Alexander ‘half cut’ Fitzpatrick But though nothing material is to be gained now as far as the outlaws themselves are concerned by opening up the question of their defence, so to speak–though it may not be worth while to attempt any vindication of the conduct for which these men have died–there still remain other considerations […]
Rutherglen and Chiltern It was Thursday January 21st when I received an electronic telegraph message from my good friend, Ms Lloyd. She was conveying to me that she and my boss from Ironoutlaw.com, Mr Webb, were travelling up Chiltern way the following day, and would I be up for a visit. Again, I was quite […]
Ned and Dan Kelly? Yes, I’m still alive and kickin’, and I thought I’d try to get something of me chest that’s been driving me crazy for bloody ages (no smart comments please). It all started when I laid eyes on that photo that appeared a few years ago, and was displayed at the Ned […]
The life, the times, the legend of Ned Kelly — bushranger, outlaw, to some folk hero — is perhaps demonstrative of the conundrum presented when one comes to examine the Irish influence in Australian legal history. Speech by John (Jack) Rush QC, Chairman of the Victorian Bar, to the Irish Bar Conference, Sydney, 28 August […]
The following was originally published in a slightly different form by Aidan Phelan on his Facebook page A Guide to Australian Bushranging but it has since been removed, which he will explain as you read on. Aidan doesn’t make a habit of singling out people for public criticism, but in this case he’s willing to […]
Noeleen Lloyd Greta Hansonville Hall, Saturday 23 March 2019 The Armour: the myths, the facts… was held on Saturday 23 February 2019 at the Greta Hansonville Hall. Discussions focused on the Kelly Gang’s armour – how it was made, why it was made, and the impact it has had on history, folklore, and popular culture. One […]
Nick Hawtin proprietor of the award winning blacksmith shop: Rutherglen Forge and Anvil The Armour: the myths, the facts… was held on Saturday 23 February 2019 at the Greta Hansonville Hall. Discussions focused on the Kelly Gang’s armour – how it was made, why it was made, and the impact it has had on history, folklore, […]
An unreliable witness In August of 1877, two young men were seen herding supposedly stolen horses across the Oxley flats, northwards to the Murray River. The two young men were identified by the witness as looking like Daniel Kelly and John Lloyd. The sighting was reported to the Chiltern Police, and eight months later, on […]
Steve Jager In reply to recent paper titled, Ned Kelly and the Myth of a Republic of North-East Victoria by Dr. Stuart E. Dawson, I present my research in defence of Kelly’s Republic/Rebellion. The preface to Dawson’s paper begins with, ‘It is a close examination of a longstanding claim, first made and promoted by influential Kelly historian […]
Will it make ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ look more like ‘Mary Poppins’? Well, it looks like the lads are having another crack at the story of Ned Kelly, but this time focussing their attention on the gang’s final bloodied showdown and destruction in the small town of Glenrowan. I do hope this production goes ahead, as like […]
Brad Webb chats with Matthew Holmes and Aidan Phelan You have the runs on the board thanks to a successful season with The Legend of Ben Hall. Obviously such an undertaking granted you valuable insight in production, distribution, and a number of other factors – so what lessons from that event do you plan to […]
‘GLENROWAN’ PRESS RELEASE Ned Kelly is an Australian icon and to many, a champion of the underdog. But was he really Australia’s Robin Hood, or has a darker truth been masked behind a colourful legend? On the 138th anniversary of Ned Kelly’s capture at Glenrowan, the creative team behind 2016‘s award-winning bushranger epic The Legend […]
The 70th Anniversary of Max Brown’s ‘Australian Son’ It was just the other night that I was scrolling through Facebook, when I was delighted to receive a message from Ms. Lloyd. She was reminding me of the upcoming event to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Max Brown’s iconic book, Australian Son. Mr. Webb, the El […]
Chester Eagle The battle of Glenrowan was all but over, but that wasn’t yet understood. Ned had been captured, brought down by bullets aimed at his legs. He’d been carried to the railway station where he was in the care of Inspector John Sadleir, who had a healthy, if cautious, respect for the outlaw. His […]
Kickstarter Campaign As many are aware of late, a new movie is possibly on the cards titled, The Legend of Ned Kelly. We are told it will be a true and historically accurate account of Ned Kelly’s life. The story could be brought to life on the big screen by a young and very talented […]
