Yet another skull article from google alerts....
From the Daily Mail of December 28, 2010, there is an article called "Is This the Skull of Jack the Ripper... or outlaw Ned Kelly? DNA May Solve Mystery of the Two Killers Buried Next to Each Other."
From the article:
Now Professor Ranson, is trying, on behalf of the Victoria coroner, to authenticate whether the skull is that of Kelly, or belongs to Deeming.
Scientists at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, where Prof Ranson is deputy director, had the supposed Kelly skull examined by experts and gave it a CT scan, but were none the wiser, despite the fact that the forensic pathologists managed to obtain DNA from one of Kelly's descendants.
Their problem is that not only is the skull a close match to the death mask of Kelly, but also resembles one of Deeming. Both plaster casts are held at the jail, which is where both men were executed and buried close by each other in the prison yard.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342421/Is-skull-Ned-Kelly-Jack-Ripper-DNA-relative-solve-mystery.html#ixzz19XXNOvVc
WELCOME TO ELEVEN MILE CREEK. Thanks for visiting us. We hope to use this blog to bring news, views, nuggets and musings, some serious, some lighthearted, but all to do with all things associated with Ned Kelly.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Article Alert: Search for Descendants...to Solve Skull Mystery
From google alerts..
The Liverpool Daily Post of December 29, 2010 has an article called "Search for Merseyside Descendants of Frederick Deeming to Solve Australian Skull Mystery" written by John Sutton.
It begins with:
A Merseysider may hold the key to identifying the remains of one of the world’s most notorious outlaws.
Forensic scientists in Melbourne, Australia, have what could be the skull of Ned Kelly – but it could also be the skull of Frederick Deeming...
The article goes into detail about Frederick Deeming who was executed in 1892 and how he and Ned Kelly "were buried alongside each other" and the search for descendants of Deeming, as they wish to get DNA samples for testing against the skull (which, you will recall was stolen from the Old Melbourne Gaol and was recently handed over by Tom Baxter).
To read in full:
http://www.liverpooldailypost.
The Liverpool Daily Post of December 29, 2010 has an article called "Search for Merseyside Descendants of Frederick Deeming to Solve Australian Skull Mystery" written by John Sutton.
It begins with:
A Merseysider may hold the key to identifying the remains of one of the world’s most notorious outlaws.
Forensic scientists in Melbourne, Australia, have what could be the skull of Ned Kelly – but it could also be the skull of Frederick Deeming...
The article goes into detail about Frederick Deeming who was executed in 1892 and how he and Ned Kelly "were buried alongside each other" and the search for descendants of Deeming, as they wish to get DNA samples for testing against the skull (which, you will recall was stolen from the Old Melbourne Gaol and was recently handed over by Tom Baxter).
To read in full:
http://www.liverpooldailypost.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Article Alert: An Accent on Social Equality
(Fitzy, this one is for you!)
From Google Alerts..
In the Age dated December 28, 2010 there is an article called "An Accent on Social Equality" by Tim Elliott in which the evolution of the Australian accent is explored.
Of course, Ned Kelly is referenced!
From the article:
And yet the myths persist. When Heath Ledger starred as Ned Kelly in the 2003 biopic, he gave the bushranger an Irish accent, as did Mick Jagger in his 1970 film, a fact that perplexed a great-niece of the Kellys, who had known Ned's brother, Jim (who died in 1946). She said Jim, just five years younger than Ned, had spoken with an Australian accent.
To read in full:
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/an-accent-on-social-equality-20101227-198iq.html
From Google Alerts..
In the Age dated December 28, 2010 there is an article called "An Accent on Social Equality" by Tim Elliott in which the evolution of the Australian accent is explored.
Of course, Ned Kelly is referenced!
From the article:
And yet the myths persist. When Heath Ledger starred as Ned Kelly in the 2003 biopic, he gave the bushranger an Irish accent, as did Mick Jagger in his 1970 film, a fact that perplexed a great-niece of the Kellys, who had known Ned's brother, Jim (who died in 1946). She said Jim, just five years younger than Ned, had spoken with an Australian accent.
To read in full:
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/an-accent-on-social-equality-20101227-198iq.html
Boxing Day Snow [Sharon Hollingsworth]
Here is North Carolina we have had a Boxing Day snow! (Not that the USA actually celebrates Boxing Day, but ones like me and my best friend Lilith with connections in Australia and the UK have adopted it.) We go some years without any snow at all, or if we get any it is a dusting or just an inch or two. Only a few times in my life have we had any really significant snow amounts..I can count on one hand the memorable ones (March of 1980 remains 'the big one' everyone still talks about, with 16 inches falling). We got 6 plus inches today, a drop in the bucket as compared to friends (like Lilith) up North who measure their snowfalls in feet, but enough to make this entire area basically go into shutdown mode.
As with almost anything else I am reminded of the Kelly Gang in some aspect. Looking at a bleak landscape like this behind my house brought to mind the time the Kelly Gang were on the run and endured snowy conditions in the winter of 1879.
In The Argus of August 6, 1880 there was this bit:
An incident has leaked out about the career of the gang. Kelly has stated
that they had been amongst snow, and that in fact they had to clear
several feet of snow off a hut they lived in, and the deduction is that
they have lived for some time amongst the Bogong Ranges.
Then in The Argus of August 9, 1880 this was said:
Kelly has been making a number of statements about his career, but many
of them are so contradictory that it is difficult to distinguish what is
true or false. This, however, is proved, that for some time the gang
lived in a house that was frequently covered with snow, and that Kelly
had to clear the snow off the roof to prevent it from falling in. The
conclusion, therefore, is that at one time the gang lived either in the
Buffalo or Bogong Ranges.
