I would not have expected Australia's best known conservative historian to be on side with the boys, so it was no surprise to read his thoughts on them in his history of Victoria, Our side of the country, first published in 1984.
While he concedes that 'the strange career of the Kelly gang reveals some of the pitfalls faced by the smaller selectors', he doesn't seem to have much sympathy for them.
After describing Ellen Kelly's 88 acre holding as 'a narrow fertile flat created by one of those meandering creeks which ceased to flow in the summer, and the remainder was timbered land which sloped towards the ranges in the south.'
Blainey continues:
'Many farmers, remembering Ireland or the little market gardens close to Melbourne, thought that they could make a living on less than one hundred acres. Scores of speeches at the top of Bourke Street stressed that hope. But most people who took up a small selection on the plains did so because they could not afford to buy more land. Starting with too little capital they were likely to be pleading for an overdraft after only one lean season. We do not know whether Mrs Kelly, like thousands of farmers of the 1870s, tried to borrow from a bank. Certainly the family of a former convict, possessing at least one wild son and and easygoing way of life, did not have a high credit rating.'
So far, so good. Though the point has recently been disputed, conventional wisdom is that the various Selection Acts simply left far too many farmers on blocks that they had no hope of making a profit from. We saw this much later, after World War I, when returned (and rurally inexperienced) soldiers were settled, once again, on hopelessly small blocks. The soldier settlement scheme failed in all states.
Blainey again:
'A small farm had some hope of flourishing it it stood beside a busy road, especially to the goldfields. It could sell hay for the passing horse teams, eggs and butter to the travellers, and sell them at far above Melbourne prices. For a couple of years the Kellys had a prime position well away from the nearest town and facing the road to the Beechworth goldfield. Mrs Kelly was thus able to invite in the passing traffic for a nobbler of sly grog: a more profitable commodity than eggs.'
So there we have it, a logical contention that the Kellys were geographically placed to do a lot better financially by honest means than what they did. Still, with a large family and no dad to bring home the bacon, many people would not blame Ellen for turning to illicit means to supplement her meagre income.
Blainey again:
'A crucial even in the frail fortunes of the Kellys must have been the decline of the road traffic after the railway from Melbourne passed through their district in 1873. At least the Kellys could fall back on wheat, but after successive crops the yield must have fallen, the soil being deficient in phosphate. as far as can be ascertained, the Kellys also had to harvest the wheat with the slow, laborious sweep of the scythe at the very time when the real profit lay in harvesting on the large scale. The Kellys lacked the acreage and the equipment for that scale of wheat-growing which was becoming normal on the plains by the mid-1870s. They were indirectly the victims of the new technology - the railway and the harvesting machinery. A family more determined and hard-working than the Kellys would have done better, but even they might have ultimately surrendered.'
I don't think I recall ever hearing that the Kellys farmed wheat, but the thought of it is almost pathetic - harvesting by hand, and on a tiny block - even though one hundred acres must have seemed plenty big enough when you have to scythe it!
Blainey then goes on to give a potted version of the story that we know so well. He refers to SBC as the Kellys's 'first cold-blooded venture', something that would beget arguments on many other forums, though not from me. Using a quote from Jesse Dowsett, the heroic railway guard that helped capture Ned at Glenrowan, who said to himself while firing at the armoured outlaw: 'This must be the Devil himself', Blainey relates, dispassionately, 'The Devil himself was captured. Taken by train to Melbourne, he was finally convicted of murder, and hanged on the morning of 11 November 1880.' His feelings towards Ned are unsubtle and only too evident.
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.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Ned Kelly's link with .... Judy Garland?? [Brian Stevenson]
It was the last song Ned Kelly would ever hear as a free man, and the last song Johnny (or Jack) Jones would ever sing. And its performance provided Ned Kelly with the only discernible link to Judy Garland!
In the closing stages of the surreal party held at Ann Jones's Glenrowan Inn, Ned Kelly, weary but perhaps feeling a little relieved in the mistaken belief that the long foreseen armed confrontation was not going to take place, felt like some music, so he asked his 'guests' to sing.
As Ann Jones herself later recalled, one young man sang two songs.
Then Ned looked at Ann and said: 'Are you not going to sing?'
Ann was honest, and said that she could not, but Ned 'said 'Try', and I said I had a little boy who could sing a little but he was delicate, and I called the boy and he sang The Wild Colonial Boy and Colleen das cruitha na mo.'
Ian Jones (no relation to Ann) much later described the song as 'sweet' and 'curiously poignant.' We don't know how well young Jack performed the song, but it mattered little - within hours, the inside of his mother's hotel was hell on earth, and Jack himself would be dead. He died in the Wangaratta Hospital of wounds received in the siege, and, sadly, never got to regale his young schoolmates, or, later on, his workmates in the pub, with the story of how he sang songs for Ned Kelly.
The Wild Colonial Boy is, of course, well known, but what of the other song. Well, it literally translates to The Pretty Maid Milking the Cow, and versions and theories about the song's meaning abound.
On the face of it, the story is pretty simple. A young (presumably) man (presumably) sees an unbelievably beautiful young woman with 'cheeks redder than the rowan trees', a mouth 'sweeter than blackberries' and a 'complexion brighter than new milk.' Unsurprisingly, he falls in love with her and would not swap her company for the High Lordship of Ireland (whatever that is) or a hundred ships, palaces, castles or gold. He won't be happy until he is with her again, and if he is not, his life will be 'Without peace, without merit, without direction' and he will have no rest until he sees her by his side again.
