Making a stand: These seven police were at the siege of Glenrowan in 1880. Source: Victoria Police Museum.
A Robin Hood figure or a murdering criminal? A new book detailing the crimes of Ned Kelly and his gang makes it clear.
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Unlike the mythical Robin Hood, Ned Kelly stole from rich and poor, terrorising settlers in the north-east of Victoria, but earning the sympathy of some, who had little respect for authorities.
Kelly successfully evaded the law for two years after the fatal shooting of two policemen at Stringybark Creek north of Mansfield. His declaration as an outlaw was practically a “shoot on sight” permission.
David Dufty’s new book, Nabbing Ned Kelly, details the basic biography of Kelly, but also examines in some detail (perhaps too much, in some cases) the police search.
The unvarnished account, drawing on prime historical documents, lays out the activities of the Kelly gang in the 1870s and gives a frank account of the dedication of a small number of police — and the incompetence of some others — in the search for the gang.
Final hours: A prison photograph of Ned Kelly, the day before his execution. His body was buried at Pentridge Prison and more recently re-interred in an unmarked grave at Greta. Source: State Library of Victoria
Northern Victoria and the southern Riverina were the home range for Kelly and his gang, holding a whole town hostage at Jerilderie, robbing the bank at Euroa, stealing horses at Myrrhee and holding up a sheep station at Faithfulls Creek.
In tearing down some of the myths surrounding Kelly, Dufty draws a conclusion that far less than a revolutionary hero, he was a “psychopathic murderer”.
Of course there is a context to Kelly’s descent into delinquency and crime.
The book describes the alleged offences against the Kelly family, the poverty in which Kelly grew up and the social injustices of early Victorian life.
Dogged determination: Author David Dufty describes the policeman, Detective Michael Ward (pictured) as the real hero of the pursuit of the Kelly gang.
Kelly was capable of magnanimous gestures — he demonstrated his regard for life when he rescued a boy from drowning in Hughes Creek at Avenel.
His father died when he was young and the family had occasional contact with the law, in their homes at Beveridge, Avenel and Greta, east of Benalla, where his mother ran a farm and a sly grog shop. (These were the days when Greta boasted a police station manned by two officers.)
But his background could hardly explain his role in the shooting death of three policemen and his intentions at Glenrowan to derail the train carrying policemen to the town, shoot dead any survivors, then ride to an un-policed Benalla where the gang would rob the banks, set fire to the courthouse, blow up the police barracks and release anyone imprisoned in the jail.
Infamous: The site of the Stringybark Creek massacre north of Mansfield. Source: Public Record Office of Victoria.
For students of history, the book sets out a contention that neither Kelly nor his colleague, Joe Byrne, wrote the famed Jerilderie letter, and Kelly did not make the suit of armour he wore at the famous Glenrowan siege and shoot-out.
Dufty also documents the dogged search for the gang by a largely unrecognised policeman, Detective Michael Ward, who went to great lengths to track down the offenders.
This book is the result of some meticulous research, presented with a unique perspective.
The internet is littered with Ned Kelly stories and his gang, and references to his cultural persona as a folk hero — but very few are prepared to put their name to such appellations these days
This book may put to rest some of the loose talk about his status.
Nabbing Ned Kelly by David Dufty is published by Allen and Unwin at a recommended price of $32.99.
Book giveaway
We have two copies of Nabbing Ned Kelly by David Dufty to give away. To go in the running to win a copy, answer this question ‘From which creek did Ned Kelly rescue a boy at risk of drowning?’ and send your answer, name, address and phone number to: Country News Ned Kelly Competition, PO Box 8000, Shepparton, 3632, by Friday, April 22.
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