There are other mentions of bitter weather endured by those in the hunt for the Kellys, particularly in Superintendent Hare's writings.
He wrote of one of the times he fell asleep in his hammock:
When I awoke in the morning my rug was frozen, the country round me was perfectly white with frost, and the men told me the running water in the creek close by was frozen.
He also spoke of the time the possum rugs were so frozen that they had to hold them before the fire to thaw before they could fold them.
Constable Faulkiner, one of the men in Hare's party testified before the Royal Commission board:
...That evening we watched the place with Mr. Hare, Canny and I; we stayed up in a potato field till about 2 a.m. in the morning. The other men were all round the house. Then Mr. Hare instructed Canny and me to go to Wangaratta. We got a party of police, and brought them back. We met Mr. Hare coming back, and he spoke to me. I would not speak to him at first. I did not know him, because his whole face was covered with icicles from the hoar frost.
Hare also related this cold weather incident in his book:
Bushmen think nothing of camping out for months, but ask any of them in the winter months to camp out without a fire, and see how long they will stand it. I remember once, when I was searching the mountains at the head of the Broken river, the weather was terribly cold, and the men were getting very down-hearted at not having any luck. Mayes came to me and asked me to let the men have a fire for one night, as they were very low-spirited, and were feeling the cold bitterly. He said, "I am sure if we could get some quiet spot in the mountains you could let us have one good warm, and we shall be all right tomorrow." I agreed, and took them to a most retired gully, and told them they might light a fire that night. They were so surprised, it acted like magic on them. They selected a large hollow tree, set fire to it, and there was a grand blaze. They heaped up wood all round, and sat all night enjoying themselves.
After I had had a good warm I took my hammock and went about a hundred yards from them, and kept, as it were, watch over them, because I never knew when the Kellys might have crept on us, and without any difficulty they might have shot the whole of the men standing round the fire; so I thought if they were attacked I could have assisted them.
As with almost anything else I am reminded of the Kelly Gang in some aspect. Looking at a bleak landscape like this behind my house brought to mind the time the Kelly Gang were on the run and endured snowy conditions in the winter of 1879.
In The Argus of August 6, 1880 there was this bit:
An incident has leaked out about the career of the gang. Kelly has stated
that they had been amongst snow, and that in fact they had to clear
several feet of snow off a hut they lived in, and the deduction is that
they have lived for some time amongst the Bogong Ranges.
Then in The Argus of August 9, 1880 this was said:
Kelly has been making a number of statements about his career, but many
of them are so contradictory that it is difficult to distinguish what is
true or false. This, however, is proved, that for some time the gang
lived in a house that was frequently covered with snow, and that Kelly
had to clear the snow off the roof to prevent it from falling in. The
conclusion, therefore, is that at one time the gang lived either in the
Buffalo or Bogong Ranges.
There are other mentions of bitter weather endured by those in the hunt for the Kellys, particularly in Superintendent Hare's writings.
He wrote of one of the times he fell asleep in his hammock:
When I awoke in the morning my rug was frozen, the country round me was perfectly white with frost, and the men told me the running water in the creek close by was frozen.
He also spoke of the time the possum rugs were so frozen that they had to hold them before the fire to thaw before they could fold them.
Constable Faulkiner, one of the men in Hare's party testified before the Royal Commission board:
...That evening we watched the place with Mr. Hare, Canny and I; we stayed up in a potato field till about 2 a.m. in the morning. The other men were all round the house. Then Mr. Hare instructed Canny and me to go to Wangaratta. We got a party of police, and brought them back. We met Mr. Hare coming back, and he spoke to me. I would not speak to him at first. I did not know him, because his whole face was covered with icicles from the hoar frost.
Hare also related this cold weather incident in his book:
Bushmen think nothing of camping out for months, but ask any of them in the winter months to camp out without a fire, and see how long they will stand it. I remember once, when I was searching the mountains at the head of the Broken river, the weather was terribly cold, and the men were getting very down-hearted at not having any luck. Mayes came to me and asked me to let the men have a fire for one night, as they were very low-spirited, and were feeling the cold bitterly. He said, "I am sure if we could get some quiet spot in the mountains you could let us have one good warm, and we shall be all right tomorrow." I agreed, and took them to a most retired gully, and told them they might light a fire that night. They were so surprised, it acted like magic on them. They selected a large hollow tree, set fire to it, and there was a grand blaze. They heaped up wood all round, and sat all night enjoying themselves.
After I had had a good warm I took my hammock and went about a hundred yards from them, and kept, as it were, watch over them, because I never knew when the Kellys might have crept on us, and without any difficulty they might have shot the whole of the men standing round the fire; so I thought if they were attacked I could have assisted them.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Article Alert: Pub Stories on Tap
Article found via google alerts..
In the Weekly Times of December 27, 2010 there is an article about bush pubs called "Pub Stories on Tap" and it relates some very interesting bits (other than about Ned Kelly), but the bit about him was pretty spot on given the plethora of oral histories surrounding him:
How many pubs in the north lay claim to having had Ned Kelly under the
roof on at least one occasion? So many it is a wonder the poor bugger
ever got the chance to hold anyone up. If he had a few rounds in each
one, there is no doubt cirrhosis would have carried him off long before
the hangman’s noose was placed around his neck.
To read in full:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2010/12/27/275101_entertainment-news.html
In the Weekly Times of December 27, 2010 there is an article about bush pubs called "Pub Stories on Tap" and it relates some very interesting bits (other than about Ned Kelly), but the bit about him was pretty spot on given the plethora of oral histories surrounding him:
How many pubs in the north lay claim to having had Ned Kelly under the
roof on at least one occasion? So many it is a wonder the poor bugger
ever got the chance to hold anyone up. If he had a few rounds in each
one, there is no doubt cirrhosis would have carried him off long before
the hangman’s noose was placed around his neck.