Clearly, she is some chick.
There are many versions of the song, many variations in the wording and the song has multiple meanings. Sometimes the girl is seen as Ireland itself. There is another school of thought that the young man is a priest, who is distracted by her beauty when he is on the way to attend a dying man. But most see it as just a song about a lovely young milkmaid.
There is some discussion of the song's origins and history on the folk and blues website, http://www.mudflat.org/ and innumerable versions, both in the Gaelic that Ned heard, and in English, abound on Youtube. I like the version by Clannad the best, but there are other good ones as well, both instrumental and vocal.
And as for Judy Garland - well, she sang the song in the movie, Little Nelllie Kelly. Although she was quite young at the time, she played the character of both mother and daughter in the movie. It's also the only movie on which Judy died on screen (as the mother, but she came back as the daughter.) In the movie, she sings 'The Pretty Maid Milking the Cow.'
The first two-thirds of it are pretty conventional, and would probably be vaguely commensurate with what Ned heard, had Judy sung it in Gaelic. But for the last part of the song, the tempo lifts, and a big band of the swing era joins in, and Judy alters the lyrics somewhat, including the observation that the impact of the sight of the beautiful girl would not be quite the same had she been milking a goat. Well, yes.
Judy visited Australia on at least one occasion, so she may have heard of Ned, though most likely not of his connection to the song she had performed. We can only wonder what Ned would have thought of Judy's version!
(Note: this blog post is indebted to Val Noone's article 'Dymphna Lonergan rescues Jack Jones' Glenrowan song', Tain August-September 2005. This article features a transcription of the song in Gaelic, as well as the English version.)
.
In the closing stages of the surreal party held at Ann Jones's Glenrowan Inn, Ned Kelly, weary but perhaps feeling a little relieved in the mistaken belief that the long foreseen armed confrontation was not going to take place, felt like some music, so he asked his 'guests' to sing.
As Ann Jones herself later recalled, one young man sang two songs.
Then Ned looked at Ann and said: 'Are you not going to sing?'
Ann was honest, and said that she could not, but Ned 'said 'Try', and I said I had a little boy who could sing a little but he was delicate, and I called the boy and he sang The Wild Colonial Boy and Colleen das cruitha na mo.'
Ian Jones (no relation to Ann) much later described the song as 'sweet' and 'curiously poignant.' We don't know how well young Jack performed the song, but it mattered little - within hours, the inside of his mother's hotel was hell on earth, and Jack himself would be dead. He died in the Wangaratta Hospital of wounds received in the siege, and, sadly, never got to regale his young schoolmates, or, later on, his workmates in the pub, with the story of how he sang songs for Ned Kelly.
The Wild Colonial Boy is, of course, well known, but what of the other song. Well, it literally translates to The Pretty Maid Milking the Cow, and versions and theories about the song's meaning abound.
On the face of it, the story is pretty simple. A young (presumably) man (presumably) sees an unbelievably beautiful young woman with 'cheeks redder than the rowan trees', a mouth 'sweeter than blackberries' and a 'complexion brighter than new milk.' Unsurprisingly, he falls in love with her and would not swap her company for the High Lordship of Ireland (whatever that is) or a hundred ships, palaces, castles or gold. He won't be happy until he is with her again, and if he is not, his life will be 'Without peace, without merit, without direction' and he will have no rest until he sees her by his side again.
Clearly, she is some chick.
There are many versions of the song, many variations in the wording and the song has multiple meanings. Sometimes the girl is seen as Ireland itself. There is another school of thought that the young man is a priest, who is distracted by her beauty when he is on the way to attend a dying man. But most see it as just a song about a lovely young milkmaid.
There is some discussion of the song's origins and history on the folk and blues website, http://www.mudflat.org/ and innumerable versions, both in the Gaelic that Ned heard, and in English, abound on Youtube. I like the version by Clannad the best, but there are other good ones as well, both instrumental and vocal.
And as for Judy Garland - well, she sang the song in the movie, Little Nelllie Kelly. Although she was quite young at the time, she played the character of both mother and daughter in the movie. It's also the only movie on which Judy died on screen (as the mother, but she came back as the daughter.) In the movie, she sings 'The Pretty Maid Milking the Cow.'
The first two-thirds of it are pretty conventional, and would probably be vaguely commensurate with what Ned heard, had Judy sung it in Gaelic. But for the last part of the song, the tempo lifts, and a big band of the swing era joins in, and Judy alters the lyrics somewhat, including the observation that the impact of the sight of the beautiful girl would not be quite the same had she been milking a goat. Well, yes.
Judy visited Australia on at least one occasion, so she may have heard of Ned, though most likely not of his connection to the song she had performed. We can only wonder what Ned would have thought of Judy's version!
(Note: this blog post is indebted to Val Noone's article 'Dymphna Lonergan rescues Jack Jones' Glenrowan song', Tain August-September 2005. This article features a transcription of the song in Gaelic, as well as the English version.)
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A Jim Kelly Imposter? [Sharon Hollingsworth]
This caught my eye from the Cairns Post of October 23, 1950.
It was under a column called "Australoddities" compiled and written by Bill Beatty.
Living quietly in Victoria is 94-year-old Jim Kelly, who claims to be
the only surviving brother of the notorious bushranger, Ned. In 1933,
when in Western Australia, he narrowly escaped death while engaged in
clearing stumps. A fuse of dynamite misfired, and Jim Kelly owed his
life to a big gum tree that stood between him and the explosion. Letters
still arrive at the Glenrowan, Victoria post office addressed to Ned Kelly,
but they are forwarded on to relatives.
Ok, this is one of two things...either some very old (and incorrect) material that was recycled past the use by date or Dan Kelly and Steve Hart are not the only folks in the Kelly saga that have had imposters claiming to be them. I recall the times in print that Jim Kelly would challenge and rail against these wannabes, and Greg Young reminded me of how in Kenneally's "The Inner History of the Kelly Gang" that Jim said "I myself have been impersonated by depraved imposters."
Oddly enough, the Cairns Post had reported on Jim's death back in 1946 and said he was "over 90" at the time! Seeing as how he was born in July of 1859, that would have made him 87 at the time of passing in December of 1946.
Also, when was he ever in Western Australia blowing up stumps?
That is interesting about letters addressed to Ned Kelly still arriving at the Glenrowan post office back then! Wonder what the messages were? Is this like writing to Santa Claus at the North Pole or the letters to Juliet sent to Verona, Italy? (I wonder if the relatives replied to any?)
It was under a column called "Australoddities" compiled and written by Bill Beatty.
Living quietly in Victoria is 94-year-old Jim Kelly, who claims to be
the only surviving brother of the notorious bushranger, Ned. In 1933,
when in Western Australia, he narrowly escaped death while engaged in
clearing stumps. A fuse of dynamite misfired, and Jim Kelly owed his
life to a big gum tree that stood between him and the explosion. Letters
still arrive at the Glenrowan, Victoria post office addressed to Ned Kelly,
but they are forwarded on to relatives.
Ok, this is one of two things...either some very old (and incorrect) material that was recycled past the use by date or Dan Kelly and Steve Hart are not the only folks in the Kelly saga that have had imposters claiming to be them. I recall the times in print that Jim Kelly would challenge and rail against these wannabes, and Greg Young reminded me of how in Kenneally's "The Inner History of the Kelly Gang" that Jim said "I myself have been impersonated by depraved imposters."
Oddly enough, the Cairns Post had reported on Jim's death back in 1946 and said he was "over 90" at the time! Seeing as how he was born in July of 1859, that would have made him 87 at the time of passing in December of 1946.
Also, when was he ever in Western Australia blowing up stumps?
That is interesting about letters addressed to Ned Kelly still arriving at the Glenrowan post office back then! Wonder what the messages were? Is this like writing to Santa Claus at the North Pole or the letters to Juliet sent to Verona, Italy? (I wonder if the relatives replied to any?)
Friday, January 14, 2011
(Part One) Constable Tom King: Hero of Maryborough's Great Flood of 1893 [Sharon Hollingsworth]
The terrible flooding in Queensland continues this week with Brisbane and Maryborough (and other areas) getting inundated. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all affected right down to the pets, livestock and wildlife.
Previously, the worst flooding Maryborough ever experienced was back in February of 1893 when the river peaked at 40 feet (12.27 meters). One of the heroes of the '93 flood was someone with ties to the Kelly saga, Senior-Constable Tom King. King was just mentioned in a recent blog as being the Senior-Constable who came down to Victoria with Sub-Inspector O'Connor and the black trackers in March of 1879 to aid in the hunt for the Kelly Gang. He, however, headed back to Queensland in August of that same year, so he was not at the siege of Glenrowan and Ned Kelly's capture. I do wonder if things would have turned out differently at the siege with a man of his ability on scene? At some future point I will perhaps go into King's full life story which is a rich and fascinating one, but for now we will concentrate on his acts of heroism during The Great Flood of 1893.
Reading in the Queensland papers from the era, we find that Senior-Constable King and his crew were the first rescuers in the area to take to the water in a large whale boat. (Note that previously, in 1883, King had requested leave to participate in the Brisbane Regatta as part of a four-man rowing team representing the Maryborough Rowing Club. He also competed in the solo amateur sculling race. Neither the team, nor he individually, took top honours. However, surely he was a strong rower, which would have come in very handy during the 1893 flood.) Many homes in the Maryborough area were already under water when rescue efforts began and many other families had taken refuge in top storeys of houses and barns. Some refused assistance, saying they felt they would be ok where they where, but others took the rescuers up on their offer to get to higher ground. Many rescues of people were due to the bravery and tireless diligence of King and his crew. At another time, and in another context, a colleague described Tom King's courage as being "ludicrous and sublime." It certainly was true during The Great Flood.
Constable King not only saved people but animals, too. He was a man of great compassion.
According to The Morning Bulletin of February 15, 1883:
"Constable King, ascertaining that the remaining farmers were secure, turned his attention and that of his crew towards saving cattle and horses. They had great difficulty in swimming a number of cattle, among which was an obstreperous bull which charged them on two or three occasions. The difficulty was solved by locking this unruly customer up in a yard. The cows were then taken across some considerable distance to dry land, and on return the gate was thrown open and the bull quickly joined his companions. Some eight or nine horses which were isolated and almost submerged by the water were also successfully swum ashore."
Later King and his men helped to deliver food and other provision to stranded citizens.
The grateful citizens wanted to present King with an illuminated address as a token of their appreciation.
A letter was sent to the Commissioner of Police in Brisbane which said:
Sir, We, the undersigned, have the honor to inform you that several citizens of Maryborough desire to present a testimonial to Senior Constable Thomas King, who is stationed here, in recognition of his valuable service during the recent floods in this town, and we beg to request that you will be kind enough to grant him permission to accept it.
Trusting to hear from you as early as possible.
Here is what the address looked like:
And here is a transcription of it:
THOMAS KING
DEAR SIR
We the undersigned on behalf of the numerous residents of the Wide Bay District, beg your acceptance of this memento of our huge appreciation of your valorous conduct and untiring energy during the late flood in Feb 93. Your utter disregard of self, your indomitable perseverance and good generalship, were the means of rescuing many who, but for your intervention, must inevitably have perished. Only those who witnessed that mighty rush of waters have any conception of the peril to which yourself and comrades were exposed. Your duties during this perilous period necessitated unceasing labor, not alone during the day, but at all hours of the night, and we heartily congratulate you on having performed those duties in a manner impossible to one less inured to danger and hardship than yourself. We also thank your comrades for their hearty co-operation in this work of rescue.
Again thanking you for your indefatigable exertions, and wishing you and yours a long period of happiness & prosperity.
Your Sincere Wellwishers
That is really nice, isn't it?
But what is not so nice is the Commissioner's reply:
Senior Constable King can accept any testimonial from the citizens of Maryborough that is presented to him through the Inspector of the district, but cannot attend any meeting.
That seems rather harsh, doesn't it, not letting Constable King attend a presentation function? (perhaps that was just regulations, but still!!) He deserved a dinner and a parade, or at the very least some applause and pats on the back, though he probably would have said he had just been doing his sworn duty.
Let's consider this blog posting to be a posthumous "For he's a jolly good fellow" chorus for Constable King!
Speaking of jolly good fellows, a while back my close friend Greg Young, who is also the great-great grandson of Thomas King, went in search of the present day location of this illuminated address. He will tell of his journey and his findings in Part Two of Constable Tom King: Hero of Maryborough's Great Flood of 1893 which will be coming soon.
Stay tuned!
Part Two is now available at http://elevenmilecreek.blogspot.com/2011/02/part-two-constable-tom-king-hero-of.html
Previously, the worst flooding Maryborough ever experienced was back in February of 1893 when the river peaked at 40 feet (12.27 meters). One of the heroes of the '93 flood was someone with ties to the Kelly saga, Senior-Constable Tom King. King was just mentioned in a recent blog as being the Senior-Constable who came down to Victoria with Sub-Inspector O'Connor and the black trackers in March of 1879 to aid in the hunt for the Kelly Gang. He, however, headed back to Queensland in August of that same year, so he was not at the siege of Glenrowan and Ned Kelly's capture. I do wonder if things would have turned out differently at the siege with a man of his ability on scene? At some future point I will perhaps go into King's full life story which is a rich and fascinating one, but for now we will concentrate on his acts of heroism during The Great Flood of 1893.
Reading in the Queensland papers from the era, we find that Senior-Constable King and his crew were the first rescuers in the area to take to the water in a large whale boat. (Note that previously, in 1883, King had requested leave to participate in the Brisbane Regatta as part of a four-man rowing team representing the Maryborough Rowing Club. He also competed in the solo amateur sculling race. Neither the team, nor he individually, took top honours. However, surely he was a strong rower, which would have come in very handy during the 1893 flood.) Many homes in the Maryborough area were already under water when rescue efforts began and many other families had taken refuge in top storeys of houses and barns. Some refused assistance, saying they felt they would be ok where they where, but others took the rescuers up on their offer to get to higher ground. Many rescues of people were due to the bravery and tireless diligence of King and his crew. At another time, and in another context, a colleague described Tom King's courage as being "ludicrous and sublime." It certainly was true during The Great Flood.
Constable King not only saved people but animals, too. He was a man of great compassion.
According to The Morning Bulletin of February 15, 1883:
"Constable King, ascertaining that the remaining farmers were secure, turned his attention and that of his crew towards saving cattle and horses. They had great difficulty in swimming a number of cattle, among which was an obstreperous bull which charged them on two or three occasions. The difficulty was solved by locking this unruly customer up in a yard. The cows were then taken across some considerable distance to dry land, and on return the gate was thrown open and the bull quickly joined his companions. Some eight or nine horses which were isolated and almost submerged by the water were also successfully swum ashore."
Later King and his men helped to deliver food and other provision to stranded citizens.
The grateful citizens wanted to present King with an illuminated address as a token of their appreciation.
A letter was sent to the Commissioner of Police in Brisbane which said:
Sir, We, the undersigned, have the honor to inform you that several citizens of Maryborough desire to present a testimonial to Senior Constable Thomas King, who is stationed here, in recognition of his valuable service during the recent floods in this town, and we beg to request that you will be kind enough to grant him permission to accept it.
Trusting to hear from you as early as possible.
Here is what the address looked like:
 |
| (image courtesy of Greg Young) |
And here is a transcription of it:
THOMAS KING
DEAR SIR
We the undersigned on behalf of the numerous residents of the Wide Bay District, beg your acceptance of this memento of our huge appreciation of your valorous conduct and untiring energy during the late flood in Feb 93. Your utter disregard of self, your indomitable perseverance and good generalship, were the means of rescuing many who, but for your intervention, must inevitably have perished. Only those who witnessed that mighty rush of waters have any conception of the peril to which yourself and comrades were exposed. Your duties during this perilous period necessitated unceasing labor, not alone during the day, but at all hours of the night, and we heartily congratulate you on having performed those duties in a manner impossible to one less inured to danger and hardship than yourself. We also thank your comrades for their hearty co-operation in this work of rescue.
Again thanking you for your indefatigable exertions, and wishing you and yours a long period of happiness & prosperity.
Your Sincere Wellwishers
That is really nice, isn't it?
But what is not so nice is the Commissioner's reply:
Senior Constable King can accept any testimonial from the citizens of Maryborough that is presented to him through the Inspector of the district, but cannot attend any meeting.
That seems rather harsh, doesn't it, not letting Constable King attend a presentation function? (perhaps that was just regulations, but still!!) He deserved a dinner and a parade, or at the very least some applause and pats on the back, though he probably would have said he had just been doing his sworn duty.
Let's consider this blog posting to be a posthumous "For he's a jolly good fellow" chorus for Constable King!
Speaking of jolly good fellows, a while back my close friend Greg Young, who is also the great-great grandson of Thomas King, went in search of the present day location of this illuminated address. He will tell of his journey and his findings in Part Two of Constable Tom King: Hero of Maryborough's Great Flood of 1893 which will be coming soon.
Stay tuned!
Part Two is now available at http://elevenmilecreek.blogspot.com/2011/02/part-two-constable-tom-king-hero-of.html
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Event Alert: Special February Kelly Haunts Tour to Jerilderie
Kelly researcher and tour guide (and good friend!) Joe Dipisa is hosting a special two day Kelly Haunts Tour on the weekend of February 12/13, 2011 to Jerilderie and other Kelly country locations to commemorate the 132nd anniversary of the Raid on Jerilderie by the Kelly Gang. Towns to be visited include: Beveridge.....Wallan.....Jerilderie.....Benalla.......Glenrowan.....Greta..Euroa and Avenel. For more information and to book see:
http://www.kellyhauntstours.com.au/toursix.htm
http://www.kellyhauntstours.com.au/toursix.htm
Corporal Sambo: Duty Done [Sharon Hollingsworth]
In my last blog post I wrote about the time of Joe Byrne's burial at Benalla Cemetery. In this post I am still focusing on the Benalla Cemetery, but this time the subject is Queensland Native Police (Black Tracker) Corporal Sambo who died in Victoria during the Kelly hunt.
In the Royal Commission Sub-Inspector Stanhope O'Connor gives details of arriving in Victoria with his troopers and the subsequent death of Corporal Sambo:
#1073 You met Captain Standish, you say, in March 1879? - The 6th of March 1879 at seven p.m. I was accompanied by six black troopers, and by one senior-constable, a white man. The names of my men were - Senior-Constable King, Corporal Sambo, Troopers Hero, Johnny, Jimmy, Barney, and Jack. I requested permission from Captain Standish to halt for the day, as one of my troopers named Jack was very ill. This Captain Standish granted at once. On the 8th March 1879, at nine a.m., Captain Standish, I, and my men left Albury for Wodonga, Victoria, where Captain Standish directed my party to remain for further orders. Captain Standish and I proceeded to Benalla, arriving there at two p.m. On Monday the 10th Senior-Constable King and the six troopers arrived at two p.m. from Wodonga at Benalla. On the 11th of March, Captain Standish ordered us out on our first trip, but had me sworn in previously a member of the police force of Victoria.
#1074 And your men? - No; only myself and my senior-constable. The black trackers do not take the oath ever; they are enlisted. We left Benalla at eleven a.m. on the 11th in company with Superintendent Sadleir and five or six Victorian constables....
#1075 I and my party returned to Benalla on the 18th of March at 5.50 p.m., owing to the fact that the party was not sufficiently supplied with necessaries, and that one of my troopers, Corporal Sambo, got very ill.
#1076 What do you call necessaries? - Blanketing and clothing.
#1077 Provisions? - We were not supplied sufficiently with those. I consider necessaries everything.
#1078 Food and clothing? - Food and bedding would be better. He was so bad, indeed, that I had to send him back to head-quarters on the 15th.
#1079 What do you call head-quarters? - Benalla. I always called that head-quarters; and on the morning of the 18th we met Constable Bell, who informed me that my trooper was dying. This man died on the evening of the 19th of congestion of the lungs. I do not attribute any blame to the Victorian authorities in this matter. In fact, Captain Standish showed my men every kindness.
Interesting that he mentioned about Trooper Jack being sick upon arrival and not Sambo. In The Maitland Mercury Hunter River General Advertiser of March 29, 1879 it tells of Corporal Sambo catching a cold while on the steamer to Sydney and that when he arrived in Victoria he was "somewhat better, but it returned in the field, and he had to be sent to the barracks for medical treatment."
The article went on to say that:
"His lungs, were, however, greatly diseased, and the doctors were unable to save his life. Sambo had one regret paramount to all others, the leaving of his mentor, Inspector O'Connor, whose life, we hear, but with what truth we do not know, he saved in Queensland on two occasions. His black companions cried when they heard of his death, but only one of them, said to be a brother of deceased, went to the cemetery with Inspector O'Connor to see him buried..."
I am not sure how long Sambo had served under O'Connor as I don't have access to his Service Record, but the earliest mention (in a book called "Reminiscences of Queenland: 1862-1899") I could find of him being a Corporal under O'Connor was from 1874. Surely the association predated even then. I am wondering about it being said that one of the other trackers was his brother. Had not read that anywhere else before. I wonder which one it was?
In the PROV Archives there is correspondence between Superintendent Sadleir, Asst. Commissioner of Police Nicolson, and Commissioner of Police Standish. Nicolson was all for burying him as a pauper even going as far to say that "I would call attention to the fact that by obtaining a justice's order the cemetery fee of 20 pence cannot be charged." (That is shades of them trying to stiff Dr. Turner out of 4 guineas for attending to Trooper Jimmy who was wounded during the siege, while at the same time no expense was spared for the treatment of Superintendent Hare's wound.)
Standish disagreed with Nicolson and said he "did not see why he should be buried as a destitute person.." He said "The Queensland Native Trooper was doing regular duty as a constable under the Vict. Govt. and his illness..was contracted while he was on active duty in the ranges."
It seems that Nicolson had his way! An unmarked pauper's grave it was. Corporal Sambo, aged 25, was laid to rest on March 21, 1879 at the Benalla Cemetery. His grave was not marked until 1993.
[photo courtesy of Michael Ball]
John Molony in his book "[I Am] Ned Kelly" said of Sambo:
One of them, called Sambo, longed for the far places and the familiar places of his people in the north. He fell ill, pined away and died, to be buried in another's tribal grounds, and it was fitting that
he was put to rest as a pauper for he had come owning nothing and his spirit left the northeast as it had come.
At some point within the last few years (per the Benalla Cemetery online archives, but I can find no further information elsewhere) Corporal Sambo's remains were exhumed and taken back up North to be buried among his people.
He was home at last!
In the Royal Commission Sub-Inspector Stanhope O'Connor gives details of arriving in Victoria with his troopers and the subsequent death of Corporal Sambo:
#1073 You met Captain Standish, you say, in March 1879? - The 6th of March 1879 at seven p.m. I was accompanied by six black troopers, and by one senior-constable, a white man. The names of my men were - Senior-Constable King, Corporal Sambo, Troopers Hero, Johnny, Jimmy, Barney, and Jack. I requested permission from Captain Standish to halt for the day, as one of my troopers named Jack was very ill. This Captain Standish granted at once. On the 8th March 1879, at nine a.m., Captain Standish, I, and my men left Albury for Wodonga, Victoria, where Captain Standish directed my party to remain for further orders. Captain Standish and I proceeded to Benalla, arriving there at two p.m. On Monday the 10th Senior-Constable King and the six troopers arrived at two p.m. from Wodonga at Benalla. On the 11th of March, Captain Standish ordered us out on our first trip, but had me sworn in previously a member of the police force of Victoria.
#1074 And your men? - No; only myself and my senior-constable. The black trackers do not take the oath ever; they are enlisted. We left Benalla at eleven a.m. on the 11th in company with Superintendent Sadleir and five or six Victorian constables....
#1075 I and my party returned to Benalla on the 18th of March at 5.50 p.m., owing to the fact that the party was not sufficiently supplied with necessaries, and that one of my troopers, Corporal Sambo, got very ill.
#1076 What do you call necessaries? - Blanketing and clothing.
#1077 Provisions? - We were not supplied sufficiently with those. I consider necessaries everything.
#1078 Food and clothing? - Food and bedding would be better. He was so bad, indeed, that I had to send him back to head-quarters on the 15th.
#1079 What do you call head-quarters? - Benalla. I always called that head-quarters; and on the morning of the 18th we met Constable Bell, who informed me that my trooper was dying. This man died on the evening of the 19th of congestion of the lungs. I do not attribute any blame to the Victorian authorities in this matter. In fact, Captain Standish showed my men every kindness.
Interesting that he mentioned about Trooper Jack being sick upon arrival and not Sambo. In The Maitland Mercury Hunter River General Advertiser of March 29, 1879 it tells of Corporal Sambo catching a cold while on the steamer to Sydney and that when he arrived in Victoria he was "somewhat better, but it returned in the field, and he had to be sent to the barracks for medical treatment."
The article went on to say that:
"His lungs, were, however, greatly diseased, and the doctors were unable to save his life. Sambo had one regret paramount to all others, the leaving of his mentor, Inspector O'Connor, whose life, we hear, but with what truth we do not know, he saved in Queensland on two occasions. His black companions cried when they heard of his death, but only one of them, said to be a brother of deceased, went to the cemetery with Inspector O'Connor to see him buried..."
I am not sure how long Sambo had served under O'Connor as I don't have access to his Service Record, but the earliest mention (in a book called "Reminiscences of Queenland: 1862-1899") I could find of him being a Corporal under O'Connor was from 1874. Surely the association predated even then. I am wondering about it being said that one of the other trackers was his brother. Had not read that anywhere else before. I wonder which one it was?
In the PROV Archives there is correspondence between Superintendent Sadleir, Asst. Commissioner of Police Nicolson, and Commissioner of Police Standish. Nicolson was all for burying him as a pauper even going as far to say that "I would call attention to the fact that by obtaining a justice's order the cemetery fee of 20 pence cannot be charged." (That is shades of them trying to stiff Dr. Turner out of 4 guineas for attending to Trooper Jimmy who was wounded during the siege, while at the same time no expense was spared for the treatment of Superintendent Hare's wound.)
