Ned Kelly Uncovered

Join Tony Robinson on an archaeological dig unearthing details of Ned Kelly’s infamous last gun battle in 1880. Ned Kelly Uncovered follows the first ever excavation of the Glenrowan Inn site where the iconic Australian bushranger and his gang holed up for a showdown with police. Nearly 130 years later, can a team of archaeologists and historians reveal new insights into Ned Kelly’s final moments of freedom? With expert commentary from Kelly experts Ian Jones and Alex McDermott, this one-hour documentary follows a seven-week dig led by archaeologist Adam Ford.

As the archaeologists unearth a host of artefacts including cartridges and bullets, the team conducts tests with fascinating results. Meanwhile, the historians strip back the myth, piecing together the clues to give a detailed new look at an iconic Australian, literally from the ground up.

Link: Purchase ABC Shop

The Story Of Ned Kelly
Picture Pond Media Productions

'The Story of Ned Kelly is a vivid and authentic account of the 25-year life that generated Australia's most enduring legend. The man hidden by the iconic mask is revealed in a exciting journey through the events of Ned Kelly's life and the country that shaped it. Each phase of the story - told through rare photographs and press drawings - is enriched by an exploration of the sites as they are today. Join Ian Jones at Stringybark Creek, Glenrowan, Beechworth, Woolshed Valley, the Police Caves and many other places that still echo the turbulent Kelly years... The journey of a lifetime.'

Introduced by Ian Jones and narrated by Charles "Bud" Tingwell, this DVD, boasting extra features, is a major update to the original VHS edition and is well worth adding to your Kelly Gang video collection.

Link: Purchase Ironoutlaw Shop

Besieged — The Ned Kelly Story

'An Australian/Irish International Co-Production, Besieged was filmed in the North-East Region of Victoria, Kelly Country. Australian outlaw Ned Kelly's life has been the subject of many films including the Tony Richardson film starring Mick Jagger, and more recently the Heath Ledger film also staring Geoffrey Rush. Ned Kelly's exploits are well known, and they raise the question was he an outlaw, a freedom fighter or a murdering terrorist? This documentary sets out to examine these issues and to tell the historically accurate story of Ned Kelly.'

Directors: Gregory Miller and Barrie Dowdall
Producers: Barrie Dowdall and Gregory Miller
Narration: Chris Haywood
Featuring: Peter Fenton
Appearing: Ian Jones, Keith McMenomy, Siobhan McHugh, Ellen Hollow, and Roma Crotty
Length: 52 minutes

Bail Up!
National Film and Sound Archive

The back sleeve states, 'A selection of fragments and scenes from the only known surviving silent titles of Australia's bushranger films which, in the silent years of our cinema, were both prolific and popular.

They were a distinctive genre and a significantly part of our cultural heritage. But by 1912, censorship bans, provoked by ideas of law and order and morality, effectively robbed Australian moviegoers of a national screen identity. We were then to be culturally colonised by the Hollywood cowboy.'

Needless to say these cowboys were a poor cousin to our own “wild colonial boys”. It is interesting to note that three years after the Government imposed these strict censorship laws on morality they shipped off tens of thousands of young Australians to die overseas in World War One!

Produced by the National Film and Sound Archive, this VHS video includes scenes from The Story Of The Kelly Gang, both the 1906 and 1910 re-release, Thunderbolt from 1910, The Kelly Gang from 1920, Robbery Under Arms from 1920 and When The Kellys Were Out from 1923. It is a fascinating insight into the early Australian movie industry and the views of turn of the century society.