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Biography.Coralie Hope Isobel Seymour WALKER was born in Dunedin, on 3 February 1897, the daughter of Helen WALKER. Her father's name was not recorded on her birth registration. Coralie was known as Coralie Hope Seymour STANLEY during childhood and when she married, her mother claiming to have married John Stanley in 1895 at Sydney. Coralie attended school at Milton, Otago (1901-1902), Auckland (1906), Invercargill (1907), Bushside near Ashburton where her aunt was a teacher (1908) and Rangitira Valley School, South Canterbury (January 1909). Coralie obtained work at the literary department of "The Evening Star" in Dunedin where she worked for a year in 1910.
Coralie enjoyed singing and dancing. In 1910 she was reported to have performed a song and dance in the Loyal Centenary Lodge Concert in the South Dunedin Town Hall. She moved to Wellington and was trained in singing by Madame Mueller, competing in several Wellington singing competitions in 1912. Madame Mueller was well known as a successful teacher of singing. By 1913 Coralie was well known in Wellington amateur theatrical circles. in 1913 she was engaged in training the ballet for the Nelson Amateur Dramatic Society performance of "The Runaway Girl." In the performance Coralie took the role of Dorothy Stanley. Following her success in this production, in 1914, she was appointed by Blenheim "Winter Carnival" executive to provide the dancing portion of their forthcoming function. Coralie advertised for girls to train in dancing for the event. Subsequent newspaper reports indicated that the girls who received her tuition made popular performances of the Tango. Coralie performed her solo "Babette's Dance" from "La Femme de Chambre" and the Madrid Tango with a partner successfully.
Later in 1914 Coralie performed in a Concert in Gisborne in Aid of the Belgian and Patriotic Funds. The Gisborne newspapers reported that Coralie "is more than a dancer; she is a capable little actress, and each of her descriptive dances resolved themselves into little scenes, which held the attention of the audience closely throughout."
In January 1916 Coralie married Alfred Cyril McKELLAR in Wellington. Alfred was a bank auditor based in Wellington. He joined the army in November 1916 and trained as an officer, departing for the war in Europe in November 1917, a month after Coralie gave birth to their daughter Gloria McKELLAR. Alfred returned to Wellington after his war duty in February 1919 and resumed his auditing position at the Bank of New South Wales in Wellington.
In 1918 Coralie was living in Christchurch and she contributed to fund raising for the Lady Liverpool Fund, a fund established to encourage NZ women and children to contribute to the war effort by knitting, sewing and raising money for the soldiers. Coralie was reported to have donated money and performed in numerous fund raising concerts.
Coralie, her mother and daughter, arrived in Sydney, Australia, from Wellington on the ship Moeraki in April 1920, leaving Alfred in New Zealand. Coralie began publishing articles and poems under her own name and using the nom de plume "Lalie Seton Cray" in a monthly magazine "The Triad: a journal devoted to literacy, pictorial, musical and dramatic art." She was most prolific in 1921 and 1922, publishing over 20 articles in each year. In May 1922 "The Dominion" (Wellington) reported that Mrs. Coralie Stanley McKellar, who contributes largely each month to the "Triad"? and "Stage and Society" magazines, is now on the permanent staff of the "Daily Telegraph" (Sydney). Coralie also participated in Sydney dramatic productions, producing a Christmas Pantomime in 1921 and appearing in "Dear Brutus" in 1923.
In March 1923 Coralie arrived back in New Zealand as publicist for the celebrated Polish pianist, Andre Skalski. She organised receptions and over 25 concerts around New Zealand during April-August for the pianist. Andre Skalski arrived in Sydney in 1921 and had held piano recitals and conducted the New South Wales State Orchestra during 1922.
Coralie was granted a restitution of conjugal rights order against her husband, Alfred Cyril McKellar, by the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) at Wellington in August 1923. Alfred was living in Wellington while Coralie resided in Sydney. After Alfred failed to comply with the order, a decree nisi was granted in February 1924, to be moved absolute after three months.
After the tour Coralie returned to Sydney and was appointed Organiser and Official Secretary for the Australian Branch of Egypt Exploration Society. She successfully raised funds for the Society which resulted in Australian museums receiving artifacts from excavations in Egypt and four or five cases of treasures from the grave of Tutankhamen. When she visited New Zealand in 1926 she took her jade tile ring which once graced the hand of Auk-na-ton, the wife of Tutankhamen.
After visits to China, Coralie returned to New Zealand during 1926-1928. She gave lectures at many schools throughout New Zealand about her experiences in China, emphasising the importance of obedience in Chinese culture. She used ancient artifacts from China to reinforce her stories.
At the beginning of 1930 Coralie, her mother and daughter Gloria moved to London where Coralie worked as a reporter. They returned to Australia in December 1933. Coralie published regular articles ("Beachcombings") in the Sydney Sun newspaper and appeared as a regular commentator on Sydney radio. She wrote and acted in a radio play in 1934, the performance occurring two hours after her mother died.
After a visit to New Zealand in 1935, Coralie and her daughter Gloria returned to London in 1936. They lived there until 1938 when they traveled to the United States, with an intended stay of six months. I have been unable to trace Coralie further, or her death.
Numerous newspaper articles about Coralie and a selection of her publications are compiled in her "Documents" (above).
In 1924 it was reported that Coralie a married Captain H.H. Kilby when visiting Epi Island in what is now Vanuatu. He was possibly the aide-de-camp to the Governor of Victoria, Col. The Right Hon. George Edward John Mowbray Rous, Earl of Stradbroke. Coralie had spent time in Melbourne in 1924 raising funds for the Egypt Exploration Society. However, Coralie continued to use the surname McKellar after visiting the present Vanuatu and Captain Kilby never traveled with Coralie when she went to New Zealand, England or America.
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Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1893 -
Has 18 ancestors and one descendant in this family tree.
[1, 2] 
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