This article from a few days after the siege at Glenrowan should remind everyone that the Kelly Gang were supported then, as now, by only a very tiny minority of the population. This was true even in ‘Kelly country’ where there were so few supporters that they couldn’t raise a few pounds to get their […]
The big hole in the middle of the Kelly Myth
The Royal Commission into the Kelly Outbreak found that the conduct of the Chief Commissioner of Police, Captain Standish ‘was not characterised by good judgement’ and ‘that many of the charges made by Captain Standish in his evidence’ … ‘were disproved by the evidence of other witnesses’. It also found that the four constables ‘who formed the party […]
Ned Kellys versions of anything cannot be trusted.
It would be unexceptional to expect that murdering three policemen in the space of a couple of hours would result in unanimous condemnation of the perpetrators. Yet, in the bizarre case of Ned Kelly, a triple police murderer, we have the criminal being upheld as an Australian hero and icon, though as we know from […]
Tell that to Lonigans widow
Ive been too busy to write a Post for the Blog this weekend. Heres some music for you instead, and the Lyrics below, of a song that was part of the soundtrack for the Kelly movie from 1970. The best line? “Bury the truth as you bury the dead” Now four jolly troopers from Mansfield town […]
The Kelly Legend : almost dead.
The Ned Kelly Legend is on Life Support “Why isn’t Ned dead? The Australians we still Believe in” This was the title of an article published a week ago by the on-line news site “The New Daily”. It was described as “News” though most of the discussion was about a paper that was published in […]
Think again about what Ned Kelly said in court
The Kelly Trial—The Scene in Court In the Central Criminal Court on Friday October 29th 1880 Ned Kelly was found guilty of the murder of Constable Thomas Lonigan. Immediately after the Jury Foreman had made the announcement, the Clerk of the Court asked Ned Kelly if he had anything to say ( was there ever […]
Criminals who kill Police
The Four Police killed by the Clarke Gang in 1867 “Towards evening on 8th January 1867 Special Constable Carroll and his men set out on foot from Jinden, in the midst of the Jingeras, south of Braidwood, intending to visit the house of a man named McGuinness, whom they suspected of harbouring the Clarkes. The […]
Understanding Ned Kelly
The undisputed facts seem very clear: Ned Kelly was a notorious criminal, a multiple police killer, and yet there are people who think he was a hero. How is that possible? How can some people believe Ned Kelly was a hero and others that he was a villain? Well, one thing that makes it easier […]
Why do people stick up for Ned Kelly?
You cant handle the truth Obviously, people give many different and sometimes complex reasons for sticking up for Ned Kelly. For example there is the almost universal appeal of the “David and Goliath” image, where Ned Kelly is portrayed as the brave little guy who goes up against a corrupt monolithic establishment. There is also […]
The Larrikin Years : Book Review
This little publication of barely 140 pages is an absolute gem of a book. As an introduction to the Kelly story I can’t think of a better one to recommend, but I can certainly think of worse ones. This book, released 27 years ago is streets ahead of the rubbish that was produced just last […]