To read in full:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2010/12/27/275101_entertainment-news.html
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas in Kelly Land [Sharon Hollingsworth]
Joe Byrne's and Aaron Sherritt's former schoolmate, James Wallace (who became a school teacher himself) was a police spy who also allegedly helped the Kelly gang, a "double agent," if you will, as Ian Jones calls him. During the hunt for the Kelly Gang Wallace wrote several articles for the Wangaratta Despatch newspaper, one of them being "Christmas in Kelly Land." In the Royal Commission Wallace refers to it as "a series of romance." In 'A Short Life' Ian Jones refers to it as a "satirical serial." I don't know of anyone who has seen or read it, so I have no idea if it references the Gang or if it is just set in Kelly country.
Still, it is a great title!
If anyone runs across this series in their library searches, please share your findings with us. It would be most appreciated. Please, don't be miserably miserly (bah, humbug!) and keep it to yourself, ok? :)
Speaking of Christmas in Kelly Land, The South Australia Register had the following tidbit:
Sydney. July 11. It is stated by a gentleman who has just returned from the country recently infested by the Kelly gang that, whilst in conversation with the members of the Kelly family, he learned that on last Christmas Day the whole of them, including the members of the gang, sat down to dinner together, and he was assured that the police knew of the gathering. The party was not molested, and they had not the slightest fear of being interfered with.
Then, for the other side of the coin, the Mercury Hobart had the following under the "Circular Notes" column written by "The Vagabond" -
But the Sydney journals delight in criticizing the conduct of the Victorian police, and the most unfair and scandalous charges are made against that body and the Chief Commissioner, Captain Standish. For instance, the S. M. Herald today contains a statement that last Christmas Day the outlaws all dined together at the house of Byrne's mother, that the police knew, and did not interfere. Now, I have no hesitation in branding this as a lie on the face of it, and no respectable journal would publish such a libel.
Despite the Vagabond's misgivings, I would like to think that the gang had a respite from the storm, so to speak, and were able to spend a brief Yuletide sojourn with loved ones.
I really hope that the following bit from The Mercury Hobart in December of 1878 was true:
The general impression among experienced bushmen is that the gang are comfortably housed and quietly enjoying their Christmas.
I hope that all the readers of this blog are doing the same!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Still, it is a great title!
If anyone runs across this series in their library searches, please share your findings with us. It would be most appreciated. Please, don't be miserably miserly (bah, humbug!) and keep it to yourself, ok? :)
Speaking of Christmas in Kelly Land, The South Australia Register had the following tidbit:
Sydney. July 11. It is stated by a gentleman who has just returned from the country recently infested by the Kelly gang that, whilst in conversation with the members of the Kelly family, he learned that on last Christmas Day the whole of them, including the members of the gang, sat down to dinner together, and he was assured that the police knew of the gathering. The party was not molested, and they had not the slightest fear of being interfered with.
Then, for the other side of the coin, the Mercury Hobart had the following under the "Circular Notes" column written by "The Vagabond" -
But the Sydney journals delight in criticizing the conduct of the Victorian police, and the most unfair and scandalous charges are made against that body and the Chief Commissioner, Captain Standish. For instance, the S. M. Herald today contains a statement that last Christmas Day the outlaws all dined together at the house of Byrne's mother, that the police knew, and did not interfere. Now, I have no hesitation in branding this as a lie on the face of it, and no respectable journal would publish such a libel.
Despite the Vagabond's misgivings, I would like to think that the gang had a respite from the storm, so to speak, and were able to spend a brief Yuletide sojourn with loved ones.
I really hope that the following bit from The Mercury Hobart in December of 1878 was true:
The general impression among experienced bushmen is that the gang are comfortably housed and quietly enjoying their Christmas.
I hope that all the readers of this blog are doing the same!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Mrs. Jones's Poultry and the Stable Door [Sharon Hollingsworth]
On Ann Jones's detailed compensation list for the Glenrowan Inn (which was burned to the ground by police during the siege of Glenrowan) she had an entry for "40 fowls destroyed" and was asking for 4 pounds in compensation for their loss.
During the Compensation Inquiry, a storekeeper by the name of William Robert Jarvis, who helped Mrs. Jones find the means to build the Inn in the first place, was asked: "Did you ever notice any poultry about the place?" His reply: "Yes."
Constable Robert Graham, who had been to the Inn several times on his duty made a report in which he said:
"The item 4 pounds for fowls is very questionable, I noticed no fowls about the place, certainly none were destroyed by the police."
At first we would maybe think that the birds were all scared off by the exchange of gunfire and general ensuing havoc during the siege and were perhaps gotten by predators (of the four or two foot variety), right?
Wrong!
When Jane Jones was asked by the Inquiry Board: "Was there some poultry in the place?" She replied "Yes." The Board then asked: "What became of this poultry?" Jane's reply: "They were sold."
Another item on the list Ann Jones requested compensation for was the stable behind the Inn. She asked for 15 pounds for that.
Robert Graham in his report had the following as regards the stable:
"The stable was not injured further than the removal of the door (which was used to convey a dead body on)."
Sounds like Mrs. Jones was trying to pad the compensation a bit, doesn't it?
And which dead body was the door used for?
During the Compensation Inquiry, a storekeeper by the name of William Robert Jarvis, who helped Mrs. Jones find the means to build the Inn in the first place, was asked: "Did you ever notice any poultry about the place?" His reply: "Yes."
Constable Robert Graham, who had been to the Inn several times on his duty made a report in which he said:
"The item 4 pounds for fowls is very questionable, I noticed no fowls about the place, certainly none were destroyed by the police."