MICHAEL FARRELL Despite having authored the renowned The Jerilderie Letter, Ned Kelly, perhaps Australia’s best-known colonial figure, is not regarded as a writer. There is, however, another remarkable Ned Kelly text—another letter— known as the Babington Letter. It is my contention that the Babington Letter can and should read as a poem—as a sonnet—and that […]
KELLY REWARD BOARD Notice All persons claiming to participate in the REWARD offered by the Governments of Victoria and New South Wales, and certain banks trading in the latter colony, are hereby requested to SEND full PARTICULARS (in writing) of such CLAIM, addressed to “Secretary Kelly Reward Board, Post-office, Melbourne, Victoria,” on or before the […]
Sir Redmond Barry The funeral of the late Sir Redmond Barry, K.C.M.G., takes place this afternoon, and although it is to be of a semi-private character, and will be conducted with as little pomp as possible, the cortège will be representative of the whole colony and unusually large. It will start from the residence of […]
THE POLICE AND THE KELLY GANG The following letter has been addressed by Mr. Graves, M. L. A., as representative of Delatite, to the Chief Secretary:― “November 20, 1880. “The Hon. Graham Berry, Premier of Victoria. “Dear Sir.―As the representative of the people of the county of Delatite, I have repeatedly, during the last two […]
MR D. GAUNSON AND THE CONVICT KELLY The following is the petition which has been prepared at Ballarat with a view to directing the attention of the assembly to Mr. Gaunson’s conduct in connexion with the Kelly reprieve agitation. The Ballarat Star states that the petition has been largely signed by persons of all shades […]
THE KELLY HAUNTS The Fortified Hut Of The Gang The following description of the fortified retreat of the Kelly gang is supplied by a trustworthy correspondent:― Leaving Melbourne one day last week, I took a train to Longwood, and from thence coached it to Mansfield, the township which derived so much notoriety through the outbreak […]
THE EXECUTION OF EDWARD KELLY Edward Kelly was executed yesterday morning, in the Melbourne Gaol. The execution took place at 10 o’clock, in the presence of about 30 persons, and as the doomed man had a fall of 8ft. death was instantaneous. The customary forms were duly observed, and the usual inquest was held on […]
THE CONDEMNED BUSHRANGER A meeting of persons desirous of obtaining the reprieve of the prisoner Edward Kelly, or a reconsideration of his case, was held last night in Carlton, and a resolution was passed asking the Chief Secretary to have the case reconsidered by the Executive Council. A deputation, headed by Mr. W. Gaunson, waited […]
THE CONDEMNED BUSHRANGER In accordance with the understanding arrived at on Friday night at the Hippodrome, about 200 persons assembled at half-past 10 o’clock on Saturday morning at the Town-hall, for the purpose of accompanying the brothers Gaunson to Government-house to appeal for a reprieve on behalf of Edward Kelly. The crowd was, however, of […]
THE CONDEMNED BUSHRANGER A meeting was held last evening at the Hippodrome for the purpose of taking into consideration the case of the convict KELLY, now lying in the Melbourne Gaol under sentence of death. For the credit of Melbourne, we regret to say that many thousands were present to express sympathy with one of […]
EDWARD KELLY’S STATEMENT The condemned man Kelly submitted a rambling statement of his case to the Executive on Wednesday. It was a reiteration of what he said in court―that matters would have borne a different aspect had he cross-examined the witnesses; that he did not go out to shoot the constables, but they went out […]
THE TRIAL OF EDWARD KELLY The end of the Mansfield tragedy, which occurred exactly two years ago, has now been nearly reached, inasmuch as the leader and the sole survivor of the gang by whom the police were slaughtered, was yesterday found guilty of murder, and was sentenced to death. There is always a fear […]
THE TRIAL OF EDWARD KELLY The trial of Edward Kelly for the murder of Constable Lonigan on the 28th October, 1878, at Stringybark-Creek, was commenced yesterday before his honour Mr. Justice Redmond Barry, at the Central Criminal Court. The court was filled with jurors and others before the opening hour. Mr. C. A. Smyth and […]
THE TRIAL OF EDWARD KELLY The trial of Edward Kelly was to have taken place yesterday, in the Central Criminal Court, before his honour Mr. Justice Barry. A large concourse of people assembled in front of the court for some time before the court was opened, expecting they would be allowed admittance. An additional jury […]
