Edward Hall Kempe was born on 23rNovember 1887, at Tolarno Station, about 150 kms south-east of Broken Hill.
Prior to World War I Edward was overseer at Nundora Station in north-west NSW. He enlisted in the 3rd Light Horse brigade on 14 June 1915. On his enlistment papers he nominates his religion as Church of England. He was injured in action on the 9 January 1917 receiving gunshot wounds to his left chest and shoulder and did not return to active service. Upon recovering from the injuries, he came back to Australia and was discharged. He then managed Olive Downs Station (in the north-west corner of NSW) which later became part of the Sidney Kidman pastoral empire.
Around 1920 he went to Naracoorte where it is understood he was looking for another property management position. It was suggested he apply for a position at Moy Hall, but the requirements were that he was Presbyterian. Moy Hall, at that time, was owned by William Pascoe McIntosh. This was where he met Pamela Rothwell McIntosh, stepdaughter of Reverand Robert Walker McLean the Presbyterian Minister at St Andrews, Melbourne, and later moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Victoria. Edward married Pamela in 1923 in Melbourne. Hence began the Kempe family association with the Presbyterian Church.
Prior to their marriage, Edward Kempe had moved to Tungkillo to manage a property belonging to the Hardings who had themselves moved to the Naracoorte area.
In 1929, Edward purchased Section 484 of 1,456 acres for £4,987. This is the property at Springton he called Wyarra. Prior to this the property had been owned by the Matthews and rented to Gerhardys. For some time after buying Wyarra, Edward continued to manage the Harding property at Tungkillo.
Edward and Pamela had six children, Ronald born in 1924, Ian (1925), Stuart (1926), Pamela (1928), Kenneth (19??) and Malcolm (1931). The oldest three children were born while they were liviing at the Tungkillo property and the youngest three after they had moved to Wyarra, at Springton. Two of the children, Stuart and Malcolm, lived their whole life in the area.
Across his adult life Edward was a prolific contributor to the newspaper, principally the Advertiser, in a column called “Out Amongst the People” written by a journalist with the pseudonym VOX. In this column Edward Hall reminisced about his early life and his memories of all the places he lived as a child.
Pamela Rothwell Kempe died in 1949 aged 57 and Edward Hall Kempe died in 1963 age 75.
