Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Flora Ellen Hatten was born about 1865 – the daughter of Thomas William Hatten, a miner, and Elizabeth Avery Treleven.
She was, apparently, 'the first white child born at Nokamai' on the Otago Goldfields.
Her father died in 1873 while blasting rock at Arthur’s Point and the family then moved to Queenstown where Flora went to school.
In 1878 Flora was mentioned in the newspaper as a member of the 'Golden Gate' Juvenile Temple in Queenstown - a temperance organisation.
She married James Patrick Kelly, a rabbiter, in 1881 and they had eight children, two who died in infancy.
James was declared bankrupt in 1885 and again in 1891 – when Flora signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Queenstown.
They later moved to Invercargill where Flora died on 6 February 1937, her obituary said she 'was a popular member of St. Mary’s congregation, and an ardent worker in all things connected with the church and in the cause of charity'.
James died in 1941 at their daughter’s home in Dunedin, they are buried together in the Invercargill Eastern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Invercargill City Council https://icc.govt.nz