Henry Arthur Kellow (8 July 1881 – 6 September 1935) was a Scottish-born Australian literary critic, author and teacher.Hadgraft, Cecil; McDonald, Lorna L Kellow, Henry Arthur (1881–1935), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, 1983. Accessed 29 August 2017.McDonald, Lorna L; The Moving Mind: A Life of Henry Arthur Kellow (1881–1935), second edition, 2016. Accessed 29 August 2017.
Early life Kellow was born at St Andrews in Fife on the east coast of Scotland.
He attended Airdrie Academy, Glasgow University and a teacher training college where he qualified as a teacher with a Diploma of Education. Kellow graduated from Glasgow University as a Master of Arts with Honours in English and History. Additionally, Kellow also gained a Diplôme d'études en langue française illustrating his improved linguistic skills after studying in France, Italy and Norway.
Commencing his teaching career in 1904, Kellow taught at Calderbank Public School, then Airdrie Academy before being appointed Head of English at Allan Glen's School in Glasgow.
In 1912, Kellow was offered a number of lucrative positions. He had to decide between an inspectorship with the Scottish Education Department, a position as a principal in India, and the headship of a private school in Australia.
Kellow chose the latter. His fiancée Mary Hope agreed to bring their scheduled wedding date forward so they could travel to Australia together after their wedding and settle in Rockhampton, Queensland, to take up the post as headmaster of the Rockhampton Boys Grammar School.
Life in Australia The trustees of the school were informed of Kellow's appointment by cablegram in May 1912.Boys' Grammar School, The Morning Bulletin, 8 May 1912. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017. The local Rockhampton press approved of Kellow's appointment and published glowing testimonials to illustrate its point.Boys' Grammar School: The New Headmaster, An Excellent Appointment, The Morning Bulletin, 15 June 1912. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Boys Grammar School, The Capricornian, 22 June 1912. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 30 August 2017.
Kellow and his wife were officially welcomed to the school on 15 July 1912 at the annual reunion of past Rockhampton Grammar School students.Boys' Grammar School, The Morning Bulletin, 17 July 1912.
During his tenure, Kellow developed considerable influence. It was Kellow who persuaded the trustees of the school in 1913 to allow Jack Fryer another year of study after he was unsuccessful in gaining a university scholarship. Fryer was eventually won the scholarship and was accepted into the University of Queensland.
Kellow had interactions with a number of notable people, including British book publisher George G. Harrap who stayed in Rockhampton for two weeks at Kellow's invitation while Harrap was visiting Sydney in 1924.Harrap, George G., Some Memories, p.80-82, 1935. Accessed 29 August 2017. Kellow's works had been earlier published through Harrap's publishing house, although the two had met while Kellow was teaching at Allen Glen's School in Glasgow.
Kellow's interactions with other dignitaries are recalled in Lorna McDonald's book about his life The Moving Mind, including Shakespearean actor Allan Wilkie, Queensland Governor Matthew Nathan, Governor-Generals Lord Munro Ferguson and Lord Forster, Japanese consul Iemasa Tokugawa, cricketer Don Bradman, swimmer Noel Ryan and local political figure Frank Forde.
During their time in Rockhampton, Kellow and his wife had three children Mary, Hope and Harry.
Writing While attending the University of Glasgow, Kellow had the opportunity to learn from and be influenced by notable figures such as Sir Henry Jones who later described Kellow as a distinguished student due to the excellence of his written essays; and Walter Raleigh who said that he bore witness to Kellow's great ability and "unflagging energy of mind".
Kellow's first work was A Practical Training in English, an English text book Kellow had written in 1909 using his training in literary appreciation.Record: A practical training in English, National Library of Australia catalogue. Accessed 29 August 2017. It was described by the secretary of the English Association as the best English text book of its kind they had ever seen.
Following the completion of A Practical Training in English, Kellow was invited by the general editor of George G. Harrap and Co.'s "Poetry and Life" series to critique the works of Scotland's Robert Burns. As a result, Burns and his Poetry was published in 1911.Record: Burns and his poetry, National Library of Australia catalogue. Accessed 29 August 2017.
Burns and his Poetry was quickly followed by Kellow's anthology A Treasury of Scottish Verse published in 1912, which was a collection of poems from the 14th to the 19th centuries which Kellow analysed.Record: A Treasury of Scottish verse, selected by H. A. Kellow, National Library of Australia catalogue. Accessed 29 August 2017. The preface to A Treasury of Scottish Verse was written in the Bay of Biscay while Kellow and his wife were en route to Australia.
After a 15-year break from writing, Kellow seemed to have his interest in poetry and literature re-ignited. In his 1981 biography, The Moving Mind, historian Lorna McDonald suggests it may have been due to a combination of three events of 1924 consisting of Jeremiah Joseph Stable publishing The Bond of Poetry, Nettie Palmer publishing Modern Australian Literature and the visit from George Harrap which likely would have led to discussions about literature potentially planting the idea for Kellow to publish another work.