At first we would maybe think that the birds were all scared off by the exchange of gunfire and general ensuing havoc during the siege and were perhaps gotten by predators (of the four or two foot variety), right?
Wrong!
When Jane Jones was asked by the Inquiry Board: "Was there some poultry in the place?" She replied "Yes." The Board then asked: "What became of this poultry?" Jane's reply: "They were sold."
Another item on the list Ann Jones requested compensation for was the stable behind the Inn. She asked for 15 pounds for that.
Robert Graham in his report had the following as regards the stable:
"The stable was not injured further than the removal of the door (which was used to convey a dead body on)."
Sounds like Mrs. Jones was trying to pad the compensation a bit, doesn't it?
And which dead body was the door used for?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Quotable James Ryan: Part 2, 13 August 1933. [Brian Stevenson]
Here are some more quotes by the spurious Dan Kelly, James Ryan, as reported in the Brisbane newspaper Truth on 13 August 1933. James hardly seems to have been Truthful James, to say the least.
'The family was then made up, besides the old man and the old lady, of Nora, the oldest, brother Jim, Ned, myself and Kate.'
None of Dan Kelly's full sisters was named Nora. James Ryan does not mention Annie, Maggie, Grace or Mary, who died as a child.
'Nora and Jim were quiet. They wouldn't have truck with us at all.'
See above for the reasons Nora was so quiet! As for Jim Kelly, he had a police record and was gaoled several times.
'At the time the trouble started [April 1878] she [Kate Kelly] was 20.'
In April 1878 Kate Kelly was about 15.
'[In 1874] we decided to leave home and live in the bush, the four of us. [Ned and Dan Kelly, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne.]
In 1874 Dan was only thirteen. The four who constituted the Kelly Gang only became that way by chance, because they happened to be at hand when there was a confrontation with the police at Stringybark Creek on 26 October 1878.
'[Noonan, the big horse breeder who lived outside Wangaratta] saw Ned in Benalla riding a brown colt that he recognised as belonging to one of his friends. He sent word to this man, wo put the police on the track. Ned was tried at Benalla, and sentenced to three years in Berrima Gaol.'
Ned was seen in Greta in 1871 riding a horse that Constable Hall knew to be stolen. Hall arrested him. Ned was sentenced to three years in Beechworth Gaol, not Berrima Gaol, which was in another colony, New South Wales.
'Mother and the old fellow were very upset about what had happened to Ned [ie, his being sentenced to three years gaol.]
The 'old fellow' had died in 1866.
'In 1877, Ned came home from Berrima, the worst gaol in the colonies.'
See above.
'At that time, the beginning of 1878, Ned was a fine-looking man. He stood about six feet and had started to grow a big, black beard. I was 24 and he was two years older.'
Ned is believed not to have every fully shaved again after his release from prison in 1874. At the beginning of 1878, Ned was 22 or 23. Dan Kelly, whose birth is documented as 1 June 1861, was definitely 16.
Ned told his plans [regarding armour] to a blacksmith in the town named Jack Quin. There were a lot of Quins in Benalla, all more or less related, but this one was Ned's particular pal. His name has never been mentioned in my hearing in connection with the Kelly gang, nor has it ever been written down in any of the books that have been read to me.'
None of the blacksmiths claimed to have had a hadn in the manufacture of the Kelly armour was named Quin. The Quin name, if not the spelling, was frequently mentioned in connection with the Kellys, as Quinn was their mother's former name, and she was one of an extensive family, many of whom had criminal records.
[Quin] made several suits, one each for Ned, Byrne and Hart. I refused to have one, because they were too clumsy.'
All four suits of armour still exist. Dan Kelly's is in the Victorian Police Museum.
'Although he [Constable Fitzpatrick] was armed, he made no move for his gun. I warned him, and then I shot him ... I shot him dead. I was too good a shot to make any mistake about that. I shot him through the heart.'
Former Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick died of natural causes in Melbourne in 1924. He was interviewed by journalist B W Cookson for the Sydney Sun newspaper in 1911.
'The family was then made up, besides the old man and the old lady, of Nora, the oldest, brother Jim, Ned, myself and Kate.'
None of Dan Kelly's full sisters was named Nora. James Ryan does not mention Annie, Maggie, Grace or Mary, who died as a child.
'Nora and Jim were quiet. They wouldn't have truck with us at all.'
See above for the reasons Nora was so quiet! As for Jim Kelly, he had a police record and was gaoled several times.
'At the time the trouble started [April 1878] she [Kate Kelly] was 20.'
In April 1878 Kate Kelly was about 15.
'[In 1874] we decided to leave home and live in the bush, the four of us. [Ned and Dan Kelly, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne.]
In 1874 Dan was only thirteen. The four who constituted the Kelly Gang only became that way by chance, because they happened to be at hand when there was a confrontation with the police at Stringybark Creek on 26 October 1878.
'[Noonan, the big horse breeder who lived outside Wangaratta] saw Ned in Benalla riding a brown colt that he recognised as belonging to one of his friends. He sent word to this man, wo put the police on the track. Ned was tried at Benalla, and sentenced to three years in Berrima Gaol.'
Ned was seen in Greta in 1871 riding a horse that Constable Hall knew to be stolen. Hall arrested him. Ned was sentenced to three years in Beechworth Gaol, not Berrima Gaol, which was in another colony, New South Wales.
'Mother and the old fellow were very upset about what had happened to Ned [ie, his being sentenced to three years gaol.]
The 'old fellow' had died in 1866.
'In 1877, Ned came home from Berrima, the worst gaol in the colonies.'
See above.
'At that time, the beginning of 1878, Ned was a fine-looking man. He stood about six feet and had started to grow a big, black beard. I was 24 and he was two years older.'