THE TRIAL OF EDWARD KELLY An application was made to his Honour Mr. Justice Barry, who was presiding in the Central Criminal Court yesterday, that the trial of Edward Kelly, who was committed on a charge of murdering Constable Thomas Lonigan, should be postponed till next sittings. Mr. Molesworth, who appeared on behalf of the […]
THE TRIAL OF EDWARD KELLY An application was made to Mr. Justice Barry in chambers on Saturday by Mr. C. A. Smyth, Crown prosecutor, for an order to transfer the trial of Edward Kelly from the Beechworth Circuit Court to the Central Criminal Court. The application was made under section 33 of the Judicature Act. […]
EDWARD KELLY BEFORE THE POLICE COURT Whoever else may have been guilty of a neglect of duty with regard to the Kelly gang, the fault cannot certainly be imputed to the ex-Chief Secretary, Mr. RAMSAY. And one of the wisest of the acts of that gentleman was the order that the prisoner, EDWARD KELLY, shall […]
EDWARD KELLY BEFORE THE POLICE COURT When the last train arrived to-night the blinds of a second-class compartment were found to be down over the windows. The guard on opening the door expected to find some passenger asleep inside. But a surprise awaited him; the door on the opposite side of the compartment was standing […]
EDWARD KELLY BEFORE THE POLICE COURT (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER) Beechworth, Monday. The hearing of evidence in the case of Edward Kelly, the bushranger, was resumed this morning before Mr. Foster, P.M., in the Beechworth Police Court, the particular charge under investigation being still that of Constable Lonigan. The attendence of the […]
EDWARD KELLY BEFORE THE POLICE COURT (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER) Beechworth, Saturday. The preliminary examination of the case of Edward Kelly was resumed this morning by Mr. Foster, P.M., in the Beechworth Police Court. The prisoner was brought from the gaol, as before, in a cab about 8 o’clock in the morning, […]
EDWARD KELLY BEFORE THE POLICE COURT The notorious leader of the Kelly gang of bushrangers was brought before the Beechworth Police Court yesterday, charged with having on the 26th October, 1878, murdered Constables Lonigan and Scanlan, at Stringybark Creek. The prisoner was brought from the gaol in a cab at 8 o’clock, unknown to anyone, […]
THE KELLY GANG (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR OWN REPORTER) Beechworth, Thursday. The preliminary examination of the charges against Edward Kelly will be commenced to-morrow, at the Beechworth Police Court. Two charges will be preferred against the prisoner―first, that he murdered Constable Lonigan; and, second, that he murdered Constable Scanlan, and it is the intention […]
REMOVAL OF KELLY TO BEECHWORTH The question of bringing the criminal Edward Kelly before the City Police Court has during the past few days been under the consideration of the Crown Law officers, and it was ultimately decided that it would be necessary, in order to comply with the law, to remand the criminal to […]
MR CURNOW’S STATEMENT The chief commissioner of police has received the following report from Mr. Curnow, late schoolmaster at Glenrowan, of his proceedings in connexion with the Kelly gang:― “On Sunday morning, 27th June, at about 11 o’clock, Mrs. Curnow, my sister, brother-in-law, and myself were out for a drive, when, in passing through Stanistreet’s […]
DESPERATE FIGHT WITH BUSHRANGERS Destruction Of the Kelly Gang No event that has occurred in the colony for some time past has excited a greater degree of interest in Victoria and the neighbouring colonies than the annihilation, under circumstances of an extraordinarily tragic nature, of the gang of outlawed bushrangers and murderers known as the […]
A KELLY INCIDENT Our Wangaratta correspondent writes:― “In order to show the manner and extent of the terrorism which has so long prevailed in this district, I may mention an occurrence which took place in the immediate neighbourhood of Wangaratta some months ago. Even now the facts have not been disclosed by the police, but […]
SOUTH AUSTRALIA (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT) Adelaide, Sunday. It is stated that the Kelly family formerly resided at Penwortham, a village near Watervale, in this colony. The Wrights were also living there. Both families went to Victoria when the diggings broke out. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE KELLY GANG Ned Kelly’s Condition At a late hour […]
THE KELLY GANG It has transpired since … to the Kelly gang. At … night Edward Kelly was … Castieau, the governor of the Melbourne Gaol, to be progressing favourably. In the afternoon he was interviewed by Mr. Ramsay, the Chief Secretary, who was accompanied by Mr. Odgers, the Under-secretary. Nothing of importance transpired, neither […]
