VIRTUAL TALK: Kate Kelly: The True Story of Ned Kelly’s Little Sister
Date & Time
Rebecca Wilson discusses her new book, Kate Kelly: The True Story of Ned Kelly’s Little Sister, and sheds light onto the life of an extraordinary but often overshadowed Australian.
missed this talk?
view recording below
Image: Kate Kelly Portrait with Horses (artwork by Rebecca Wilson) and Kate Kelly book cover art.
Virtual Talk
Kate Kelly: The True Story of Ned Kelly’s Little Sister
with Rebecca Wilson
Kate Kelly was an extraordinary Australian. While only a teenager, Kate rode as a messenger and decoy for the Kelly Gang, and was present at the gruesome Glenrowan siege. After Ned’s execution, she appeared at public gatherings around Australia, helping to popularise the Ned Kelly story and becoming a celebrity in her own right. Then she disappeared from the public eye…
Rebecca Wilson is the first to uncover the full story of Kate Kelly’s tumultuous life. It will surprise anyone who thought they already knew the story of Australia’s most famous outlaw.
Join Rebecca Wilson online via Zoom as she discusses the inspiration behind her new book Kate Kelly: The True Story of Ned Kelly’s Little Sister, her writing process and the extensive research she has undertaken into local stories and historic records to craft Kate Kelly’s fascinating biography.
As a special addition to this author talk, Rebecca will showcase some of the artworks featured in her travelling exhibition, The Kate Kelly Collection, which has toured Sydney, Blackheath, Lithgow, Bathurst, Hill End, Orange, Grenfell, Parkes, Forbes, and also Wangaratta in Victoria. Parts of this exhibition have travelled all the way to London, and Rebecca also spoke about her work at London’s Central Library in 2018.
missed this talk?
view the zoom recording below
About the Book
Kate Kelly, the daring sister of legendary bushranger Ned Kelly, was mysteriously found dead in a lagoon outside the NSW town of Forbes in 1898. Was it suicide, accident or murder, and why had she changed her name to Ada Hennessy?
Kate Kelly was an extraordinary Australian. While only a teenager, Kate rode as a messenger and decoy for the Kelly Gang, and was present at the gruesome Glenrowan siege. After Ned’s execution, she appeared at public gatherings around Australia, helping to popularise the Ned Kelly story and becoming a celebrity in her own right.
Rebecca Wilson is the first to uncover the full story of Kate Kelly’s tumultuous life in this captivating biography.
“I see Kate as a strong female figure of skill, adventure, love and spirit. At the same time, like all of us, she was flawed, complicated and probably misunderstood.”
Rebecca Wilson
About Rebecca Wilson
Rebecca Wilson is a Hill End based artist and writer who grew up in Forbes NSW, where Kate Kelly lived in the last years of her life. Rebecca has been hearing local stories about Kate all her life, and she has been researching, painting, and writing Kate’s tragic story for over a decade.
Rebecca has taught and toured her work throughout Australia and internationally.
Images of Rebecca Wilson by David Thompson
Missed this Virtual Talk?
You can watch the Zoom recording here: