NedKelly Edward"Ned"Kelly NedKellythedaybeforehisexecution. Born 3June1855 Beveridge,Victoria Died November11,1880(agedappr.25) Melbourne Alias(es) NedKelly Status Executedbyhanging Forotheruses,seeNedKelly(disambiguation). Edward"Ned"Kelly(3June185511November1880)wasAustralia'smostfamousbu shranger,and,tosome,afolkheroforhisdefianceofthecolonialauthorities .KellywasborninVictoriatoanIrishconvictfather,andasayoungmanhec lashedwiththepolice.Followinganincidentathishomein1878,policepartie ssearchedforhiminthebush.Afterhemurderedthreepolicemen,thecolonypr oclaimedNedandhisgangwantedoutlaws.Afinalviolentconfrontationwithpol icetookplaceatGlenrowan.Kelly,dressedinhomemadeplatemetalarmourand helmet,wascapturedandsenttotrial.HewashangedformultiplemurderatMel bournejailin1880.HisdaringandnotorietymadehimaniconicfigureinAustr alianhistory,folklore,literature,artandfilm.OnMarch92008,itwasclai medthatKelly'sburialsitehadbeenfoundbyAustralianscientists.[1] Contents *1Earlylife *2Risetonotoriety *3TheFitzpatrickIncident *4TheKillingsatStringybarkCreek *5Bankrobberies o5.1Euroa o5.2Jerilderie *6TheJerilderieLetter *7Capture,trialandexecution *8Gravediscovered *9TheKellyaftermathandthelessons *10TheKellysandthemodernera o10.1November2007auctioningofclaimedKellyrevolver *11Culturaleffect o11.1NedKellyasapoliticalicon +11.1.1NedKellycapturesPresidentKrugerandwinstheBoerW ar,1900 +11.1.2NedKellythehonestbushranger,1915 +11.1.3NedKellyinvokedtofighttheJapanesein1942 o11.2NedKellyiniconography *12NedKellyinfiction *13Filmsandtelevision *14Bushpoemsandverse *15Music o15.1Songs *16Notes *17References *18Furtherreading o18.1Fiction o18.2UnpublishedKellytheses *19Seealso *20Externallinks Earlylife John"Red"Kelly,thefatherofNedKelly,wasbornandraisedinIreland,where hewasconvictedofcriminalactssometimeduringhisadulthood.Thereisuncer taintysurroundingtheexactnatureofhiscrimeasmostofIreland'scourtreco rdsweredestroyedduringtheIrishCivilWar.IanJonesclaimsthatRedKellys toletwopigsandwasaninformer,buttheclaimiscontested[citationneeded]. RedKellywassentencedtosevenyearsofpenalservitudeandtransportedtoVan Diemen'sLand(nowTasmania)andarrivedin1843. Afterhisreleasein1848,RedKellymovedtoVictoriaandfoundworkinBeverid geatthefarmofJamesQuinn.Attheageof30hemarriedQuinn'sdaughterElle n,then18.Theirfirstchilddiedearly,butEllenthengavebirthtoadaughte r,Annie,in1853.Sevenoftheirchildrensurvivedpastinfancy. Theirfirstson,Edward(Ned),wasborninBeveridge,VictoriajustnorthofMel bourneonJune3,1855.Theexactdateisunknown;variousdateshavebeenpropo sed,butthereisnogeneralagreement. NedwasbaptizedbyanAugustinianpriest,CharlesO'Hea.Asaboy,heobtained somebasicschoolingandonceriskedhislifetosaveanotherboy,RichardShelt on,fromdrowning.Asarewardhewasgivenagreensashbytheboy'sfamily,wh ichheworeunderhisarmourduringhisfinalshowdownwithpolicein1880.