NED KELLY
Ned Kelly is Australia’s most famous and talked about bushranger. His
bushranger antics have seen him be remembered as a hero and a villain. Ned was
the leader of the runaway Kelly gang before being captured by police. Ned Kelly
was hanged for crimes such as murder and robbery at the Old Melbourne Gaol in
1880.
Edward (Ned) Kelly was born into a large family in Northern Victoria in 1855. He
was one of twelve children. His father John, was an Irish convict, who had been
transported to Australia for pig stealing, while his mother, Ellen Quinn, also had
problems with the law and spent time in the Old Melbourne Gaol. His family was
seen as poor and had to rely on criminal activity to survive. The Kelly’s were not
known for their intelligence and some people referred to them as the half-witted
hill-billies.
At the age of just 11, Ned was seen as a hero to many, when he risked his own life
as jumped into a river to save a 7 year-old boy from drowning. However, Ned
soon attracted attention for all of the wrong reasons. Before the age of 16, he had
been arrested twice for assault and sentenced to six months in jail. A short time
after being released, he was charged by the police again and spent another three
years in jail. This time he was charged for receiving a stolen horse, although Ned
argued he did not know the horse was stolen.
After being released from Pentridge Prison, Ned Kelly once again found himself
in serious trouble. He was accused of shooting a police officer in the wrist at his
mother’s house during an argument with a policeman. Ned claimed that he had
been set up by the police and was innocent. His mother, Ellen, was also charged
over the same incident with attempted murder. Ned Kelly decided to flee and
hide out with his brother Dan and family friends, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart. The
foursome became known as the Kelly gang and established hideouts in the
Wombat Ranges and surrounding areas. The gang received assistance from
family and friends, who supported the four men, ensuring they were fed and
hard for the police to find.
After months of hiding, Ned Kelly and the rest of the gang were confronted by
four policemen at Stringy Bark Creek near Mansfield. The Kelly gang and the
policemen refused to surrender for each other and the gun fight that followed
resulted in the death of three police officers. The fourth policeman managed to
escape the gunfire, although his horse was not so lucky.
Following the murders of the three policemen, rewards of 2000 pounds were
placed for each of the Kelly gang members. They were wanted dead or alive. The
four men continued to get support from family and friends, but with the large
rewards on offer and increased attention from the police, Ned and his gang were
forced into more criminal activity.
Following the murders at Stringy Bark Creek, the Kelly gang robbed two banks in
North-Eastern Victoria, including the Euroa bank. Ned and his gang were
desperate and needed money to support themselves and their families, who
continued to support the criminals.
Fearing for their lives, the Kelly gang members created their own metal armour,
covering their heads and bodies. While the armour would protect the gang from
fatal gun shot wounds, it left their legs and arms exposed and weighed around
44kg, making it hard for the members to move in. Images of Ned in his armour
are a popular site throughout Victoria in the current day.
Ned Kelly and his three gang members continued hiding from police and had
planned to hold up the Glenrowan train on June 28th 1880. However, police
were notified of the gang’s plan and surrounded Ned, Dan, Joe and Steve at the
Glenrowan Hotel. The police were prepared for a shootout with the Kelly gang,
which would result in the gang’s last stand.
Thirty policemen surrounded Ned Kelly and his gang and they didn’t stand a
chance. The Glenrowan hotel was burnt down as two gang members perished in
the fire, another was shot dead by police and Ned himself was captured alive
after being shot in the legs. The Kelly gang had finally been destroyed and Ned,
the stats most wanted criminal and bushranger, was finally captured.
Following the battle at Glenwrowan, Ned was transferred to Melbourne. He
spent time in the hospital section of the Old Melbourne Gaol where he was
treated for gunshot wounds to his legs. He also attended court to face the charges
against him. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.
On the 11th of November 1880, Ned Kelly was led out of a holding cell and
hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol. He was just 25 years old. Witnesses have
differring opinions of the bushranger’s last words prior to his hanging. Some
believe Ned said, ‘Such is life,’ while others believe he said, “I guess it had to
come to this.” Ned’s mother was also a prisoner at the jail at the time of his
hanging. Guards actually ensured she was out of her cell at the time so she could
hear her son being hanged.
Ned Kelly’s story is still very popular today and he is a large part of Australia’s
history. Many people visit the Old Melbourne Gaol and Glenrowan each day to
hear tales about Ned, look at his armour, see a mould of his head/face and
observe the gallows where Ned Kelly was hanged.