Ned is believed not to have every fully shaved again after his release from prison in 1874. At the beginning of 1878, Ned was 22 or 23. Dan Kelly, whose birth is documented as 1 June 1861, was definitely 16.
Ned told his plans [regarding armour] to a blacksmith in the town named Jack Quin. There were a lot of Quins in Benalla, all more or less related, but this one was Ned's particular pal. His name has never been mentioned in my hearing in connection with the Kelly gang, nor has it ever been written down in any of the books that have been read to me.'
None of the blacksmiths claimed to have had a hadn in the manufacture of the Kelly armour was named Quin. The Quin name, if not the spelling, was frequently mentioned in connection with the Kellys, as Quinn was their mother's former name, and she was one of an extensive family, many of whom had criminal records.
[Quin] made several suits, one each for Ned, Byrne and Hart. I refused to have one, because they were too clumsy.'
All four suits of armour still exist. Dan Kelly's is in the Victorian Police Museum.
'Although he [Constable Fitzpatrick] was armed, he made no move for his gun. I warned him, and then I shot him ... I shot him dead. I was too good a shot to make any mistake about that. I shot him through the heart.'
Former Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick died of natural causes in Melbourne in 1924. He was interviewed by journalist B W Cookson for the Sydney Sun newspaper in 1911.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Youths Injured at the Siege of Glenrowan [Sharon Hollingsworth]
When reading about the siege of Glenrowan I have always wondered why the injured son of Glenrowan Inn landlady Ann Jones was not taken to the hospital sooner than he was. During the siege Johnny Jones was shot by a police bullet in the second volley fired into the Inn some time after 3 AM (interesting, as I always assumed it was during the first volley, as I had read that David Mortimer said that Johnny was shot "almost at once" but platelayer James Reardon's RC testimony says differently). He was taken from the Inn to safety by platelayer Neil McHugh a short while after, one constable giving the time as 4 AM. (Some reports say he was taken to James Reardon's house, others say taken to McDonnell's Hotel and others say stationmaster Stanistreet's house. It's the Kelly saga, so there is always something in contention!) He was taken by the 11 AM train to go to the Wangaratta Hospital. Dr. Haley said that Johnny Jones arrived at the hospital about half past twelve (Noon). That would make 9 hours or so time elapsed. There were a few doctors who arrived at Glenrowan before he was taken away, though, namely Dr. John Nicholson and Dr. Benjamin Clay Hutchinson, and later Dr. Charles Ryan. Surely, one or more of them attended the young man. James Reardon testified about Dr. Hutchinson tending to his 17 year old son Michael who was shot in an escape attempt and he also mentioned Nicholson attending him. The rails that had been lifted on the Wangaratta side had been repaired early on and police arrived from all directions all morning. Initially, the only reason I could figure that Johnny was not on an earlier train must have been perhaps that he was being stabilised for travel. Surely it wasn't just so they could ferry in more police and the numerous onlookers/looky-loos who descended on the scene. Johnny died early the next morning in hospital. Even if he had of arrived more quickly the outcome might likely have been the same as Dr. Haley said that he could not locate the bullet and that he "considered the case hopeless." Then again, maybe that is why the doctors at Glenrowan did not feel a sense of urgency to get him there? Yet, Dr. Nicholson suggested that Michael Reardon be taken on to the hospital soon after his release from the Inn. I still feel very sorry for the frightened, injured Johnny and his distraught mother every time I think about the siege. Then what does Ann face after she holds vigil at her dying son's bedside? She hears that her home, possessions and livelihood have been destroyed, literally gone up in smoke!
Here is part of James Reardon's testimony before the Royal Commission:
#7701. ...did you see him carry out any of the wounded children from the house, I mean McHugh? - No, I was in another room; I was told he did.
#7702. Do you know the wounded child was carried out? - Yes, and carried to my place.
#7703. Can you fix about the time it was by any circumstance? - About the second volley fired by the police.
#7704. Can you fix the time that McHugh carried out Mrs. Jones’s child? - No, I would not swear to it.
#7705. Was it before or after you attempted to escape? - Before, and I followed them half an hour after.
#7706. That would be an hour and three-quarters before your son was shot? - Yes.
#7707. The point is this: the second volley the police fired was fired within ten minutes after the commencement? - Yes, and less.
#7708. Within seven minutes? - Perhaps less still.
#7709. The second volley was the time that Mrs. Jones’s child was shot? - Yes.
#7710. How long after the child was shot did McHugh run out with it? - A few minutes after.
#7711. Then that would be within twenty minutes after the police commenced to shoot? - It would be about that.
#7712. By Mr. Sadleir. - Were both the children shot at that time? - Yes, one was out at the kitchen chimney, and Mrs. Jones said, “You cowardly ---, why do not you go out and fight hand to hand, as you said you would.”
#7713. By the Commission. - That was very early in the morning? - Yes.
#7714. By Mr. Sadleir. - The only other person shot was your son? - Yes, and Cherry. He was shot as he was going in the door; struck on the shoulder.
#7715. By the Commission. - Did you look on after you escaped? - No, I went to the hospital at Wangaratta.
Actually, the eariler "escape" attempt failed, his son Michael was shot in the shoulder as they returned to the Inn under heavy fire. They only got out of the Inn ("escaped") when Sadleir decided to call a ten minute truce to let the remaining prisoners make their way out later in the morning. According to Reardon it was half past nine when this occurred. Other accounts say this happened around 10 AM. Sadleir described the exodus: "....then the prisoners came buzzing out like bees; running out from the front door in great confusion, some of them towards where Gascoigne was, some to the front, straight out from the building. I called out to them to come in my direction. After some little confusion and delay on their part they came up to where I was standing."
