From stamps
to movies to the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Ned Kelly
has become one with the Australian psyche. He's had more written
about him than anyone else in Australian history. As our greatest folk
hero Ned Kelly has become one of the unsuspecting fathers of Australian
nationalism, and with each passing year Ned's myth grows stronger.
But was Ned Kelly just another crazed bushranger or a victim of the
system – a
desperate young man forced to shoot and steal to protect his own? Come
with us on a journey as we delve into stories from the past 150 plus
years and on the way discover for yourself the true history
of the Kelly Gang.
ABC1
presents the documentary Ned
Kelly Uncovered on Thursday 9th
July at 8:30pm, hosted by well-known British
actor, author and presenter Tony Robinson (from
Blackadder).
Based on an archaeological dig undertaken in
Glenrowan, the show will reportedly 'unearth'
new details of Ned Kelly's infamous last gun
battle in 1880. Will the dig site shed new
light on the motivations of a man cast into
legend by history? Or have souvenir hunters
destroyed any chance historians have of uncovering
the truth? While I'm sure we are all looking
forward to Ian Jones' commentary, the same
cannot be said for the other 'expert' Alex
McDermott... [ned
kelly uncovered]
CAPTAIN JACK IS
BACK!
After
viewing the Edgar
Penzig fiasco on the ABC a few
weeks back the good Captain Jack Hoyle (retired)
has put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)
and sent ironoutlaw.com a
'balls and all' detailed report titled The
McCormick Incident which focuses on what really
happened between Ned Kelly, Ben Gould, Constable
Edward Hall and the McCormicks. [the
mccormick incident]
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
judgement, remember you should never impose 21st
century sensibility onto harsh 19th century reality. [about
ned kelly]
FREE KELLY TOURS
AT THE STATE LIBRARY
While
it's always fun to watch the pigeons crap all
over the hanging Judge Redmond Barry's head
outside the State
Library of Victoria in Swanston Street,
apparently it's also worth a visit inside.
Seems not only is there lots of book to read
but Ironoutlaw.com's
very own (now that she's written a story for
us) Airi Repetti takes punters on a Kelly inspired
tour of the establishment. And best of all
it's free! For 2009, the tour time table is
every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 10.30am. [how
a finnish girl ended up as a kelly
tour guide]
IRONOUTLAW.COM ON
YOUR iPHONE
Now
you can take Ned
Kelly where ever you go with Ironoutlaw.com
Wireless. The first two sections in
our Hand Held Edition include A
Short History and The
Jerilderie Letter. This exclusively designed
web site allows easy access from your iPhone,
iPod Touch, Pocket PC, PDA, WAP phone, Blackberry,
Symbian OS, Candybar or Sony PSP. [wireless]
Alan
Crichton likes to write, just take a look at
our Feedback section.
And seeing Alan's got so much to say ironoutlaw.com decided
to give him his own section. While I'm sure
he'll continue to fill up our feedback pages
he's now got somewhere else to 'Keep
Ya Powder Dry'. This month Alan continues
with his asylum theme thanks to another scary
visit, this time to the Glenrowan Siege Dinner
held on Friday June 26th at the Glenrowan Hotel. [keep
ya powder dry]
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]
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]
IRONOUTLAW GETS
ALL CULTURED LIKE
To
commemorate the passing of Ned Kelly on November
11th, we thought this year we'd add a new section
to the web site and invite all those budding
poets out there to put pen to paper (or fingers
to keyboards) and send in your best pieces
for our new Poetry page.
This section has taken on a life of it's own
with a number of poets adding their words weekly.
Any more takers? [poetry]
NED
KELLY ON YOU MYSPACE AND YOUTUBE
To
keep our readers entertained (we hope), occasionally
we source a Ned Kelly related MySpace or
YouTube clip.
So this time up click, sit back and enjoy a Channel Ten
report on the (now completed) archaeological dig on the
site of the Jones Inn, scene of the 1880 Siege of Glenrowan
(and marvel at the complete lack of understanding Gary
Dean shows when it comes to how fires 'breathe'). [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. Politicians from the now ex-Prime Minister
John Howard to a confused NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt
have jumped on the teaching history bandwagon. But at what
cost? From Right Wing Liberals
(remember them?) 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 (and it needn't always be written by the victors).
[site map]
GO SHOPPING
Long
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made from 100% cotton and comes in size Medium (12-14).
Featuring three quarter length red sleeves, the official ironoutlaw.com women's
tee shirt is the ultimate Kelly fashion statement. Printed
front and back in colour-fast inks, we guarantee these
tees are built to last.