Whatever the reason behind it, Kellow finally published what was arguably his best known work, Queensland Poets in 1930.
Queensland Poets was, as the title suggests, a detailed analysis of the work of Queensland poets which received favourable reviews from newspaper critics.Poetry in the North, The Age, 27 September 1930. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Queensland Poets, The Brisbane Courier, 4 October 1930. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Poetic Output, The Telegraph, 27 September 1930. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
Shooting On 30 August 1919, Kellow was seriously injured when he was shot in a random shooting while he, his wife and two children were en route to Yeppoon in their Overland motorcar.Outrage on Yeppoon Road – Masked Men Hold Up Motor Car; Mr H A Kellow Shot, The Capricornian, 6 September 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
James Arthur Thompson and Eugine Berserker Onions were charged with discharging a loaded firearm with the intent to kill.
Somewhat unusually, the hearing at the Rockhampton Police Court on 8 October 1919 adjourned to the Hillcrest Hospital where Kellow was a patient recovering from his injuries so he could testify. After adjourning back to the court house, the police magistrate committed Thompson and Onions to stand trial the following month.The Yeppoon Road Shooting Case; Accused Committed For Trial, The Morning Bulletin, 9 October 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
Thompson and Onions were both found guilty by a jury of grievous bodily harmSupreme Court, Criminal Sittings – Yeppoon Road Case, The Morning Bulletin, 12 November 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017. and were both sentenced to seven years imprisonment with hard labour.Supreme Court, The Morning Bulletin, 13 November 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
News of the shooting was widely reported in the Australian press.Youthful "bushrangers" – a School Master shot, The Age, 1 September 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Shot by masked men, The Argus, 1 September 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Queensland Crime: Motorist Shot – two masked desperadoes, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.A Queensland Shooting Case – two youths as bushrangers, The West Australian, 1 September 1919. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
Death Kellow died from pneumonia on 6 September 1935.Mr H. A. Kellow – Death after Brief Illness, The Morning Bulletin, 7 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Mr. H. A. Kellow dead – Rockhampton Grammar School Head, The Brisbane Courier, 7 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
Kellow's funeral consisted of a church service at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church and a graveside service at the North Rockhampton Cemetery.
Prior to the graveside service, a long procession consisting of past and present students of the Rockhampton Grammar School marched from the school to the Fitzroy Bridge following Kellow's coffin before they were transported to the cemetery where they again made a formation to march to Kellow's grave.Final Homage Paid to Late Mr. H. A. Kellow; Long Funeral Cortege, The Morning Bulletin, 9 September 1935. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
Apart from being headmaster of the Rockhampton Grammar School for 23 years, Kellow was also actively involved in the Rockhampton community and as such his death prompted a number of tributes from various local community organisations, sporting groups and the local press.Editorial: Mr. H. A. Kellow, The Evening News, 7 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 30 August 2017.Late Mr. H. A. Kellow, "Scholar and Gentleman", The Morning Bulletin, 10 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017."Dormy", Golf News: Golfer's Outing; Tournament Advice; Late Mr. H. A. Kellow, The Morning Bulletin, 11 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017."Inestimable Loss" – Death of Mr. H. A. Kellow; School Trust's Condolence, The Morning Bulletin, 13 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017Editorial: Henry Arthur Kellow, The Morning Bulletin, 14 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Mr. H. A. Kellow – his life and work, The Morning Bulletin, 14 September 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Loss Recorded – Late Mr. H. A. Kellow, The Morning Bulletin, 9 October 1935. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.Praise of Mr. Kellow – Grammar School Magazine, The Morning Bulletin, 7 January 1936. Retrieved from National Library of Australia 29 August 2017.
Family After his death, Kellow's widow Mary Hope Kellow moved to Sydney with her daughter Mary. After living at Darlinghurst, Mary bought a house in Eastwood in 1950. She died in 1969. After her cremation, her ashes were brought back to Rockhampton where they were interred in her husband's grave at the North Rockhampton Cemetery.
Even after moving with her mother to Sydney, Kellow's daughter Mary continued to have an interest in the Rockhampton Grammar School, presenting the Mary Kellow Cup at the school's sports carnivals, and presenting the Mary Kellow Champion of Champions Cup at the Rockhampton Eisteddfod. While living in Sydney, she enjoyed partaking in artistic activities particularly painting and music. She was an invited guest to the launch of her father's biography in Rockhampton in 1981 and had expressed her interest in returning to the city following her last visit in 1965. However, she died suddenly on 10 February 1981 after being involved in a minor car accident several days earlier. Her brother Harry claimed she had encountered an aggressive insurance assessor who had caused Mary considerable distress.