I suppose the escaped Michael Reardon was soon on the same train to Wangaratta as Johnny Jones was. Michael Reardon lived on until a ripe old age (he died in 1942 at age 79) still carrying the bullet he received at the siege of Glenrowan. In turn, it is a shame that 13 year old Johnny Jones had barely reached puberty when his short life was snuffed out. His sister, Jane, was also injured at the siege, hit in the forehead by a spent bullet. She died two years.
Here is part of James Reardon's testimony before the Royal Commission:
#7701. ...did you see him carry out any of the wounded children from the house, I mean McHugh? - No, I was in another room; I was told he did.
#7702. Do you know the wounded child was carried out? - Yes, and carried to my place.
#7703. Can you fix about the time it was by any circumstance? - About the second volley fired by the police.
#7704. Can you fix the time that McHugh carried out Mrs. Jones’s child? - No, I would not swear to it.
#7705. Was it before or after you attempted to escape? - Before, and I followed them half an hour after.
#7706. That would be an hour and three-quarters before your son was shot? - Yes.
#7707. The point is this: the second volley the police fired was fired within ten minutes after the commencement? - Yes, and less.
#7708. Within seven minutes? - Perhaps less still.
#7709. The second volley was the time that Mrs. Jones’s child was shot? - Yes.
#7710. How long after the child was shot did McHugh run out with it? - A few minutes after.
#7711. Then that would be within twenty minutes after the police commenced to shoot? - It would be about that.
#7712. By Mr. Sadleir. - Were both the children shot at that time? - Yes, one was out at the kitchen chimney, and Mrs. Jones said, “You cowardly ---, why do not you go out and fight hand to hand, as you said you would.”
#7713. By the Commission. - That was very early in the morning? - Yes.
#7714. By Mr. Sadleir. - The only other person shot was your son? - Yes, and Cherry. He was shot as he was going in the door; struck on the shoulder.
#7715. By the Commission. - Did you look on after you escaped? - No, I went to the hospital at Wangaratta.
Actually, the eariler "escape" attempt failed, his son Michael was shot in the shoulder as they returned to the Inn under heavy fire. They only got out of the Inn ("escaped") when Sadleir decided to call a ten minute truce to let the remaining prisoners make their way out later in the morning. According to Reardon it was half past nine when this occurred. Other accounts say this happened around 10 AM. Sadleir described the exodus: "....then the prisoners came buzzing out like bees; running out from the front door in great confusion, some of them towards where Gascoigne was, some to the front, straight out from the building. I called out to them to come in my direction. After some little confusion and delay on their part they came up to where I was standing."
I suppose the escaped Michael Reardon was soon on the same train to Wangaratta as Johnny Jones was. Michael Reardon lived on until a ripe old age (he died in 1942 at age 79) still carrying the bullet he received at the siege of Glenrowan. In turn, it is a shame that 13 year old Johnny Jones had barely reached puberty when his short life was snuffed out. His sister, Jane, was also injured at the siege, hit in the forehead by a spent bullet. She died two years.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Article Alert: Julian Assange is the Ned Kelly of the Digital Age
This was from Google Alerts...
In the Sydney Morning Herald there is an article by Bryce Lowry called
Julian Assange is the Ned Kelly of the Digital Age
It begins with...
The WikiLeaks founder is a cyber-ranger at large, in the mould of his bush counterpart.
A fugitive Australian rebel, he repeatedly embarrasses and evades the authorities, in the process becoming an icon of resistance and folk hero....
For more:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/julian-assange-is-the-ned-kelly-of-the-digital-age-20101207-18ob0.html
In the Sydney Morning Herald there is an article by Bryce Lowry called
Julian Assange is the Ned Kelly of the Digital Age
It begins with...
The WikiLeaks founder is a cyber-ranger at large, in the mould of his bush counterpart.
A fugitive Australian rebel, he repeatedly embarrasses and evades the authorities, in the process becoming an icon of resistance and folk hero....
For more:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/julian-assange-is-the-ned-kelly-of-the-digital-age-20101207-18ob0.html
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Northern Territory and Ned Kelly [Sharon Hollingsworth]
In a previous post I had mentioned Wild Wright who in the latter part of his life had gone to the Northern Territory where he died at Newcastle Waters. That got me to recalling that one of Joe Byrne's many cousins, William Joseph Byrne, had gone out to the NT to settle, starting out as a butcher and later acquiring more property and eventually starting the well-known Tipperary Station. I wonder if Wild happened to stop by the Byrne's place by any chance during his sojourn in the NT? Then, again, the NT is a pretty large place! (It is like how anytime some news from North Carolina makes international headlines everybody thinks it practically happened in my backyard even if it is hundreds of miles away!)
Another thing to do with Joe's cousin is how two of his sons fathered children by Aboriginal women. One of them, Stan, was the grandfather of former Essendon football star, Michael Long. (Long has said that his parents were 'stolen' and raised by missionaries on Melville Island.) We always keep hearing about (and from) all the modern day descendants of the siblings of the Kelly Gang members or others in the saga but never hear anything about the Byrne family descendants. Long was the first I had ever read of in that regard.
Author Graham Seal has said that "Ned Kelly is a hero to many Aboriginal Australians. Aborigines have adopted Ned Kelly into their cultures, in some cases conflating him with Jesus, other biblical figures, and Captain Cook."
Deborah Rose Bird wrote an interesting essay called "Ned Kelly Died for Our Sins" which can be found at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3654/is_n2_v65/ai_n28650374/?tag=content;col1 in which it tells about the Aboriginals in the Victoria River District of the NT and their myths and legends about Ned Kelly which seem to be what Seal was referring to.
