Ned Kelly: Hero or Villain

Is Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly a hero, or a villain? What are the definitions of a hero and a villain?
Hero: (pl. heroes) noun 1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
Villain: noun 1. (Fem. Villainess) (In a film, novel, or play) a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.
2. A criminal
3. The person or thing responsible for specified problems, harm, or damage.
Terrorism: noun 1. The unofficial or unauthorised use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

There are many different stories out there about what really happened with Ned Kelly. All of them have different views. No one will really be able to know what actually happened, because we weren’t there to experience it and know what really happened. Some say that Ned was the one that shot Constable Fitzpatrick in the wrist, and others say that his mother is the one that shot Fitzpatrick and nursed him back to health before Fitzpatrick left their house.

Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly was born in June 1855 at Beveridge, Victoria. He was the first son born to John ‘Red’ Kelly and Ellen Quinn Kelly. He had 7 other siblings: Dan Kelly, Kate Kelly, Margaret Kelly Skillion, James Kelly, Mary Jane Kelly, Anne Kelly Gunn and Grace Kelly. The Kelly family moved from Beveridge, Victoria to Avenel, Victoria in 1864. Ned and his siblings started their schooling at Avenel.

One day in 1865, Ned saved his younger schoolmate Richard Shelton from drowning. Ned jumped into an overflowing Hughes River in Avenel when he saw his schoolmate drowning. The Shelton family rewarded Ned for his bravery by giving him a green silk sash with gold fringes as a symbol of their gratitude. Ned wore this scarf with pride and it is rumoured that he also wore this scarf during the Glenrowan shoot-out.

Ned Kelly had his first run-in with the police when he was only five years old. He was listed in the Police Gazette as a suspected horse thief. His first arrest, though, was when he was 14. He was arrested for assaulting a Chinese pig hawker who was named Ah Fook, which resulted in Ned being arrested for highway robbery. Both Ah Fook and Ned Kelly gave two different versions of the story and Ned was released after 10 days in custody for lack of evidence. After this incident, the police kept a closer eye on Ned.

In 1869, Ned Kelly became to an apprentice to bushranger Harry Power. Harry Power’s real name was Henry Johnston. His nickname was the ‘Gentleman Bushranger’. He was quite old for a bushranger and wore smart clothing. Usually he didn’t assault anyone, but there was always a hint of violence to him as whenever he held someone up, he was always armed.

In 1871, Ned Kelly was arrested for the possession of a stolen horse. Ned borrowed this horse from friend Isiah 'Wild' Wright. Wright had stolen the horse from outside Mansfield Post Office some weeks earlier. Ned refused being put in handcuffs and overpowered Senior Constable Hall and jumped on his back, riding him like a horse and sticking his spurs into Hall’s legs. After they finally got hold of Ned and managed to put him in custody, Hall beat him around the head resulting in a cut that needed nine stitches. Ned was gaoled for 3 years because of this incident. On 8th August 1874, Ned was released from gaol and he was sporting his trademark full beard that he had until death.

In September 1877, Ned was arrested again for riding across a footpath, drunkenness and resisting the arrest. The next day when he was being escorted to court to be tried, he escaped fighting off four policemen. After kicking Fitzpatrick into a wall, Ned is supposed to have said to Lonigan, “Well Lonigan, I never shot a man yet but if I do, so help me God, you will be the first.” After this scuffle, Ned took refuge in a boot maker’s shop until the judge had to came over and convince Ned to come out.

On April 15th 1878, Constable Fitzpatrick visited the Kelly’s house with intent of arresting Dan Kelly for horse theft. There are many different versions of the ‘Fitzpatrick Incident’ but Fitzpatrick came out of the house with a minor wound on his wrist that may have been caused by a shot from Kelly’s gun. Fitzpatrick ran straight to the police station and claimed that the Kelly’s had tried to kill him. The day after, Sergeant Steele arrested Ellen Kelly and charged her for aiding and abetting an attempted murder. Ellen Kelly was sentenced to three years gaol and went into prison carrying her two-week-old baby.

