Kelly, Leonora (1870-1949)

Leonora Flight Kelly was one of 550 New Zealand nurses who served overseas during the First World War. Known as Nora, she was 45 years old when she resigned from her position as County Egmont District Nurse in November 1915 and volunteered to join the staff of the hospital ship Maheno.

The New Zealand government had paid for the ship to be converted into a floating hospital when the first casualty lists from Gallipoli appeared – the scale of the carnage shocked everybody into action. The public were then asked to help raise money for the ship’s medical equipment and the people of Taranaki did their part. The Daily News set up a subscription fund in May 1915 with nearly £400 raised in the first week. The country eventually contributed close to the equivalent of 13 million dollars so the ship could be kitted out with state-of-the-art operating theatres, x-ray rooms, a laboratory, telephone exchange and electric lifts.

Nora sailed on the Maheno from Wellington in January 1916, along with 13 other nurses. She wrote regular letters home to her large family, including to her niece Isabella and nephew Frank. The ship stopped in Sri Lanka then Egypt on its way to England, and Nora described the sights on 21 February:

You can’t imagine, Frank, how beautiful, weird, wonderful, dirty, smelly and altogether different Colombo is… Before we landed the boat was surrounded with blacks… they dived for silver [and] they came to see if there was any laundry… they wash, starch and iron any articles, big or small, for two pence each… as soon as we landed we went to the Grand Oriental Hotel followed by a whole army of black boys and men selling papers, flowers, anything… Major Burrow, one of the Medical Staff… arranged a trip to Kandy, the Capital… they put on a special train for us… [and we] travelled through 70 miles of wonderful scenery, life, everywhere rice fields with the natives at work, hundreds of them, tea plantations, more coolies, bungalow houses, some looking very picturesque, others very squalid and in each about 50 people…

Hope you are all well… [and] writing heaps of letters so that when we get a landing place there will be lots for me to read. All our letters are censored, hope the censor will get tired of reading them. Much love to all, Nora.

Later that month Nora wrote to her niece while back at sea:

We didn’t have much time for shopping in Colombo but we did our best, such lovely silk kimonos!... I regret not getting a kimono very much but I wanted to get something for all of you who haven’t seen these wonderful things and thought my money wouldn’t hang out but… I’ve not drawn a penny of my pay and won’t require it for a long time so very likely I’ll get a kimono yet.

Our days are full of change, we have ward work, physical drill 7.30am, French class 4pm then we get a fire alarm all of a sudden, away we fly for life belts then down to the wards to rescue (so far imaginary) patients, then when the last blast goes up on deck and in place under our boats and you have to hustle too.

Goodbye. Much love to you and your mother. Aunt Nora.

Nora penned a note to her sister Margaret (known as Peg) in Bulls on 5 April 1916 as the Maheno was travelling way back to New Zealand from Port Suez. The ship carried more than 300 wounded Kiwi soldiers on board, including seven from Taranaki:

Just at this moment of writing there is an awful sea on, we are pitching and tossing from side to side – [but] not one of the staff are seasick so far. Well these last letters won’t be censored I don’t suppose as we will arrive as soon as they [do] – but am sending you this to let you know about the time I will be “happening along”…

I hope to… report in Wellington and then… to break the journey to New Plymouth… perhaps you could come down to see us off this time – I hope so. Am packing up and bringing to Bulls things I got on the way to show you and can post them off from your place. I hope you will like what I got you – its Egyptian – I like it very much myself but must not tell you beforehand in case you are disappointed… Let the boys know I am coming back so that they can, with patriotic promptness, get out their motor car and take us all for some drives…

Anyway, we will have a good old talk when I come up to Bulls – don’t expect me to get up to 7am breakfast, Peg – I’ll creep out and get a cup of hot water and a crust of bread and go back to bed till 8.30am!

Am so looking forward to seeing you all… Much love, Nora.

The Maheno returned to peacetime duties in 1919, having transported thousands of wounded soldiers around the Mediterranean, between Britain and France, and back to New Zealand.

Nora was discharged in 1920 after a total of 305 days of overseas service and awarded both the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. She went on to become matron of Pātea Hospital and kept up her hobbies of swimming, smoking, playing bridge and following horse racing until her death on 22 August 1949. Nora Kelly never married and is buried next to her younger sister Kate in Te Hēnui Cemetery.