THE FEMALE gene is strong in one Whitsundays family, with five generations of women all leading the way!
Katrina Kelly, from Proserpine, welcomed her first grandchild, in March, and true to form it was a girl!
There are now five generations of females in the family and all of them were firstborns.
“All the firstborns in our family are always girls,” Ms Kelly said.
“We do have boys as well – two of my four children are boys – but it’s strange the firstborn child in each family is always a girl, ever since 1947 when my grandma was born.
“I also thought it was quite remarkable that there are now five generations of women, since my granddaughter was born, in March.
“Five generations all alive and well!”
The family originally hails from Mount Isa and moved to the Whitsundays in 2000, when Ms Kelly’s mother bought a block of land at Hydeaway Bay. Ms Kelly arrived in 2007.
The family line-up is:
Great great grandma Sandra Smith, 77 years old.
Great grandma Sandra Smith Junior, 59 years old
Grandma Katrina Kelly, 42 years old
Katrina’s daughter Britney Trenerry, 21 years old (partner Beau Cross)
Baby Athena, the fifth generation, born in Mackay Hospital, on March 27, 2025.
Ms Kelly, who is the manager of Hertz Car Rental, at both the Airlie Beach office and also Whitsunday Coast Airport, unfortunately missed the birth of her granddaughter Athena.
“I missed her birth by 20 minutes!” she said.
“Britney rang me very early that morning, as she was having pains, but it was so early, I went back to sleep!
“She then rang again at 3.15am and said ‘this is it’, so I jumped in the car – it was raining heavily – and dashed down to Mackay [from Proserpine].
“But 20kms from Mackay, Britney’s partner Beau called and said Athena had been born at 4.20am. It was a very quick birth.
“My daughter obviously takes after me – I have 35-minute labours!”
Ms Kelly said she was ‘making up for lost time’ with her granddaughter.
“She’s smiling now, which is wonderful. I am really enjoying being a grandmother.”
