Ned Kelly was born in June 1855 to a proud Irish Catholic family whose resentment of the British set the precedent for his life. Washed deep with the convict stain, Ned’s destiny was cast in a defiant mold. The story of his short life was one that saw him and three mates take on corrupt police, greedy land barons and an ignorant government in a quest to change their world for the better. Wrongly accused, they survived a deadly shoot out with police in 1878 that saw Ned, his brother Dan, and their mates Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, outlawed with the largest reward ever offered in the British Empire – dead or alive. Over the next eighteen months the Kelly Gang held up two country towns and robbed their banks, without firing a single shot; wrote numerous essays explaining their actions; and became folk heroes to the masses. Their grand plan to derail a special police train and declare a Republic of North East Victoria came to a fiery end in Glenrowan when they donned their famous but cumbersome armour against an overwhelming police force. By November 11, 1880 the era of the Kelly Gang drew to a close when Ned, after a brief trial, was hanged. Yet the legacy of his life and the cord he struck within a young Australia, unwilling to bend to injustice, saw Ned Kelly become Australia’s most enduring legend.
This special report was written by Alan Crichton and features an exclusive interview with Noelene Allen, author of the upcoming Ellen Kelly book Ellen: a woman of spirit which will be launched later this year during the annual Ned Kelly Beechworth Weekend on Saturday 4th August at Tanswells Hotel from 2.30pm. [ellen: a woman of spirit]
For those unable to make the official book launch of Ellen: a woman of spirit during the upcoming 2012 Ned Kelly Weekend in Beechworth this August, you can now pre-purchase your signed copy for $34.95 plus postage. Deliveries will commence on 1st August 2012. [shopping]
KELLY'S DEFENCE BY A LADY
For the next installment of Keep Ya Powder Dry, Alan Crichton turns his attention to the mysterious woman who put pen to paper and wrote quite an eloquent and thought provoking piece on the failings of Ned Kelly's trial. What's most surprising is her insight into the trial's details and the fact it was written in 1880. As Alan writes in his introduction, 'For those readers who are uncertain of Ned Kelly’s guilt or judgement passed on him, maybe this letter will help you make up your mind. You be the judge.' [keep ya powder dry]
FACE TO FACE ON FACEBOOK
Here at ironoutlaw.com we thought it was high time we joined the social network scene, so we have decided to grab a bit of facebook action. To all you Kelly folk out there who may feel obliged to join in please do so and add your two cents worth, virtually speaking, seeing it's free to join – although facebook will probably collect your soul once you are dead, or maybe sooner... [facebook]
BACK TO THE FUTURE
With
all this digging around what better way to bring
back the virtual past than a visit to the Internet
Archive WayBack Machine. Our site has impressions
dating back to August 17, 2001. So if you're
feeling a tad nostalgic but can't afford the
time to whip up a flux-converter simply click
the link below and relive the glory days. The
Internet Archive was founded with the express
aim to build an Internet library, with the purpose
of offering permanent access for researchers,
historians, and scholars to historical collections
that exist in digital format (like us). [wayback
machine]
THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF NED KELLY
Why
did Ned Kelly live
such a larger than life existence, one that has
enthralled millions of people over this past
century? Why didn't Ned just take what was dished
up? Live a poor, honest, harsh life and die a
broken man like thousands of other peasants throughout
time? Well, if Ned did we would never have heard
of him, nor spent countless hours debating his legacy. It's time to read the facts of his life
and decide for yourself. But before you pass
judgment, remember you should never impose 21st
century sensibility onto harsh 19th century reality. [about
ned kelly]
Ned Kelly: A Pictorial History explores the legend of Ned Kelly in never before seen interactive detail. Readers can now view photographs and documents in high definition and track the pictorial history of Ned in a clear and concise manner. As a bonus this edition also includes the entire collection of Ned Kelly related correspondence from his 1870 letter to Sergeant Babington at age fifteen to his last correspondence to the Marquis of Normanby the day before his execution. This book can only be viewed using iBooks 2 on an iPad. iOS 5 is required.
[itunes bookstore]
THE GIRL WHO LOVED NED KELLY - REVIEW
IronOutlaw.com would like to welcome Sophie Masson, award winning author of 'The Hunt For Ned Kelly', and her report on Paul O'Keefe's recent sell-out talk at the Balmain Town Hall on his great, great grandmother Ettie Hart titled The Girl Who Loved Ned Kelly. For those of us unlucky to see Paul's talk live this article is the next best thing!
[the girl who loved ned kelly – review]
UNCOVERING NED'S BONES IS ONLY THE START
One of Australia's leading social commentary web sites Independent Australia recently commissioned IronOutlaw.com to write an article about the rediscovery of Ned Kelly's headless skeleton and it's possible implications for both the government and the family. The article also examines a number of possibilities as to the whereabouts of Ned's missing skull and the current the location of his brain. [rediscovery of ned's bones]
THE NON-DEAD POETS SOCIETY
We
here at ironoutlaw.com invite
all those budding poets out there to put pen
to paper (or fingers to keyboards) and send
in your best pieces for our Poetry section.
The poet area has taken on a life of its own
with a number of scribes including Mollie
Schollum adding their words on a regular
basis. So, any more takers? [poetry]
COME HAVE YOUR SAY
Have
a question or opinion on Ned and the boys you
would like to share with the rest of us? Then
head over to our Feedback section
where you can send in your thoughts or read through
what's been said before. We also have a Feedback
Vault with an archive of thousands of letters
from the past ten years. There's enough words
here to keep you busy for the next few months... [feedback]
GET YOUR KELLY FIX ON NEDTUBE
The iBook video introduction to Ned Kelly: A Pictorial History was kindly supplied by the Director of The Legend Of Ned Kelly. The video captures the moment Melbourne photographer John Chidley photographs Ned Kelly, commemorating his victory in a 20-round bare-knuckle boxing match at Beechworth on August 8th 1874 over opponent Isaiah ‘Wild’ Wright. [nedtube]
TEACHING
HISTORY
While
not
everyone wants to read about Ned Kelly or the ANZAC's or
even The Great Depression, we hope they
want to learn something about
Australian History. From the ex-Prime Minister
John Howard to a confused ex-NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt
(see the pattern here?) a number of politicians have jumped on the teaching history bandwagon. But at what
cost? From Right Wing Liberals
to the multitude of State Governments, seems
everyone has an agenda. We'd like to let the readers decide
what is worth learning. Here at ironoutlaw.com we
present the facts, the fiction and everything in between. It
all adds to the experience and hopefully makes History an exciting
place to be (as it needn't always be 'written by the victors').
[site map]
GO SHOPPING
If you're looking for that perfect gift then head over to the IronOutlaw.com shop where we have just landed a new shipment of extra large (XL) size Ned Kelly T-Shirts. We also have some specials on at the moment including A. N. Baron's Blood In The Dust for only $19.95 and Ned: The Exhibition for $9.95. Please note all our items carry Free Postage within Australia and all money raised goes back into building the world's greatest Ned Kelly web site, IronOutlaw.com!.
Ned Kelly: A Pictorial History