Standish disagreed with Nicolson and said he "did not see why he should be buried as a destitute person.." He said "The Queensland Native Trooper was doing regular duty as a constable under the Vict. Govt. and his illness..was contracted while he was on active duty in the ranges."
It seems that Nicolson had his way! An unmarked pauper's grave it was. Corporal Sambo, aged 25, was laid to rest on March 21, 1879 at the Benalla Cemetery. His grave was not marked until 1993.
John Molony in his book "[I Am] Ned Kelly" said of Sambo:
One of them, called Sambo, longed for the far places and the familiar places of his people in the north. He fell ill, pined away and died, to be buried in another's tribal grounds, and it was fitting that
he was put to rest as a pauper for he had come owning nothing and his spirit left the northeast as it had come.
At some point within the last few years (per the Benalla Cemetery online archives, but I can find no further information elsewhere) Corporal Sambo's remains were exhumed and taken back up North to be buried among his people.
He was home at last!
Monday, January 3, 2011
What Time Was It When Joe Byrne Was Buried? [Sharon Hollingsworth]
A while back Dave White sent me a CD by Darren Coggan called "Hometown." Darren is a tremendous talent and I enjoyed his music immensely, especially the hauntingly beautiful song called "Silence and Me (Joe Byrne)" which was written by Ken McBeath. I highly recommend this CD.
The lyrics start out with:
They closed my eyes on a Sunday,
To those who once showed me fear,
Strung me up on a Tuesday,
For a handsome souvenir,
But I never was so lonesome without good company,
And when they lay me in my grave that night,
There was just silence and me.
Those are some powerful lyrics!
Kelly gang member Joe Byrne was buried in the Benalla cemetery on Tuesday, June 29, 1880. That fact is not in contention, what is in contention, however, is the time of burial. Reading through many sources there are two different times of burial given, at 4 P.M. and at midnight, and there are other vague references in newspapers and books as to him being buried in the evening or at night (obviously the writer of the song used one of those references).
Ian Jones, in his book "The Fatal Friendship," using information from the Weekly Times of July 3, 1880 told of Joe's body being placed in a rough coffin that was smuggled out the back of the police station. A 'well-armed constable' accompanied the undertaker through the dark streets to the cemetery where they interred him by lantern light. Afterwards the two 'saluted each other and went home.'
I have not been able to locate the Weekly Times article to see exactly what was said, but Jones never once mentioned midnight.
This bit from the Melbourne Herald further clouds things by saying that the burial was the day after the inquiry!
Perhaps this is some of the same (or exact?) wording of the Weekly Times article with the allusion to a well-armed constable and the salutation?
"After the Magisterial inquiry had been held on Byrne's body yesterday, the friends of the deceased were extremely anxious to get possession of it. They came to the station and the courthouse, and begged hard to be allowed to bury it at Greta. They were put off from time to time, and after dark the body was sneaked out by the back way from the police camp, and, with only an undertaker's man and a well-armed constable, was taken to the Benalla cemetery, and privately buried in a snug corner there. The constable and undertaker marched back again, saluted each other and went home."
Other articles even erroneously say that the body was given to the sympathisers for burial!
Joseph Ashmead in his unpublished manuscript says that "Byrne was wrapped in a blanket and buried by the police in the Benalla Cemetery at midnight."
In an early Kelly book (circa 1880) called "The Kelly Gang: Being Full and True Account" published by Frearson and Brother states that "Byrne was buried quietly at night in the Benalla Cemetery."
Superintendent Sadleir had testified before the Royal Commission that "The body of Byrne was buried at 4 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon in the Benalla cemetery.." (In the notes to The Fatal Friendship, Jones says "In the face of other evidence, Sadleir states that Joe's body was buried at 4 p.m.")
In Thomas McIntyre's unpublished manuscript there was this:
An inquiry was held upon the body of Byrne at 9 a.m. on the 29th. The inquiry was held in the courthouse, I was examined and identified the body as being one of the men who had shot the police on the 26th Oct. '78.
The verdict was 'The outlaw Joseph Byrne whose body was before the court and in possession of the police was by them whilst in the execution of their duty.'
Byrne was privately buried in Benalla Cemetery by the police the same day at 4 p.m.
Jones stated in The Fatal Friendship "That evening Captain Standish and squatter Robert McBean, both justices of the peace, sat in the empty Benalla courthouse to hear four witnesses."
So was the inquest in the morning or in the evening?
How could there be these differing times reported? If there was an evening inquiry then the 4 p.m. burial would be out. Were Sadleir and McIntyre around when the body was taken out? The old police station in Benalla was in Bridge Street West and the Benalla Cemetery is approximately 4 km (that would be around 2 and a half miles) away from the heart of the city. Even if smuggled out the back at night (especially near midnight) would there be many people still out and about on a bleak winter's evening? At 4 p.m. surely many would be out on their business and someone somewhere would have noticed a cart going towards the cemetery with a constable for escort, wouldn't they? Especially if some of they sympathisers had been petitioning all day long to get the body and were hanging around in the vicinity. But then, again, as the one report says the sympathisers had been told that the official inquest was slated for the following day (June 30th), but Standish seemed to have pulled a fast one and had a hurried inquiry on the 29th (evening or day?). All very confusing! It seems to have been orchestrated to be just that.
