Leo Patrick KELLY
Leo is the son of Thomas Kelly and Marion Brown. He was born at Queenstown, Central Otago, New Zealand on the 2 Apr 1906.
At some point, Leo decided to move to Australia and join the fight in WWII. He applied and was accepted into the Australian Army in Townsville, Queensland in 1939 and was court-martialed and discharged in 1942.
World War 2 Service
| 18 Nov 1939: | Involvement Private, SN QX3757 | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 1939: | Enlisted | |
| 18 Nov 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SN QX3757 | |
| 31 Jul 1942: | Discharged | |
| 31 Jul 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SN QX3757 |
In about 1947 he was involved in mining accident at Mungana, in the central Top End of Queensland, which resulted in the loss of a leg.
This event sent Leo on a spiral of drunkenness, begging, assault and court appearances across the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The newspapers reported often on his court appearances, of which there were more than 65, sometimes twice in a week. He endured numerous stints in jail from days to months.
The last newspaper mention of Leo is in April 1953, again in court in Townsville for begging alms in the street, which at that time, was illegal.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62481213?searchTerm=leo%20patrick%20kelly
There are several Court Session notes from Moe and Yarrawonga in Victoria, Australia from Sep 1955 until Jun 1965, which indicate further court events. These were “Petty Session” so it would seem the spiral of verbal obscenities, drinking, begging, theft and trespassing continued.
After that, there is silence, so I have a suspicion either he left Australia (possibly returning to NZ, although there is no evidence of that) or he died a lonely death and was buried in an unmarked grave with little or no ceremony. My thoughts are on the latter at this stage. But if you can help me find out more about Leo, I would appreciate that.
Robert Watt Brown
Robert Watt Brown bears the name of his famous granduncle as described on the WATT page of this website.
In 1889 he married Bridget Agnes Mullen in Dunedin and had 3 children as outlined below.
| 1891 | Robert Watt | Died | 1947 |
| 1892 | Annie Agnes | Died | 1942 |
| 1893 | Marion Veronica | Died | 1964 |
He, similar to his parents and brothers, took on farming in the Taieri and remained there until he retired in 1892, when he bought a house in Macandrew Road in Dunedin. The same house was subject to total loss in a fire, but was rebuilt as it had been insured. Of note was that the insurance for the house was only slightly more than for the contents.
Robert was also well known across Otago as a dog breeder, particularly St Bernards. He placed first in several competitions.
Robert passed away in 1911 at his residence and is buried at Southern Cemetery, Dunedin. His wife, Bridget was buried with him after her death in 1938. Sadly the grave site has a large tree growing in it which has thrown the headstones around somewhat. The house at Macandrew Road went to his name sake son.
Silverside
My pioneers who settled on the Taieri plain, often named their farms after places in their home country and that is the case with my family. “Arkleston” and “Greenlaw” were the two names that contributed to the lore of the Taieri plain by my direct family.
But there is also another name, Silverside, that seems to refer to the area around the Silverstream, which is a stream that flows around Mosgiel and joins the Taieri River.
What I would like to know, is what area is actually covered by the term Silverside?