Soon after Ellen Kelly’s arrest, Ned wrote to Magistrate Wyatt offering to surrender in exchange for his mother’s release. The police refused this offer and instead offered a reward of £100 each for the capture of both Ned Kelly and Dan Kelly. Ned formed the Kelly Gang soon after his offer was rejected. The Kelly Gang consisted of Ned and Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart. Joe and Steve were close friends of both Ned and Dan. The Kelly Gang hid in the Wombat Ranges by fencing off a little area where there was only one way to get in/out. They camped out in their spot, brewing liquor and planning successfully to get some gold.

On 25th October 1878, The Kelly Gang was announced as outlaws wanted for murder after they killed three police officers from a group sent to track them down and find where they were hiding. A couple of days before the shooting, The Gang was warned by a Kelly sympathiser that there was a group of four policemen camping at Stringbark Creek attempting to track them. The Gang ambushed Constables Lonigan and McIntyre first, who were sitting by the fire. Ned shot Lonigan, but McIntyre surrendered. While holding McIntyre hostage, the Gang waited for Constable Scanlon and Sergeant Kennedy to return back to camp. When both of them came back, they refused to surrender and Ned shot both of them down, In between the gunfight, McIntyre managed to escape on Kennedy’s horse and ran off to the police station to inform them what had happened.
In December 1878, The Gang robbed a bank in Euroa, getting £2260 worth of cash and gold. They had a well thought out plan and went through a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to get into this bank. First they went to Faithfull’s Creek Station and put 22 people in the storage room. They then went to the bank claiming that they have a message from the farm manager, which got them into the bank where they acted politely and charmed the bank manager and his family. They then got 2000 pounds from the bank manager, Robert Scott. They never inflicted person injuries or assaulted anyone during this crime. The police were enraged with this and raised the reward to £1000 for each member of the Kelly Gang. The Gang saved some of the money they stole and gave it to poor settlers and selectors, which led to more popularity, gaining more support and sympathy for the Gang.

In June 1880, the Gang went to Glenrowan where they were planning to kill Aaron Sherritt. They suspected that he was a police spy and Byrne would kill him for it. They knew that when they murder Aaron, the police will be alerted of it and will travel to Glenrowan to try and capture the Gang.

Ned and the Gang decided they were going to derail the train and capture the survivors to bargain his mothers release from gaol. They had also planned several more bank robberies and Ned was planning to announce north-eastern Victoria as a republic, separate from the rest of the colony, but that would only happen if they derailed the train successfully.

After killing Sherritt, they dug up a part of the train track to derail the train and took over the Glenrowan Inn, where they kept over 70 people hostage while waiting for the train’s derailment. Unfortunately for them, they’re plan failed when a schoolteacher, Thomas Curnow, ran to the railway line and flagged down the train. The teacher was let out of the hotel because Ned felt sympathetic for him because his wife was very ill and told him to take his wife home.

The police from the train was alerted of the Gang’s plan and quickly ambushed the hotel and started shooting at the Kelly Gang. The Gang had made armour from plough pieces in case they had a run-in with the police like this. They fought in their amour, which covered their heads down to their waists, leaving their legs unprotected. Soon, all the members except Ned had been shot down. Ned had managed to sneak behind the police and hid in the bushes. At dawn the next morning, Ned started shooting at them. At first, the police were startled and some of them got badly injured. After a while, they started shooting at Ned’s legs and Ned finally went down.

Ned Kelly went to trial on Monday, 18th October 1880 and was hung at Melbourne Gaol on 11th November 1880. His last words were, “Such is life.”

I think Ned Kelly is a bit of a hero and a bit of a villain. I also think he was a bit of a terrorist as he was planning to announce Victoria as a republic and held people hostage during his plan to renounce it to a republic. He was a bit of a hero, as he saved a little boy from drowning and gave money to the poor. Yet, he was a villain as he did steal, kill and keep people hostage. This greatly depends on your opinion and what version of the story you hear.

Bibliography

* http://www.nedkellytouringroute.com.au/ned-kelly-timeline/ * www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/ned-kelly-jerilderie/ * http://www.biography.com/people/ned-kelly-9362297#awesm=~oEMs2jilSAnYfU * http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/jerilderie-letter * http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/bushrangers.htm * http://www.kellygang.asn.au/things/k_kellys/K_trial.html * http://upfromaustralia.com/hernedkelbus.html