THE KELLY GANG AND THE POLICE To The Editor Of The Argus Sir,—May I offer a few remarks bearing on the capture of the Kelly gang. There is, I think, little doubt that they, through foolhardiness and want of foresight, gave themselves into the hands of the police. They had plenty of opportunities to escape […]
DESTRUCTION OF THE KELLY GANG The excitement created by the latest news with respect to the Kelly gang had not abated to any great extent yesterday, when exaggerated reports were circulated with regard to the proceedings of some of the relatives and friends of the Kellys. The full reports published elsewhere show that there were […]
DESTRUCTION OF THE KELLY GANG That Mr. RAMSAY deserves great praise for the energy which he has thrown into the administration of the police in connexion with the Kelly search is evident from the narrative which we published yesterday. And one of his acts most to be commended is the despatch of Superintendent CHOMLEY to […]
DESTRUCTION OF THE KELLY GANG On Saturday, October 26, 1878, Sergeant KENNEDY and two police constables were murdered in cold blood by a gang of four men who took the name of their leader, EDWARD KELLY, a well-known thief; since then the gang have plundered and murdered at pleasure, defying justice with success until their […]
ANOTHER KELLY OUTRAGE After the lapse of several months the Kelly gang have re-appeared, and as will be seen by the particulars given elsewhere, have added another murder to those they committed at Mansfield. It appears that during the past few months an old associate of the band, more particularly of Joseph Byrne, a selector […]
THE KELLY GANG Whether these outlaws are still in the colony or not is a question that is regarded by many people as problematical. The police and the residents in what is known as the Kelly district, however, positively assert that the outlaws are still in the country, and there is little doubt that this […]
THE KELLY GANG (FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN ENSIGN, MAY 21) The second step in connection with the abandonment of the Kelly pursuit is the withdrawal from Benalla and their restoration to Queensland of the detachment of Queensland native police, who, under the leadership of Lieutenant O’Connor, have so long remained here pending an outbreak of the […]
THE KELLY GANG Mr. Ramsay, the Chief Secretary, visited Mansfield on the 21st inst. to be present at the unveiling of the monument erected by public subscription to the memory of Police-sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan and Scanlan, who were murdered by the Kelly gang in the Wombat Ranges on the 26th October, 1878. The […]
THE KELLY GANG To The Editor Of The Argus Sir,―Before the practical abandonment of the search for the Kelly gang, I beg to offer a suggestion through your valuable columns anent their capture. Those who have read Roman history will call to mind a period during the consulship of Pompey and Crassus, when the waters […]
THE POLICE MEMORIAL AT MANSFIELD Mansfield, Thursday. The heavy rain which set in yesterday morning still continue. At the Police Court this morning before Messrs. Kitchen, Tomkins, and Shaw, J.P.’s, Edward Monk, late of the Wombat, who, it will be remembered, caused much sensation by declaring that he had been shot at by some of […]
THE POLICE FORCE AND RED TAPE (FROM THE RIVERINA HERALD, APRIL 13) Redtapeism was ever a prominent feature of the business of all departments of the Government service, and was more especially noticeable in matters immediately connected with the police force. This curse of redtape officialism has been spoken and written against times innumerably, but […]
THE MANSFIELD MURDERS The feeling of dissatisfaction with regard to the organisation of the police force is shared in by the Government, and the subject has been under discussion in the Cabinet of late. Action is to be taken at the earliest opportunity, but so far no definite scheme of reform has been sketched out. […]
THE ATROCIOUS MURDERS OF POLICE Outrage At Euroa It is now over two months since the police camp in the Wombat Ranges was attacked by the Kelly gang of bushrangers, and the three policeman murdered. Not only have the four murderers successfully evaded a large number of police who were sent immediately in pursuit, but […]
THE MANSFIELD MURDERS There is for the present no intelligence whatever respecting the Mansfield murders. As showing the feeling of insecurity which prevails, we give the following communication from our correspondent at Wood’s Point, dated December 20:―”The banks to-day send away all gold and money. They have stopped all issue, and closed for two or […]
