Ned Kelly's Cousin and the Red Gum Headstone [Sharon Hollingsworth]

While searching around the net the other day I ran across this unusual
bit on a genealogical page at
http://cancersux.co.nz/FamTree/Quiggins/JohnEQuigginMayWRutherford.htm
and also at a page for American Civil War Veterans of Australia and New
Zealand in Australia
http://www.acwv.info/1-files-veterans/Q/quiggin/quiggin.htm about a
gentleman who had left the British Isles for Canada and the U.S. and who
served in the American Civil War. After the war he went to Australia and
had a great deal of success with timber and sawmills.


John Quiggin and his sons were awarded 1st prize in the Melbourne World
Exhibition of 1883; for having the best Red Gum Slab. The original block
to be entered in the exhibition for the show was cut actually by Ned
Kelly's cousin, but he requested that John Quiggin, let him have it as a
headstone for his grave. John allowed him to keep it, but only if Ned
Kelly's cousin procured another tree just as good. It was the 2nd timber
acquired that was entered and won the prize.
It was also once reported to John Edwin that ‘Ned Kelly’ had been
harbored from the law one night at one of the Quiggin sawmills.


Ned had many cousins, so I guess we will never know which one is being
referred to. I did find it of great interest that he wanted to have a
wooden grave marker ( Isn't a wooden headstone a contradiction in terms?
Or am I being way too literal?) I suppose one doesn't see many of them
left these days due to the proliferation of bush fires through the years
among other reasons?

While on the subject of grave markers, in the PROV archives I ran across
a letter from the Kelly Historical Collection Part 3: Chief Secretary's
Office, with the descriptive header:

J.F. Atkinson suggests that Government  place headstones over graves of
those murdered by the Kelly Gang.

But, getting into the meat of the letter, which was dated July 22, 1880,
we see that the description was not quite accurate!

Part of the letter talks about how "shortly after murder of the police
by the Kelly gang" that the Ministry of Public Works in the Berry
Government had placed headstones on their graves and he suggested that
they should

"do the same on the graves of young Jones, Reardon, & Cherry...as the
late Government erected stones to the memory of those men, this Ministry
can not well do less than follow the precedent, especially as these
deaths were caused innocently by the attacking party, and it would be a
graceful act on your part to authorise this small expenditure."

Note that Michael Reardon, though injured, did not die at the siege of
Glenrowan. He lived until 1942! Also note the "attacking party" would be
the Police!

Johnny Jones and Martin Cherry never received the headstones from the
Government as suggested by Mr. Atkinson...seems the only thing they
covered was their own rear ends!

The graves of Johnny Jones and Martin Cherry remained unmarked until
well over a hundred years later.