Another interesting dimension was this bit on the geomantica website where I had found the info given in a previous posting about Mr. Levy locating Joe Byrne's grave using dowsing:
...the site of Joe Byrne and
Martin Cherry's midnight burial was outside of consecrated ground and
it had been immediately ploughed up all around to disguise the
disturbance.
That is the first I had read about them ploughing up around it (which was a good idea and the same ruse was said to have been used for Dan and Steve's burial spot). Was Martin Cherry laid to rest earlier in the day or at the same time? Will we ever know?
All we know for sure is that Joe Byrne's body was strung up for photographs to be taken sometime during the day of June 29th and he was in the ground before the sun rose the next morning.
Then, there was just silence and him.
The lyrics start out with:
They closed my eyes on a Sunday,
To those who once showed me fear,
Strung me up on a Tuesday,
For a handsome souvenir,
But I never was so lonesome without good company,
And when they lay me in my grave that night,
There was just silence and me.
Those are some powerful lyrics!
Kelly gang member Joe Byrne was buried in the Benalla cemetery on Tuesday, June 29, 1880. That fact is not in contention, what is in contention, however, is the time of burial. Reading through many sources there are two different times of burial given, at 4 P.M. and at midnight, and there are other vague references in newspapers and books as to him being buried in the evening or at night (obviously the writer of the song used one of those references).
Ian Jones, in his book "The Fatal Friendship," using information from the Weekly Times of July 3, 1880 told of Joe's body being placed in a rough coffin that was smuggled out the back of the police station. A 'well-armed constable' accompanied the undertaker through the dark streets to the cemetery where they interred him by lantern light. Afterwards the two 'saluted each other and went home.'
I have not been able to locate the Weekly Times article to see exactly what was said, but Jones never once mentioned midnight.
This bit from the Melbourne Herald further clouds things by saying that the burial was the day after the inquiry!
Perhaps this is some of the same (or exact?) wording of the Weekly Times article with the allusion to a well-armed constable and the salutation?
"After the Magisterial inquiry had been held on Byrne's body yesterday, the friends of the deceased were extremely anxious to get possession of it. They came to the station and the courthouse, and begged hard to be allowed to bury it at Greta. They were put off from time to time, and after dark the body was sneaked out by the back way from the police camp, and, with only an undertaker's man and a well-armed constable, was taken to the Benalla cemetery, and privately buried in a snug corner there. The constable and undertaker marched back again, saluted each other and went home."
Other articles even erroneously say that the body was given to the sympathisers for burial!
Joseph Ashmead in his unpublished manuscript says that "Byrne was wrapped in a blanket and buried by the police in the Benalla Cemetery at midnight."
In an early Kelly book (circa 1880) called "The Kelly Gang: Being Full and True Account" published by Frearson and Brother states that "Byrne was buried quietly at night in the Benalla Cemetery."
Superintendent Sadleir had testified before the Royal Commission that "The body of Byrne was buried at 4 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon in the Benalla cemetery.." (In the notes to The Fatal Friendship, Jones says "In the face of other evidence, Sadleir states that Joe's body was buried at 4 p.m.")
In Thomas McIntyre's unpublished manuscript there was this:
An inquiry was held upon the body of Byrne at 9 a.m. on the 29th. The inquiry was held in the courthouse, I was examined and identified the body as being one of the men who had shot the police on the 26th Oct. '78.
The verdict was 'The outlaw Joseph Byrne whose body was before the court and in possession of the police was by them whilst in the execution of their duty.'
Byrne was privately buried in Benalla Cemetery by the police the same day at 4 p.m.
Jones stated in The Fatal Friendship "That evening Captain Standish and squatter Robert McBean, both justices of the peace, sat in the empty Benalla courthouse to hear four witnesses."
So was the inquest in the morning or in the evening?
How could there be these differing times reported? If there was an evening inquiry then the 4 p.m. burial would be out. Were Sadleir and McIntyre around when the body was taken out? The old police station in Benalla was in Bridge Street West and the Benalla Cemetery is approximately 4 km (that would be around 2 and a half miles) away from the heart of the city. Even if smuggled out the back at night (especially near midnight) would there be many people still out and about on a bleak winter's evening? At 4 p.m. surely many would be out on their business and someone somewhere would have noticed a cart going towards the cemetery with a constable for escort, wouldn't they? Especially if some of they sympathisers had been petitioning all day long to get the body and were hanging around in the vicinity. But then, again, as the one report says the sympathisers had been told that the official inquest was slated for the following day (June 30th), but Standish seemed to have pulled a fast one and had a hurried inquiry on the 29th (evening or day?). All very confusing! It seems to have been orchestrated to be just that.
Another interesting dimension was this bit on the geomantica website where I had found the info given in a previous posting about Mr. Levy locating Joe Byrne's grave using dowsing:
...the site of Joe Byrne and
Martin Cherry's midnight burial was outside of consecrated ground and
it had been immediately ploughed up all around to disguise the
disturbance.
That is the first I had read about them ploughing up around it (which was a good idea and the same ruse was said to have been used for Dan and Steve's burial spot). Was Martin Cherry laid to rest earlier in the day or at the same time? Will we ever know?
All we know for sure is that Joe Byrne's body was strung up for photographs to be taken sometime during the day of June 29th and he was in the ground before the sun rose the next morning.
Then, there was just silence and him.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Article Alert: Is This the Skull of Jack the Ripper..or Outlaw Ned Kelly?
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
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
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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