And yet another Northern Territory connection I ran across during research is about a new play called "The Cook, The Queen, And The Kelly" in which the oral history/stories/myths about Ned escaping the noose (shades of the same furphy that was the premise for Barry McArthur's work of fiction "Out, Out, Brief Candle") and heading to the NT where he married a Chinese woman and had "Irish Chinese" children is explored (never heard that one before!). The website for it gives some background.
From one of the producers:
...Later I read writings by my Dad’s eldest brother, (a collector of family stories), of how my great, great, great, grand father (a blacksmith) helped make the Kelly Gang’s armour. (This had been hushed up, as our family didn’t want to be seen as Kelly sympathisers.) From his wife we heard that her great, great, grand father, (a magistrate), believed that Ned had been substituted by another at the gallows and it was not he who had been hanged.....
Have a look as it sounds like a really intriguing bit of theatre:
http://tracksdance.com.au/html/work_2010_cook_queen_kelly.html
And last, but not least, if you ever make it out to Alice Springs, NT, stop in at Bojangles Saloon & Dining Room where a life-sized cut out of Ned Kelly "stands guard" at the door!
Another thing to do with Joe's cousin is how two of his sons fathered children by Aboriginal women. One of them, Stan, was the grandfather of former Essendon football star, Michael Long. (Long has said that his parents were 'stolen' and raised by missionaries on Melville Island.) We always keep hearing about (and from) all the modern day descendants of the siblings of the Kelly Gang members or others in the saga but never hear anything about the Byrne family descendants. Long was the first I had ever read of in that regard.
Author Graham Seal has said that "Ned Kelly is a hero to many Aboriginal Australians. Aborigines have adopted Ned Kelly into their cultures, in some cases conflating him with Jesus, other biblical figures, and Captain Cook."
Deborah Rose Bird wrote an interesting essay called "Ned Kelly Died for Our Sins" which can be found at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3654/is_n2_v65/ai_n28650374/?tag=content;col1 in which it tells about the Aboriginals in the Victoria River District of the NT and their myths and legends about Ned Kelly which seem to be what Seal was referring to.
And yet another Northern Territory connection I ran across during research is about a new play called "The Cook, The Queen, And The Kelly" in which the oral history/stories/myths about Ned escaping the noose (shades of the same furphy that was the premise for Barry McArthur's work of fiction "Out, Out, Brief Candle") and heading to the NT where he married a Chinese woman and had "Irish Chinese" children is explored (never heard that one before!). The website for it gives some background.
From one of the producers:
...Later I read writings by my Dad’s eldest brother, (a collector of family stories), of how my great, great, great, grand father (a blacksmith) helped make the Kelly Gang’s armour. (This had been hushed up, as our family didn’t want to be seen as Kelly sympathisers.) From his wife we heard that her great, great, grand father, (a magistrate), believed that Ned had been substituted by another at the gallows and it was not he who had been hanged.....
Have a look as it sounds like a really intriguing bit of theatre:
http://tracksdance.com.au/html/work_2010_cook_queen_kelly.html
And last, but not least, if you ever make it out to Alice Springs, NT, stop in at Bojangles Saloon & Dining Room where a life-sized cut out of Ned Kelly "stands guard" at the door!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Quotable James Ryan: Part 1, 1948 and 13 August 1933. [Brian Stevenson]
In 1933, an old reprobate who called himself James Ryan walked into the office of the editor of the Brisbane newspaper, ironically called Truth and declared that he was Dan Kelly, who most people had believed dead for over fifty years.
James Ryan could not read, so the task of researching and rehearsing this odd role of impoverished imposter was beyond him. It is also doubtful that he ever heard the famous Abraham Lincoln quote which goes something like 'No man [sic] has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.'
To an extent, though, James was successful in that he was convincing enough (or perhaps the editor was credulous enough, ignorant enough, or too damn lazy to check a few basic facts) to find himself the subject of an extensive interview over two weeks in the history of that august publication, which, incidentally, boosted its circulation on a regular basis by publishing the photographs of miserable little kids outside the divorce courts. Sad to relate, James posthumously took a few present day people, keen to bolster Ipswich, Queensland, as a tourist attraction for Kelly aficianados as well.
Anyway, James was quite a quotable chap, and many of his utterances were taken down for posterity.
Here are a few of them, all from the Truth.
1 August 1948.
'These nurses should remember they have been looking after Dan Kelly - and he's tough, even at 94.'
Dan Kelly would have been 87 in August 1948.
13 August 1933
'Father's name was Ned. He was called Old Ned.'
We're off to a great start, with Dad's given name obviously escaping his spurious son.
'[John Kelly] was lagged out here from Dublin about 1845. He used to say it was for poaching.'
John Kelly was transported from Clonbrogan, Tipperary, for the theft of two pigs in 1841. Maybe he wanted poached eggs with his bacon?! Arf!'
'I remember him [John Kelly] saying as he was sent first to Van Diemen's Land, and afterwards to Goulburn.'
There is no documented evidence that John Kelly was ever in New South Wales.
'Father went home [to Ireland] and came back with two of his sisters.'
John Kelly spent the rest of his life in Australia after arriving in
1841.
'[Father] married a sister of one of his old mates ... Her name was Kate.'
James can't remember his mum's given name either. Close and clannish family.
'I don't know what my mother's maiden name was.'
Oh, James, you should have done more research - why didn't you go to the library and check up on stuff like this in case you were asked? Oh, that's right, I figured it out ...
'My old man used to say that he knew Peter Lalor, leader of the Eureka Stockade rising. He had travelled out on the same ship from Ireland.'
Peter Lalor arrived as a free man in Melbourne in 1852. John Kelly arrived in Hobart Town as a convict in 1842.
'I was born in the year of the [Eureka] Stockade, 1854.'
