A bushranger survey - guess who wins! [Brian Stevenson]

Ned Kelly is one of the best known Australians ever to breathe, no arguments about that. Indeed, he has been famously declared to be the only Australian that will be remembered in a thousand years time, and over thirteen decades after his execution, there is no sign of interest in Ned, or public awareness of him abating in a great hurry. No arguments about that, either, but two academics, Bruce Tranter and Jed Donoghue, both from the University of Tasmania, decided to quantify the interest and awareness of Ned, and took a survey that they published in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Sociology.

Tranter and Donoghue consider bushrangers an important feature of the Australian mythscape where 'the myths of the nation are forged, transmitted, reconstructed and negotiated constantly.' Elements of our 'mythscape' such as convicts, pioneers and bushrangers are fundamental to notions of our national identity. So it was worthwhile for Tranter and Donoghue to find out how aware contemporary Australians were of bushrangers.

The academics surveyed 1914 people and asked them to name four bushrangers. Over 80 percent named Ned as one of the four, with nearly 70 percent naming him first. Ben Hall was named in 28.9 percent of responses, but only 6.6 percent of respondents named him first. Those with colourful names did well and made up much of the balance - Captain Thunderbolt, 'Mad' Dan Morgan, Captain Starlight and Captain Moonlite, while trailing way behind Ned and Ben, all polled respectably, with all except for the benighted Moonlite being named by over 10 percent. The only other bushranger named by over 10 percent was Dan Kelly - it is fair to say that without his surname, he would have been of the same cellar dwelling status as Steve Hart
(2.8 percent), and Joe Byrne (2.5 percent.) The only other bushranger mentioned was Frank Gardiner, named by over 5 percent. And I wonder if Captain Starlight achieved his high ranking because memories of the real one were added to memories of the fictional bushranger in Rolf Boldrewood's novel, Robbery under arms.

Some of what you could call 'middle ranking' bushrangers missed out altogether. By these, I mean the ones well known to aficionados, but not household names. My old and much missed friend Edgar Penzig would have been upset at the apparent non-interest contemporary Australia takes in Johnny Gilbert, who he used to like describing as one of the most prolific (in terms of offences) criminals ever. Not too many seem to remember the urbane and homicidal Matthew Brady, the grotesquely transplanted Black Caesar, the hideous Michael Howe, the charmed and charming Martin Cash, the survivor Johnny Vane, the old windbag Jack Bradshaw, the 'brown paper bag' bushranger Harry Power, Queensland's own Alpin McPherson ... it is a long list. Even Jack Donahoe missed out, despite his name sometimes being used in 'The Wild Colonial Boy.' No room for the untypical bushrangers, either - the 15 year old Gus Wernickie, the Chinese Sam Poo or the female consort of Thunderbolt, Yellow Mary.

Some of the respondents rather missed the point and named politicians as 'bushrangers.' Every Prime Minister between Gough Whitlam and John Howard was so tagged, as well as Menzies and Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. One person, in what I can only presume was either extreme ignorance or light frivolity, named the famine-busting rock singer who hated Mondays, Bob Geldof. Mythical, but very Australian characters like the Jolly Swagman and the Man From Snowy River were also cited, as were Abel Tasman (dead for a century and a half before the time of Black Caesar) and contemporary or near-contemporary businesspeople like Christopher Skase and Alan Bond (the respondents may have had a point there.)

Tranter and Donoghue worked out other sorts of interesting stuff. There was hardly any difference in awareness of bushrangers between men and women, and they felt that those respondents who read the newspapers were more aware of the bushrangers, because of the way Ned and Co bob up in them from time to time. Slightly less than a quarter could name four bushrangers, and 17.5 percent could not name even one. Only eleven people took what would have been the easy way out for the edified and educated readers of this blog by naming the four members of the Kelly Gang. (It is a little surprising that Steve seems to be slightly better known than Joe, although not one respondent mentioned Steve first.) Middle aged and older Australians did a bit better, and (no surprises here) those born in Australia did a lot better than those born overseas.

The authors of the report saw the personal qualities of Ned, Ben and Thunderbolt as playing a part in the robustness of their memory. Like Kelly (when he wanted to be, that is), Ben and Thunderbolt were courteous. All three were daring, and led the police a merry dance for a prolonged period of time - seven years in Thunderbolt's case. While Kelly was violent, and a killer, Hall and Thunderbolt were not, although Edgar Penzig would have argued most passionately that the former certainly tried hard enough. All three enjoyed significant local support.

But there were 'three interlinked elements' in Kelly's case. Firstly, the press has played an important role in ensuring that he was remembered as a folk hero. Over time, press attitudes have changed from predominantly critical to largely sympathetic. Secondly, the armour, which for five generations or so has provided him with a readily identifiable and iconic image. Heavens, it was even used in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics! Thirdly, the well known series of Sidney Nolan paintings have ensured that connoisseurs of the higher elements of Australian culture have not forgotten Ned. Tranter and Donoghue conclude: 'In life he was an outlaw who captured the national imagination, but in death he has transcended his bushranger status to become a national symbol. Although supporters and critics are divided as to his standing as hero or villain, Kelly symbolises a romantic and rebellious aspect of national identity in contemporary Australia.'