It was on this day, one-hundred years ago, that the first child was born to Percy and Esther Kelly, exactly nine months to the day after the young couple were married.
Today, Andrew Edward Joseph Kelly, better known as Joe, turns 100 years of age.
After Joe, Percy and Esther went on to have another eleven children. They had eight sons and four daughters, and Joe has outlived them all, except for one.
Joe’s youngest sister, Irene, is twenty-one years younger than Joe, and along with other members of the family and some longtime friends, celebrated his birthday with him last Saturday night in Sydney.
My husband wouldn’t have missed his uncle’s one-hundredth birthday for anything. Let’s face it, it’s not often in one’s lifetime you have the privilege of knowing a person who has reached such a grand age!
The year of 1912 is well remembered as the year of the sinking of the “Titanic”. George V was the King of England and the Commonwealth of Australia was a mere baby of only eleven years old.
It was in 1912 that Australia saw its first air crash. The Commonwealth Bank was established with Australia’s Prime Minister of the day, Andrew Fisher, being the first account holder at the bank.
The Maternity Allowance was granted to new mothers in 1912, giving them a five-pound “Baby Bonus” upon the birth of a child. I guess Joe’s mum just missed out, with him being born on October 2, and the allowance being introduced on October 10!
Uncle Joe would have seen many changes during his one-hundred years; the progression of cars through the years, aeroplanes becoming common place in the skies, the opening of The Sydney Harbour Bridge, the introduction of television and so many other wild and wonderful inventions that have changed the world!
And speaking of cars, Joe still has his driver’s licence! I was very surprised to learn also that he has only had his licence for the last fifty years. Driving around the streets of Sydney is not for the faint-hearted, so he is doing very well indeed!
Before my husband headed off to Sydney for the birthday celebrations, I asked him to find out if Joe had received a “telegram from the Queen”, as I recall that being a highlight for those who reach this wonderful age.
What Joe did received was a letter from the Queen, and the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the State Premier, the Federal Member of Parliament and the Local Member also!
He even received an O.B.E! ~ Old But Everlasting, signed by Father Time and Mother Nature….how wonderful!
You’ll have to excuse the poor quality of the photos of the letters, as they were taken with a mobile phone, but I’m sure they will be clear enough for you to see the mail you can expect when you also reach one-hundred!
In a lovely gesture, to mark the occasion himself, Joe presented each of his five children, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren with a 1912 Australian penny.
I don’t know what everyone else thinks, but I believe that to reach the age of one-hundred, in a fit and healthy state, still living in your own home, and having the independence to drive yourself about is something to strive for!
Happy birthday, Uncle Joe, and wishing you many more years of good health to come!! 🙂
In My World 
That is so remarkable to reach a hundred years and still be of sound mind, healthy and independent! Happy 100th, Joe! And to get birthday wishes from the Queen and so many other dignitaries makes for a very special occasion indeed. Wonder if he uses a GPS in his car… 😉
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Lol, I’m not 100% sure about the GPS Barbara, but my guess is that he wouldn’t need one, as he has lived in Sydney for so many years! My husband was so pleased to see how fit and healthy he is still looking and yes, it is an icredible achievement for him. 🙂
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I think that’s wonderful! Husband’s aunt just turned 97, still lives in her own apartment, but gave up driving (and as far as she’s concerned, her independence) about 3 years ago.
I really came over to ask you if it was really easy to move your old blog content over to this one. I have an old blog too, and need to move it…how did you learn how to do the transfer?
-Dawn
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your husband’s aunt makes it to 100 too? If she is healthy and happy, who knows, she just might!
It’s so easy to transfer blog content Dawn, and it amazed me how fast it transferred too! In the dashboard of your old blog, go to Tools then Export. I saved the content folder to my desktop, so it would be easy to locate again. Then, go to the dashboard of the new blog, go to Tools again, but this time click Import. There are a few basic promps along the way, but that’s it! It is so easy and when you import the content it downloads in no time at all. Let me know how you go with it. 🙂
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thank you! I’m off work tomorrow I will try then. I am such a klutz technically it all makes me nervous!
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I’m not the brightest when it comes to techie things either Dawn, so if I can do it, anyone can! If you get stuck though, just let me know and I’ll see if I can help. 🙂
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It worked!!!! 🙂 Thank you so much!
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Fantastic! 🙂
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Tell Uncle Joe that Stacy Lyn in Louisiana wishes him the happiest (belated) birthday – and many more for years to come.
Wonderful post! Thanks for telling us this story. ❤
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Thank you Stacy Lyn! I will pass on your message to him. 🙂
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What a wonderful post about Uncle Joe ! Thank you so much for sharing some of his extraordinarily long life. Please tell him that Isabelle from Switzerland is wishing him all the Very Best . Joyeux Anniversaire, Uncle Joe.
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That is so kind of you Isabelle! I will pass on the message. 🙂
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What a lovely post. Happy Birthday greetings to Uncle Joe from Rosie in California.
I read your instructions to Dawn about transferring blogs to another theme. Is it really that simple? Don’t you lose stuff in the “moving boxes”?
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Hi Rosie! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes for Uncle Joe. 🙂
Yes, it really is that simple to transfer content from one blog to another! I was amazed myself as I had such a lot to transfer and it only took minutes to move. You can’t lose anything either, as your old website remains (unless you decide to delete it), you save the content onto your computer, then it shows up again on your new site when you download it, so actually you end up with the original content, plus two copies. I’d almost go as far as saying it is fool-proof, the way WordPress has it set up! Good luck. 🙂
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Wow that’s encouraging! thanks Joanne.
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Happy birthday, Uncle Joe! What a lovely tribute to your husband’s uncle. I’m not sure I have known anyone who has reached that auspicious age. So many memories to accumulate in a lifetime… Would YOU like to live to 100, Joanne?
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Guess what Kathy, I have known two people who have reached 100! The other was a dear neighbour we had when living in Sydney, and she reached 103. Isn’t that fantastic? And yes, I would absolutely love to live to be 100, or more, if I could do so in the same way as the two I have known have done so, with little if any illness, and independantly living at home. What a blessing that would be. 🙂
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What a blessing indeed… And lucky you to have known two dear ones to reach this age!
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That is certainly an accomplishment. Has Uncle Joe told you his secrets? I’m not sure I’d want to live that long though. But, if one is fit and healthy like Joe is, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Thanks for sharing this wonderful news, Joanne. May Uncle Joe celebrate many more birthdays!
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Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing, to reach an even older age, still fit and healthy? I haven’t seen Joe myself for about five years, but the last time I saw him was at his brother’s 90th birthday! They are long-livers, these Kelly’s! Unfortunately we lost Joe’s younger brother late last year, at 95, and their mother also lived to the ripe old age of 90. I’m not sure what their secret is, good genes perhaps? 🙂
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A wonderful memorial record for your family Joanne, you’ve done so well – and so cleverly put together, just as I would have done if I knew how to!!!! XX XX Estelle Loughman (Mum – John’s wife, who is 1st cousin to your Allan. John’s Mum was Mary Agnes Twohill. We live at Mildura, Victoria…..
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Estelle, I will have to teach you a few simple things that may help you with the internet and adding content. Most of it is really easy, once someone has shown you what to do! I’m glad you dropped by to see Joe on his very special day. 🙂
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