THE MANSFIELD MURDERS (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Benalla, Friday, 9 P.M. Another quiet day has passed, without a single sensational rumour relative to the whereabouts of the Kelly gang having been received. Another party of troopers left the township towards evening, but their destination was kept secret. The number of detectives at […]
THE POLICE MURDERS Elsewhere we publish a circular adopted by a committee of gentlemen at Mansfield, inviting contributions towards a fund for the erection of a monument in memory of Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Scanlan and Lonigan, who were murdered by the Kelly gang on the 26th October last. We have been requested by the […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The Chief Secretary repeated yesterday the statement that Captain Standish is arming the police as rapidly as possible. Mr. Berry on Tuesday passed an account of £500 for firearms furnished recently to the force. The Chief Secretary, at the instance of Mr. Graves, has promised that the families of the police officers […]
THE POLICE MURDERS An application was made yesterday afternoon to the Chief Justice by Mr. Gurner, the Crown Solicitor, for an order adjudging the Kellys and the two unknown men to be outlaws for not having surrendered at Mansfield on the 12th inst. as required by a former order. The application was supported by an […]
THE POLICE MURDERS (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Benalla, Thursday, 1o P.M. There has been absolutely nothing doing here to-day. None of the search parties that are out have sent in any information as to their movements. There is no doubt that the weather that prevailed during the past week has been very […]
THE POLICE MURDERS (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Benalla, Wednesday, 11 P.M. This has been a very quiet day, the authorities have decided to give the men and horses who are in a days rest. There are still two or three parties out on different directions, but nothing has been heard from them. […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The Mansfield Guardian states that last week Mr. Kitchen wrote to Mr. Graves, M.L.A., requesting him to bring under the notice of the Government the desirability of erecting a suitable monument in the Mansfield cemetery to the memory of the three brave fellows who were so foully murdered by the Kelly gang […]
THE POLICE MURDERS (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Wangaratta, Sunday, 9 P.M. The early train from here yesterday took down to Benalla the seven troopers and the black tracker who were sent up to Beechworth by special train on Thursday morning. These men returned here on Friday morning, and with their horses were […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The police have not yet succeeded in obtaining any definite information as to where the Kelly gang of bushrangers are at present. A party under Inspector Brooke Smith have been searching for the past few days in the direction of Yarrawonga, but have found no trace of the miscreants in that district. […]
THE POLICE MURDERS (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH) (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Benalla, Thursday, 8 P.M. The police have had information respecting the Kelly gang in their possession during the past day or two, but it was not considered desirable to make use of it, owing to its doubtful character, until yesterday, when corroborative reports were received, […]
THE PURSUIT OF THE KELLYS (FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER) Wangaratta, Tuesday, 4.30 P.M. The telegram of last night had to be prepared somewhat hurriedly, but very little remains to be added to the details it contained. The place where Margery saw the supposed Kellys was, as far as can be ascertained, from eight to ten […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The latest intelligence respecting the bushrangers does not agree very well with previous reports. According to a telegram from our special reporter, despatched from Wangaratta at a quarter past 11 o’clock last night, the police believe that the gang are still in the neighbourhood of the Murray. Fresh traces of them were […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The report of Superintendent Nicolson that the gang of bushrangers were believed to be lurking in the ranges of “Rats’ Castle,” near Indigo Creek, was acted on promptly, and if the ruffians are really concealed in that quarter, the probability is that by this time they are surrounded by a cordon of […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The report that the Kelly gang of bushrangers have been at the Murray near Barnawartha is now pretty generally credited, and whether they have since crossed the river, are concealed in the ranges about Chiltern, or have returned to their old haunts, seems to be the present problem. The hunting parties appear […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The police murders are still at large, and there does not seem to be any certainty yet as to where they are. Our special reporter telegraphs from Benalla to the effect that the report of the miscreants having stuck up a man named Christian in the Chiltern district has been found to […]
