Forever consigned to popular culture as Ned Kelly’s little brother, Dan Kelly was a young man of only nineteen when he lost his life fighting the police. Like so many “boy bushrangers” his young life was snuffed out without him … Continue reading Dan Kelly: An Overview
Every interpretation of the Kelly story brings with it a host of conflicting perspectives on various points, and each is unique. More recent film depictions have been executed more artfully than the early silent films or even early “talkies”. Whereas … Continue reading Ned Kelly (2003): an analysis
Despite their infamy, the Kelly Gang were hardly prolific in any sense as far as bushrangers are concerned, but perhaps it’s a matter of quality over quantity. The second raid they undertook was one of the most audacious in history … Continue reading Like the Bushrangers of Old: The Kelly Gang in Jerilderie
The following is a report from just after the Kelly Gang raided the bank at Euroa. It describes in a fair amount of detail the events at Younghusband’s Station and Euroa, while missing some of the details and getting a few spellings wrong – as was typical of reporting at the time. It provides an interesting insight into how the bank robbery caught the public’s imagination after the outrage over the tragedy at Stringbark Creek. It is also worth noting that while Joe Byrne’s identity had been known for some time, it was only because of one of the servants in the bank recognising Steve Hart that the identity of the fourth gang member was finally revealed. Continue reading Spotlight: Further Outrages by the Kelly Gang
It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time when Stephen Hart was once one of the most infamous bushrangers in Australia. Now he is often thought of as no more than an also-ran, an afterthought, the “other Kelly”. … Continue reading Steve Hart: An Overview
This entry was written by playwright Gabriel Bergmoser, creator of the musical Moonlite. Gabriel’s passion for bushranger tales is evident in his work and I am very glad to present this personal account to you. ~ AP Continue reading The Girl Who Helped Ned Kelly: Retrospective Review by Gabriel Bergmoser
In 1970 a film was released that has become infamous in Australian pop culture. It was directed by one of Britain’s most acclaimed stage directors, featured music by some of America’s greatest country musicians of the time, was written by a man who would in later years become known as the authoritative voice on the film’s subject (who himself had an illustrious career in Australian television), and starred one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll stars of all time. Yet, despite all of these ingredients that should amount to a legendary film, somehow it created the exact opposite reaction to what was expected and it seems to boil down to two words… Continue reading Tony Richardson’s ‘Ned Kelly’ – in defence of a maligned film
Being a young man with large hands and strong arms you’d think I was perfect for brick laying but alas it was not for me. I tried to help Ned out on a job but the job just wasn’t suited … Continue reading “Dan Kelly’s Account of Chesney Vale”
The following is aimed at mature readers. We continue our two part feature on the mysterious deaths of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart with an overview of the folklore and conspiracy theories about the pair surviving the fire as well … Continue reading The Mystery of Dan Kelly’s and Steve Hart’s Demise – Part Two
This is a feature aimed at mature readers. Subject of much speculation is the nature of the death of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart at Glenrowan. Conspiracy theories aside, it’s incredibly difficult to piece together what happened due to the … Continue reading The Mystery of Dan Kelly’s and Steve Hart’s Demise – Part One