Ipswich memorial to Dan Kelly
Suzanne Hall
11 November 1998

HALF A CENTURY after his gruesome death, a memorial has been erected at the grave site of a man who claimed he was an escaped member of the legendary Kelly Gang. James Ryan, buried in the pauper's section of Ipswich Cemetery, said his true identity was Dan Kelly: the brother of Australia's most famous bushranger, Edward 'Ned' Kelly. The memorial, which included a sandstone marker to identify the grave, a replica of Ned Kelly's suit of armour and a plaque recounting his story, was erected today in order to honour his memory after 50 years, says Ipswich Councillor Paul Tully. Erected on 11 November, it was also the 118th anniversary of Ned Kelly's hanging in Melbourne Gaol.

Tully has been researching James Ryan's life for 15 years and hopes to publish a book on Ryan's life next year. "In 1933, a man went into The Sunday Truth and claimed to be Dan Kelly, and a series of articles ran on him for about five weeks" says Tully. Ryan wrongly believed the Statute of Limitations protected him from being charged after fifty years, which is why the swagman finally made the startling claims. During the Kelly gang's final stand in Glenrowan, Victoria in June 1880, police set the Glenrowan Hotel alight. Two bodies found burnt beyond recognition were believed to be those of gang members, Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne. However, Ryan claimed "in the smoke and confusion of the fire they escaped and fled to Queensland," says Tully.

“Ryan had two physical characteristics which supported his story: he had massive scar tissue on his lower back and abdomen; which he said he obtained in the fire; and the initials DK branded on his buttocks... there is no proof he was Dan Kelly, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence,” he says. “He knew intimate details of the Kelly family, and would ask people to challenge his knowledge, but no one was ever able to,” says Tully. Tully began his research in 1983 out of scepticism: "I'm turning 48 and I thought 'how could a bushranger still be alive in 1948, just three years before I was born? Then I realised the Kelly Gang was very young. It's a part of very recent Australian history," he says.

However, Barry Macarthur, author of Out, Out Brief Candle believes it was actually Ned Kelly himself buried in Ipswich. Macarthur, a teacher in Wangaratta, believes Ned's escape more likely, and it was actually Dan who was tried and hung in Melbourne, despite arguments that there were differences in height and appearance of the brothers. Regardless of his true identity, Ryan's death was remarkably similar to his brother Ned's. They both met a violent end. "On 29 July 1948, he had just been released from hospital and somehow made his way into Ipswich. He was walking along a rail line when he was hit by a coal train and killed instantly. He was decapitated. "A lot of people in the area knew him and remember him," says Tully.