THE POLICE MURDERS The Ministry propose to bring the Outlawry Bill into operation without an hour’s unnecessary delay. A meeting of the Executive Council will be held this morning, at which the bill will receive the Governor’s assent. The Chief Secretary had several interviews with the Chief Commissioner of Police yesterday with a view of […]
Bushranging In Victoria The Mansfield outrages were mentioned in the Assembly again yesterday, hon. members desiring to have assurances from the Chief Secretary that everything possible is being done to apprehend the murderers who are still at large, and to rescue the unfortunate missing Sergeant Kennedy. Mr. Berry mentioned that he had been in consultation […]
Bushranging In Victoria Further particulars of interest of interest regarding the murders of police troopers at Stringybark Creek are telegraphed from Mansfield by our special reporter, and will be found elsewhere. One of the expeditions returned yesterday with the report that a prolonged search had been made in the ranges for Sergeant Kennedy, with no […]
Bushranging In Victoria The bushranging outrage at Springybark Creek was one of the chief topics of conversation in town yesterday. From the full and lucid account telegraphed from Mansfield by our special reporter, it will be seen that the murder of the troopers was deliberately planned by Kelly and his gang, who stole secretly upon […]
Two Constables Shot And A Sergeant Missing A terrible encounter, almost without parallel in Victoria, has taken place near Mansfield, between the police and four bushrangers. The particulars to hand are but meagre, owing to the intelligence having only been received at Mansfield yesterday evening, but they are of such a character as to show […]
Chester Eagle For the ideas and impressions stitched together in this libretto I am indebted to all those who have written about the Kelly outbreak, including J.J. Keneally’s The Inner History of the Kelly Gang, Police Superintendents Sadleir and Hare, and the Royal Commissioners of 1881, but above all to the late Max Brown, whose […]
Karen Carter As online content continues to rapidly expand, Australian history web sites are to some extent, absent in cyberspace. However one Australian history web site is winning accolades and awards for its entertainment, educational and design value. This case study examines the Iron Outlaw web site and investigates what has contributed to the web […]
Introduction On 28 May 2000, Channel Nine’s Sixty Minutes aired a segment titled ‘Kelly On Trial’ which was produced by Stephen Taylor and featured reporter Ellen Fanning. The report examined the flawed Supreme Court murder trial and subsequent sentencing presided over by Judge Redmond Barry. Viewers were asked to go online and submit questions to […]
ABC Lateline – 9 April 2001 Tony Jones speaks with Alex McDermott and Ian Jones. He is editing a new book on Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter, due out in August. He is a masters student at La Trobe University who did his honour thesis on Ned Kelly’s writings. Ian Jones is the author of the […]
Michael Fitzgerald More than a century after his execution, bushranger Ned Kelly continues to inspire a distinctly Australian iconography. For the thousands of visitors now streaming into the State Library of Victoria’s newly opened Ned Kelly exhibit in Melbourne, little if any attention is given to the bronze statue standing in the forecourt outside. It […]
Brian McDonald Ask any Australian child, of primary school aged, to tell you the role these people played in our history; Lachlan Macquarie, Edmund Barton, William Cox, Matthew Flinders, Francis Greenway and Ned Kelly. As you will no doubt imagine, the first five notable figures would have a small percentage of recognition compared with the […]
Captain Jack Hoyle (retired) He also had an argument with another bloke and because of this he knew that the man and his wife were trying to have children, unsuccessfully. So what he did was send a pair of calf testicles to the wife, with a note saying ‘These will be more use to you’. […]
Captain Jack Hoyle (retired) I want to write history that ordinary people will find interesting … (to) give Australians a better understanding of themselves, through differentiating truth from legend in the critical events of history. Alex McDermott In Alex McDermott’s introduction to his book The Jerilderie Letter he names it ‘The Apocalyptic Chant of Edward […]
