Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Kelly Gang was at large in Northeastern Victoria (also known as Kelly Country) from October 1878 to June 1880. It consisted of Edward (Ned) Kelly, his brother Dan, Steve Hart, and Joe Byrne. The Kelly Outbreak began in October 1878 when a police search party and the gang fought a gun battle at Stringybark Creek. Three policemen were shot dead. Declared outlaws by the Victorian government, a reward was placed on gang's heads. A massive police hunt followed, but failed to find them. In December 1878, the gang robbed a bank in the Victorian town of Euroa. In February 1879, they crossed the border into New South Wales and robbed a bank at Jerilderie. During the robbery, Ned Kelly left what he called a “small part of my life,” an 8,300-word letter setting out his side of the story (the Jerilderie Letter). The colonial governments and banks in Victoria and New South Wales increased the original reward to £8,000. Although an unprecedented sum of money, it found no takers. The Kelly Gang disappeared from sight until June 26, 1880. No longer the hunted, the gang had become the hunter. Ned Kelly and Steve Hart captured the hamlet of Glenrowan on the main regional railway line. Sections of the line were removed. At the same time, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart appeared in the Woolshed near Beechworth where Joe Byrne shot his boyhood friend, Aaron Sherritt, suspected of being a police spy. Sherritt ... log in or subscribe to read full text