[1] His father, born in Ireland, was a prominent businessman in Sydney who left an estate valued at £259,000 (equivalent to $44,620,000 in 2022) on his death in 1901.

In parliament, Kelly was known for his habit of smoking cigars in the chamber, although he was eventually asked to stop by the speaker Frederick Holder.

This combined with his Etonian manners meant he was held in little regard by the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

In May 1909, at the instigation of Alfred Deakin, Kelly moved the motion to adjourn that ended ALP leader Andrew Fisher's first term as prime minister.

He also negotiated a plan for standardisation of Australia's rail gauge, but this was scrapped when the Fisher government came to power in September 1914.