Sophie Masson Balmain Town Halll7 March 2010 Sydney’s turned on one of its legendary wet evenings for the occasion, usually something that will keep the punters away, frightened off by the inevitable traffic snarls caused by the bucketloads of water wildly tipped down from the sky. And when we come into the Balmain Town Hall, […]
Captain Jack Hoyle (retired) Yuletide Felicitations to all Kellyites!! And congratulations and thank you to Paul O’Keefe for his courageous raising of the “is it or isn’t it Joe Byrne?” debate. I too have puzzled over this perplexing issue, sometimes agreeing, other times wondering how it could be the same man as the verifiable image […]
Captain Jack Hoyle (retired) There are many forgotten stories hidden in the newspapers from the days of the notorious and bold Kelly Gang. Tall tales and true, to thrill and delight; this is the first of an occasional series of lost words from the pages of history. The following article was published in newspapers across […]
Captain Jack Hoyle (retired) ‘The Kelly hunters: dispatch challenges bushranger myth’ Sydney Morning Herald July 17, 2009. The headline in Melbourne’s Age July 17, 2009 was grander: ‘Crime scene dispatch challenges Kelly Mythos’. Carolyn Webb reports on the discovery of lost police files and letters and that Dr Robert Haldane ‘will give a talk titled […]
Michele Eve In 1803 we sailed out to seaOut from the sweet town of DerryFor Australia bound if we didn’t all drownAnd the marks of our fetters we carried. In the rusty iron chains we sighed for our wainsAs our good wives we left in sorrow.As the mainsails unfurled our curses we hurledOn the English […]
Michele Eve An overview of the 2010 Ned Kelly Beechworth Weekend Evidently I like Australia and, it might be argued, I also have scant regard for my carbon footprint. Flying around the world again is going to mean a LOT of trips to the recycling centre. On a push bike. Will I go and see […]
Michele Eve This little story is a mixture of truths and real events all joined together and mixed up with what I imagine could have been some of the emotion. Historically of course Aaron Sherritt has been cast as the bad guy, or at best the fool- the one who betrayed Joe, and was shot […]
Michele Eve In the end I can’t leave his place, can’t leave his body. It is done and I want it not to be- or to do it again I am not rightly sure to tell the truth. After all that time of thinking and now it is done. You bastards…bloody cowards. Come out! A […]
Alan Crichton A letter to Rupert Hammond, ‘owner’ of Joe Byrne’s armour9 February 2010 Hello Mr. Hammond, I would like to first thank you for allowing Joe’s Armour to be displayed along with the other three suits of Gang Armour at the Beechworth Ned Kelly Weekend this coming August. To see the four suits together […]
Michele Eve I knew he had to die. Him or me. Fuck it. Both. I am sure of that now. But I knew even before I let meself think it, weeks more it was before I said as much to Ned. Time when I would sit and wonder how that would be, what I would […]
World Premiere On Saturday 22nd March, 2003, amidst hundreds of adoring fans and too many try hard celebrities I walked the red carpet at the Regent Theatre to watch the world premiere of Ned Kelly. Granted the fans were screaming for Heath and Orlando and not at an overweight Andre Agassi look-a-like, but I didn’t […]
Cut Hair and Bone Fragments My name is Neil Hamilton and I think I have something which may be of interest to you and your readers. Here in South Africa we have, in our family museum, a lock of hair that was supposedly cut from Ned Kelly’s head an hour after his execution by a Dr […]
Blu Astbury My friends and I whiled away many childhood hours in the outback of Australia, role-playing national heroes and icons such as the bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly. Outfitted with upturned buckets on our heads with slits cut out for eyes, we imagined ourselves as Ned Kelly in his infamous iron helmet and armor, […]
Brad Webb This week the media whipped itself into a frenzy over the announcement that bones exhumed from Pentridge Prison in 2009 were indeed those of Ned Kelly. TV, radio, newsprint and the internet all scrambled to go one up on the previous report. The DNA donor, Leigh Olver, went from being Ned’s great grand […]
Airi Repetti Growing up in Finland, I used to watch quite a few Australian TV shows; Skippy was one of the very first I remember, later I just loved Against The Wind and All The Rivers Run. I have vague recollections of watching something Ned Kelly-related and think it may have been The Last Outlaw […]