[2] TheKellysweresuspectedmanytimesofcattleorhorsestealing,thoughneverc onvicted.RedKellywasarrestedwhenhekilledandskinnedacalfclaimedtobe thepropertyofhisneighbour.Hewasfoundinnocentoftheft,butguiltyofre movingthebrandfromtheskinandgiventheoptionofatwentyfivepoundfine orasentenceofsixmonthswithhardlabour.WithoutmoneytopaythefineRed servedhissentenceinKilmoreGaol,withthesentencehavinganultimatelyfata leffectonhishealth.ThesagasurroundingRed,andhistreatmentbythepolic e,madeastrongimpressiononhissonNed. RedKellydiedatAvenel,VictoriaonDecember27,1866whenNedwaselevenand ahalfyearsold.ItwasatthistimethattheKellyfamilyacquiredlandandmo vedtotheGretaareaofVictoria,whichtothisdayisknownas"KellyCountry" . Inall,eighteenchargeswerebroughtagainstmembersofNed'simmediatefamily beforehewasdeclaredanoutlaw,whileonlyhalfthatnumberresultedinguilty verdicts.Thisisahighlyunusualratioforthetime,andisoneofthereason sthathascausedmanytopositthatNed'sfamilywasunfairlytargetedfromthe timetheymovedtoNorthEastVictoria.Perhapsthemovewasnecessarybecause ofEllen'ssquabbleswithfamilymembersandherappearancesincourtoverfamil ydisputes.[3]AntonyO'BrienhoweverarguedthatVictoria'scolonialpolicingh adnothingtodowithwinningaconviction,ratherthedeterminantofone'scrim inalitywasthearrest.[4]Further,O'Brienargued,usingthe'StatisticsofVic toria'crimefiguresthattheregion'sorfamily'sornationalcriminalitywasd eterminednotbyindividualarrests,butratherbythetotalnumberofarrests.[ 5] Risetonotoriety Wikisourcehasoriginaltextrelatedtothisarticle: NedKellyLettertoSgt.JamesBabington In1869,the14yearoldNedKellywasarrestedforassaultingaChinesepigfar mernamedAhFook.[6]AhFookclaimedthathehadbeenrobbedbyNed,whostated thatAhFookhadhadarowwithhissisterAnnie.Kellyspenttendaysincusto dybeforethechargesweredismissed.Fromthenonthepoliceregardedhimasa "juvenilebushranger". Thefollowingyear,hewasarrestedandaccusedofbeinganaccompliceofbushra ngerHarryPower.Noevidencewasproducedincourtandhewasreleasedaftera month.Historianstendtodisagreeoverthisepisode:someseeitasevidenceof policeharassment;othersbelievethatKellysrelativesintimidatedthewitnesse s,makingthemreluctanttogiveevidence.Kellywouldlateradmittobeingone ofPower'saccomplices[citationneeded].Ned'sgrandfather,JamesQuinn,owneda hugepieceoflandattheheadwatersoftheKingRiverknownasGlenmoreStatio n,wherePowerwasultimatelyarrested. InOctober1870,Kellywasarrestedagainforassaultingahawker,JeremiahMcCo rmack,andforhispartinsendingMcCormack'schildlesswifeanindecentnotet hathadcalves'testiclesenclosed.Thiswasaresultofarowearlierthatday causedwhenMcCormackaccusedafriendoftheKellys,BenGould,ofusinghisho rsewithoutpermission.Gouldwrotethenote,andKellypasseditontooneofh iscousinstogivetothewoman.Hewassentencedtothreemonths'hardlabouro neachcharge. UponhisreleaseKellyreturnedhome.TherehemetIsaiah"Wild"Wrightwhohad arrivedintheareaonachestnutmare.ThemarehadgonemissingandsinceWrig htneededtogobacktoMansfieldheaskedKellytofindandkeepituntilhisr eturn.Kellyfoundthemareandusedittogototown.Healwaysmaintainedthat hehadnoideathatthemareactuallybelongedtotheMansfieldpostmasterand thatWrighthadstolenit.WhileridingthroughGreta,Nedwasapproachedbypol iceconstableHallwho,fromthedescriptionoftheanimal,knewthehorsewass tolenproperty.WhenhisattempttoarrestKellyturnedintoafight,Halldrew hisgunandtriedtoshoothim,butKellyoverpoweredthepolicemanandhumiliat edhimbyridinghimlikeahorse.