Dan's birth, as documented, occurred on 1 June 1861. James would have been able to read this on his birth certificate ... oh, hang on ...
'Neither Ned or myself ever spent a day in a schoolroom. I cannot read or write.'
Both Ned and Dan attended school, and there are contemporary documents to prove it. Perhaps if James had spent more time in school, particulary in Religious Instruction, he would have learned how bad it is for 79 year olds (or is that 72 year olds, I forget which) to tell lies.
James Ryan could not read, so the task of researching and rehearsing this odd role of impoverished imposter was beyond him. It is also doubtful that he ever heard the famous Abraham Lincoln quote which goes something like 'No man [sic] has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.'
To an extent, though, James was successful in that he was convincing enough (or perhaps the editor was credulous enough, ignorant enough, or too damn lazy to check a few basic facts) to find himself the subject of an extensive interview over two weeks in the history of that august publication, which, incidentally, boosted its circulation on a regular basis by publishing the photographs of miserable little kids outside the divorce courts. Sad to relate, James posthumously took a few present day people, keen to bolster Ipswich, Queensland, as a tourist attraction for Kelly aficianados as well.
Anyway, James was quite a quotable chap, and many of his utterances were taken down for posterity.
Here are a few of them, all from the Truth.
1 August 1948.
'These nurses should remember they have been looking after Dan Kelly - and he's tough, even at 94.'
Dan Kelly would have been 87 in August 1948.
13 August 1933
'Father's name was Ned. He was called Old Ned.'
We're off to a great start, with Dad's given name obviously escaping his spurious son.
'[John Kelly] was lagged out here from Dublin about 1845. He used to say it was for poaching.'
John Kelly was transported from Clonbrogan, Tipperary, for the theft of two pigs in 1841. Maybe he wanted poached eggs with his bacon?! Arf!'
'I remember him [John Kelly] saying as he was sent first to Van Diemen's Land, and afterwards to Goulburn.'
There is no documented evidence that John Kelly was ever in New South Wales.
'Father went home [to Ireland] and came back with two of his sisters.'
John Kelly spent the rest of his life in Australia after arriving in
1841.
'[Father] married a sister of one of his old mates ... Her name was Kate.'
James can't remember his mum's given name either. Close and clannish family.
'I don't know what my mother's maiden name was.'
Oh, James, you should have done more research - why didn't you go to the library and check up on stuff like this in case you were asked? Oh, that's right, I figured it out ...
'My old man used to say that he knew Peter Lalor, leader of the Eureka Stockade rising. He had travelled out on the same ship from Ireland.'
Peter Lalor arrived as a free man in Melbourne in 1852. John Kelly arrived in Hobart Town as a convict in 1842.
'I was born in the year of the [Eureka] Stockade, 1854.'
Dan's birth, as documented, occurred on 1 June 1861. James would have been able to read this on his birth certificate ... oh, hang on ...
'Neither Ned or myself ever spent a day in a schoolroom. I cannot read or write.'
Both Ned and Dan attended school, and there are contemporary documents to prove it. Perhaps if James had spent more time in school, particulary in Religious Instruction, he would have learned how bad it is for 79 year olds (or is that 72 year olds, I forget which) to tell lies.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Ned Kelly's Migrating Scar! [Sharon Hollingsworth]
From the things-that-make-you-go-hmmmm and
don't-believe-everything-you-read-in-a-book department...Michael Ball
brought the following information to my attention after he saw a page
from the Victorian Police Gazette from 1874 and compared it with Ned's prison record that is in
McMenomy's book.
In Michael Ball's words:
The Victorian Police Gazette published a notice of Ned Kelly's release
from gaol and description of his identifying marks :
Scar top of head, two scars crown of head, eyebrows meet, two natural
marks between shoulders, two freckles lower left arm, scar ball of
left thumb, scar back of left hand, three scars left thumb.
However, the description on his ORIGINAL POLICE RECORD Prisoner 10926
Record 193 has the following :
Scar top of head, two scars crown of head [head not written but a "d"
for ditto] , scar front of head, eyebrows meeting, two natural marks
between shoulder blades, two freckles lower left arm, scar ball of
left thumb, scar back of right hand, three scars left thumb.
(NOTE: The Police Gazette had the scar on LEFT hand but the
handwritten Police Record has it on RIGHT hand)
Sharon here: So, we are left to wonder did someone just make an error
whilst transcribing the wording for the Police Gazette? Easy to do
after seeing so many "lefts" written in the description.
Still, very interesting and a good pickup, Michael!
don't-believe-everything-you-read-in-a-book department...Michael Ball
brought the following information to my attention after he saw a page
from the Victorian Police Gazette from 1874 and compared it with Ned's prison record that is in
McMenomy's book.
In Michael Ball's words:
The Victorian Police Gazette published a notice of Ned Kelly's release
from gaol and description of his identifying marks :
Scar top of head, two scars crown of head, eyebrows meet, two natural
marks between shoulders, two freckles lower left arm, scar ball of
left thumb, scar back of left hand, three scars left thumb.
However, the description on his ORIGINAL POLICE RECORD Prisoner 10926
Record 193 has the following :
Scar top of head, two scars crown of head [head not written but a "d"
for ditto] , scar front of head, eyebrows meeting, two natural marks
between shoulder blades, two freckles lower left arm, scar ball of
left thumb, scar back of right hand, three scars left thumb.
(NOTE: The Police Gazette had the scar on LEFT hand but the
handwritten Police Record has it on RIGHT hand)
Sharon here: So, we are left to wonder did someone just make an error
whilst transcribing the wording for the Police Gazette? Easy to do
after seeing so many "lefts" written in the description.
Still, very interesting and a good pickup, Michael!
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