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Hundreds farewell bushranger Ned Kelly at mass before burial
by: Pia Akerman in Wangaratta
From: The Australian
January 18, 2013 1:04PM
HUNDREDS of Ned Kelly's descendants and fans paid their respects to the notorious bushranger today as his remains returned to Victoria's northeastern country for a requiem mass.
The service at St Patrick's church in Wangaratta this afternoon heard hymns and prayers for "one of the most famous, some would say infamous" Australians, whose bones were only discovered in the ruins of Pentridge Prison in 2008, 128 years after his execution.
Monsignor John White told the congregation he felt humbled and privileged to say the mass for Kelly.
"Of all Australians, Ned is without doubt one of the most famous, some would say infamous, and therein lies the great divide in society," he said. "That divide still is simmering today."
The 500-strong crowd varied from tattooed men in jeans and Ned Kelly t-shirts to elderly Wangaratta ladies coming along for their regular Friday mass, as well as members of the Kelly family who gave the Bible readings.
Even before the service began, a revolutionary spirit filled the church as the organist played "Do you hear the people sing" from Les Miserables.
Connections to the outlaw are not hard to find in Kelly country.
Brandon Gardner who attended the service said his great-grandfather had been good friends with Kelly, allowing him to hide out in a hut on his Millawa property.
"We're all Kelly sympathisers," Mr Gardner said. "This is really big to me."
It is understood the family will bury Kelly privately this weekend at Greta cemetery, where his mother Ellen also lies in an unmarked grave.
Kelly was hanged in 1880 for the murder of Thomas Lonergan, one of three policemen he killed after ambushing their camp at Stringybark Creek.
Kelly was later apprehended following a shootout with police at Glenrowan, near Wangaratta.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/hundreds-farewell-bushranger-ned-kelly-at-mass-before-burial/story-e6frg6n6-1226556624078
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.
Not surprisingly, I got all choked up and had tears in my eyes when I saw Ned's coffin being carried from St Pat's. I never thought I'd ever see Ned's remains treated with the respect he requested, and it was just wonderful to know he has now returned to the arms of his family. I desperately hope that when he is buried alongside his nearest and dearest he will receive the same respect.
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