[7]HalllaterstruckKellyseveraltimeswith hisrevolverafterhehadbeenarrested.Afterjustthreeweeksoffreedom,the 16yearoldKellywassentencedtothreeyearsimprisonmentalongwithhisbrot herinlawAlexGunn."Wild"Wrightgotonlyeighteenmonths. WhileKellywasinprison,hisbrothersJim(aged12)andDan(aged10)werearr estedbyConstableFloodforridingahorsethatdidnotbelongtothem.Thehor sehadbeenlenttothembyafarmerforwhomtheyhadbeendoingsomework,but theboysspentanightinthecellsbeforethematterwascleared. Twoyearslater,JimKellywasarrestedaspartofacattlerustlingoperation. Heandhisfamilyclaimedthathedidnotknowthatsomeofthecattledidnotb elongtohisemployerandcousinTomLloyd.Hewasgivenafiveyearsentence. InOctober1877,GustavandWilliamBaumgartenwerearrestedforsupplyingstole nhorsestoNedKellyandwerelatersentencedin1878.WilliamservedtimeinP entridgePrison,MelbourneandwasreleasedaftertheJerilderieLetter[8]wasp resentedatNedKelly'strial. TheFitzpatrickIncident FollowingRedKelly'sdeath,Ned'smother,Ellen,marriedaCaliforniannamedGe orgeKing,withwhomshehadthreechildren.He,NedandDanbecameinvolvedin acattlerustlingoperation. Onthe15April1878,ConstableAlexanderFitzpatrickarrivedatBenallasufferi ngfromwoundstohisleftwrist.HeclaimedthathewasattackedbyNed,Dan,E llen,theirassociateBrickyWilliamsonandNed'sbrotherinlawBillSkilling. FitzpatrickclaimedthatallexceptEllenwerearmedwithrevolvers.Williamson andSkillingwerearrestedfortheirpartintheaffair.NedandDanwerenowher etobefound,butEllenwastakenintocustodyalongwithherbaby,Alice.She wasstillinprisonatthetimeofNed'sexecution.(Ellenwouldoutlivehermos tfamoussonbyseveraldecadesanddiedon27March1923). TheKellysclaimedthatFitzpatrickcameintotheirhousetoquestionDanovera cattleduffingincident.Whilethere,hemadeapassatEllen'sdaughterKate. HermotherhithishandwithacoalshovelandthemenknockedFitzpatricktoth eground.Theythenbandagedhisinjuredwrist,andhehadleftsayingthatnor ealharmhadbeendone.Noguns,theyclaimed,wereusedduringtheincident,an dNedwasnotinvolvedsincehehadbeenawayinNewSouthWales.Thebelieftha tNedwasinNewSouthWalesisstilldisputed,althoughFitzpatrick'stestimony ofeventsiscoloredbythefactthathewaslaterdismissedfromtheforcefor drunkennessandperjury. TheKillingsatStringybarkCreek MomumenterectedinMansfield,Victoriainhonourofthethreepolicemenmurdere dbyKelly'sgang,Lonigan,ScanlonandKennedy MomumenterectedinMansfield,Victoriainhonourofthethreepolicemenmurdere dbyKelly'sgang,Lonigan,ScanlonandKennedy DanandNedKellydoubtedtheycouldconvincethepoliceoftheirstory.Instead theywentintohiding,wheretheywerelaterjoinedbyfriendsJoeByrneandSt eveHart. On25October1878,SergeantKennedysetofftosearchfortheKellys,accompani edbyConstablesMcIntyre,Lonigan,andScanlon.Thewantedmenweresuspectedo fbeingintheWombatRangesnorthofMansfield,Victoria.Thepolicesetupac ampneartwoshepherdhutsatStringybarkCreekinaheavilytimberedarea. Onarrival,thepolicesplitintotwogroups:KennedyandScalnonwentinsearch oftheKellys,whiletheothertwo,LoniganandMcIntyreremainedtoguardthei rcamp.Brownsuggestedinhisbook,AustralianSon(1948)thatSgt.Kennedywas tippedoffastothewhereaboutsoftheKellys.O'Brien(1999)drewattentiont othe1881RoyalCommission'squestioningofMcIntyre,whichexploredapossibil itythatKennedyandScanlonmayhavesearchedfortheKellystogainarewardf orthemselves. Thepoliceatcampfiredataflockofparrots,unawaretheywereonlyamileaw ayfromtheKellycamp.Alertedbytheshooting,theKellysnearbydiscoveredth