horse five miles each day. During her high school years, Clara attended Ascham School at Darling Point in Sydney, where her skill on the piano saw her talents utilised to help teach other music students.
Kevin was working on farms around the district when he was called up for national service duties in 1952, with his initial training at Old Holsworthy for 96 days followed by weekend camps at Gunnedah and a yearly two-week stint at Singleton Army Base. His commitment was completed around the time of their marriage when he was discharged with the rank of platoon sergeant.
There was great joy when their first child Rose was born in 1956, followed by Ben in 1958. By 1960, the couple had placed a deposit on the property Merrigle near Spring Ridge, and they welcomed their third child Fiona in 1961, with their youngest Bettina born in 1964.
The family’s world was turned upside down when at the age of 12 months Rose contracted meningococcal meningitis which caused irreversible brain damage.
When Rose reach school age Clara covered thousands of kilometres every year driving her to a school for handicapped children in Tamworth, until she was old enough to live in a Challenge home.
Kevin threw himself into working as a volunteer for Challenge Community Services, where he served on the committee advocating for people with a disability at all levels of government.
In 2009 he was honoured with the Member of the Order of Australia Medal (AM) for service to people with a disability and their families through a range of executive and advocacy roles. He served as chair of Challenge Disability Services, vice-chair, executive committee member, and chair and director of the Challenge Foundation of NSW (1988-1993). He was also a trustee of The Orphans Trust.
The younger children went to school at Spring Ridge and the family enjoyed horse sports, school sports and other activities while Kevin and Clara spent precious time with each other attending balls in the Spring Ridge Hall.
High school years rolled around fast with the two younger girls attending Calrossy, while Ben went off to TAS College in Armidale and Bettina completed her education at Gunnedah High.
When the time was right, Kevin and Clara moved into Gunnedah and settled into their home overlooking the golf course, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren enriching their lives.
Sadly, the couple lost their daughter Rose to cancer in March 2022, at the age 66. Fiona still lives in Gunnedah with her family, while Ben is on the land at Spring Ridge, and with his sons working with him it ticks the box for four generations of the farming Kellys. Bettina lives and works in Sydney. Kevin says his family is a blessing, each in their own individual way.
After seven decades together, the couple’s lives have changed with dementia slowly stealing Clara’s memory in recent years as her devoted husband took care of her every need.
Finally, the time came for Clara to move into care but Kevin is there every day visiting her at Lundie House confident that the love of his life is treated with dignity and love.
Their little celebration in the meeting room at McLean Care Mackellar included close friends who gathered to mark a very special occasion – a significant milestone for a very special couple.
Kevin and Clara at back, Bill and Wendy, Ben and Trish Kelly, Robin and Peter Capp.
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