Ellen KEHELY (Kahaley) was born 9Sep1848 at Mt Barker, South Australia, the daughter of Timothy KEHELY and Mary Bolger.

Ellen married Martin COSTELLO in the Catholic Chapel in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 25Aug1863 - the day after Permission to Marry was granted. She was only 15 at the time and signed the marriage certificate with her mark. Ellen and her family had arrived per "Hussar" from Melbourne three months previously.
Being a Military Settler, Martin was given a land grand at Oakura. They had six daughters, born between 1865 and 1874 at Taranaki - Mary Ann (always known as Annie), Catherine , Amelia, Margaret, Ellen and Lily. (Lily died as an infant and Catherine died when only 18).

Ellen was widowed in 1875 leaving her with five young daughters. It is believed that Ellen worked at the Koru Monastery.She married her farm manager, Sydney Madgwick within a year of her husband Martin's death.

Ellen and Sydney produced seven children over the next fifteen years. Sadly Ellen died of post-partum haemorrhage on the birth of her thirteen child on 10Jun1891. She was only 43 years of age.

According to family stories Ellen was an excellent dressmaker, cook and horsewoman. She was nice looking. Her photo shows this. She kept her children neat and clean.
The COSTELLO/Madgwick farm was near the Koru Monastery which was situated on Koru Rd. It was the first Monastery founded in N.Z. about 1868 by Father Rolland.
(It was a thriving community with an orchard, cattle and vineyard, and much involvement with the local people. The only remaining signs of the Koru Monastery Burial Ground are the mounds of long grass each the size of a dugout plot in a herringbone plan. The farmer's sheep graze all round - but they do not graze over the tops of these mounds so the grass always remains much tufftier and longer over the actual grave site. It is a long vertical climb up a hill to get to the burial ground. It must have been very difficult getting bodies up the hill. A common memorial stone in memory of those buried at Koru is to be constructed there).

Ellen died intestate so Sydney and the older COSTELLO girls signed the farm over to the younger Madgwick children.