 The
year 2000 saw a boom in the interest of Ned and his
gang. In Sydney, we had hundreds of Kellys running
around the main arena at the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
A few months later, world renowned author Peter Carey
shot to number one here in Australia with his best
selling fiction title True
History of the Kelly Gang — notice I
put the word fiction in bold letters because it is
fiction, dear people. Fast forward three years and
we saw Heath Ledger don the famous armour in a movie
adaptation of the very ordinary book Our
Sunshine. The movie may be factually flawed
but its big name actors did manage to mask many of
the books low points. And speaking of celluloid, Fanatic
Heart, the story of Joe Byrne, has been put
on definite hold. Maybe the producers got wind of
the claims by Gary Dean, author of Ned
Kelly and Friends and owner of Ned Kelly's
World in Glenrowan.
 |
Photo Peter O'Keefe |
It seems Gary
is on the hunt for Joe Byrne's diaries which he claims
are now on the verge of being unearthed! Study Mr
Dean even closer and amidst the wealth of facts and
figures he is adamant Steve and Dan escaped Glenrowan
and went on to live long and prosperous lives. So
if that is the case then whose remains were raked
from the ashes of the Jones Inn? Okay, so some people
think Gary is as mad as a hatter, but I figure colourful
characters like Mr Dean go a long way in promoting
debate on the Kelly legend.
Ned and the
boys may have departed this earth 125 years ago but
the legend continues to grow. At
any given week, in any major newspaper, you’ll
be able to read a story relating to the Kelly Gang.
Now more than ever we are bombarded with new exhibitions,
talk of new documentaries, and auction houses flogging
off anything — and nothing — to do with
the Kelly legend. So you try to look for some guidance,
but where do you start? Back in 1995 when the net
was still in it's infancy I started searching for
information on Ned Kelly. What I found was a poorly
designed — even for back then — shambles.
Then and there I decided to start my own site. Hundreds
of hours, three URL changes (www.netspace.net.au/~bradwebb then
www.ncs.net.au/nedkelly and
finally www.ironoutlaw.com), and five total
site rebuilds later, the end result is now sitting
in front of you. At
last count, this web site weighed in at 86.4 megabyte — 625.9
megabyte on
the CD — with
342 html pages, 846 asset files, 40359 links,
and an average of over
11 million hits a year.
 The
photo right is of myself and my sister Narelle
standing next to some dodgy armour at one of the
numerous Kelly museums that could be found around
Benalla back in the mid seventies.
Ian Jones tells
the story of how, as a boy of 10, he was first introduced
to the legend of Ned through reading J.J. Kenneally’s The
Inner History of the Kelly Gang. I was 8 when
I first went to Glenrowan but, unlike Ian, it took
me a few more years to realise what impact Ned had
made on the Australian psyche. I suppose Ian didn’t
have television to distract him back in 1940... Still,
I always had a fascination for all things Australian.
When other kids were watching Mickey Mouse, I was
reading Blinky Bill. My GI Joe was dressed in Kelly
armour that I'd made out of toilet rolls, sewn together
with black cotton and coloured in with gray texta.
Today I run a graphic design studio and during my
spare time, when I'm not sleeping, I'm building this
website. Sure there have been countless books, reviews,
films and discussions stemming from the infamous
uprising but they have never been placed into one
easy to access online reference. History has always
fascinated me, particularly Australian history. This
website compliments my thirst for knowledge, allowing
me to share my passion with like minded souls. It
also helps hone my writing skills as I labour away
finishing a Masters, during my “other” spare
time.
My
Kelly Connection
Ask any Australian
(or for that matter any Kelly buff the world over)
and they will tell you a story about their great
grandparents riding shot gun for the Kelly Gang or
feeding their horses or hiding them in their cellar
(take your pick, the lists can go on for pages!).
Well, not to be outdone, I too have a tenuous link
to the legends of home made armour. Yes, my father’s
mother (ie. my grandmother) came from a small country
town in Victoria called Violet Town, situated right
there in the thick of things at Kelly Country.
 Before
packing up all their belongings (including the children)
and embarking on the long journey to Melbourne (by
horse and cart after the Great War), the Radbourne
family had been store owners. It seems great great
grand dad had supplied Ned and his fellow band of
merry men various goods during their time on the
run. However, I did get the impression he was none
too happy with these customers, but he held the local
constabulary in lower regard and seeing Ned did pay
his way he continued to serve him. So there you have
it, my Kelly connection. Although seeing all who
were involved in this story are dead you will just
have to take my word for it. At least my Kelly link
has a bit more meat on it than that self styled historian
Ken Oldis’ far flung claim...
Aims and
Ideals
 This
EK symbol is based on the brand Ned Kelly used. The
E and reversed K conjoined was carried by all Kelly's
horses including the impressive bay mare Mirth which
he rode through most of his outlaw years.
Start searching
the net to find information on this icon of Australian
history and you'll discover a mismatch of poorly
constructed and thought out sites. All these sites
do is add to the confusion. It is Ironoutlaw.com’s
aim to attempt to list every important event linked
to the Kelly Gang, and in doing so hopefully open
up some relevant topics for discussion in the Feedback section.
And if it is not here then you will at least find
a Link to
it. And my reward? Well, aside from showcasing my
company's HTML talent, the hundreds of emails I receive
from around the world is payment enough. You would
be surprised at some of the countries where our Ned
has been recognised! |
Benalla
cemetary ex-caretaker Rueben Gerecke along with
his wife take time out from the feed at the Ned:
The Exhibition opening at the Old Melbourne Gaol
on 19 October 2001 for a picture with yours truly
As
far as a “true history” is concerned
Ned never had the time in his short life to settle
down with a wife and child. Something that Carey
chose to ignore because, after all, adding a few
false characters is bound to enhance the story. That
it did, to the detriment of historical fact. But
this is a piece of fiction, and it has brought Ned
to the attention of the world. So full marks on a
PR point of view, and I have to admit, for a work
of fiction it is a bloody good read!
This
website is full of images and quotes taken from a variety
of sources over the past ten years. I must thank a
number of individuals and organisations who have loaned
me the use of various items for display in this virtual
museum. Most are probably not aware of their generosity
but I feel they should be formally acknowledged for
their contributions to the Ironoutlaw: Max Brown, Chester
Eagle, Ian Jones and Browyn Binns, Keith McMenomy,
Nicky Cowie, Angie Baron, The State Library of Victoria,
The Public Records Office of Victoria, Ben Collins,
Ellen Hollow, Dave Fagan, Matthew Deller, Brendan Pearse,
Paul O'Keefe, Noeleen Lloyd, Judith and Eric
Douthie, and
the extended Kelly clan.
