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As a boy Kelly obtained basic schooling and became familiar with the bush. In 1864 the family moved to Avenel, near Seymour, where they soon attracted the attention of local police. Ned Kelly's family did not prosper at Beveridge and his father began drinking heavily. Ned's parents had seven other children: Mary Jane (born 1851, died as an infant aged 6 months), Annie (later Annie Gunn) (1853–1872), Margaret (later Margaret Skillion) (1857–1896), James ("Jim", 1859–1946), Daniel ("Dan", 1861–1880), Catherine ("Kate", later Kate Foster) (1863–1898) and Grace (later Grace Griffiths) (1865–1940). Ned was possibly baptised by an Augustinian priest, Charles O'Hea, who also administered last rites to Kelly before his execution. The exact date of his birth is not known, but was probably in December 1854. (Benalla Museum)Įdward ("Ned") Kelly was his parents' third child. Kelly wore the sash under his armour during his last stand at Glenrowan.
Kelly, the only survivor, was severely wounded by police fire and captured. In 1880, when his attempt to derail and ambush a police train failed, he and his gang, dressed in armour fashioned from stolen plough mouldboards, engaged in a final gun battle with the police at Glenrowan. Demanding justice for his family and the rural poor, he threatened dire consequences against those who defied him. In a manifesto letter, Kelly-denouncing the police, the Victorian government and the British Empire-set down his own account of the events leading up to his outlawry. The gang's crime spree included raids on Euroa and Jerilderie, and the killing of Aaron Sherritt, a sympathiser turned police informer. Kelly and his gang eluded the police for two years, thanks in part to the support of an extensive network of sympathisers. After he, his younger brother Dan, and two associates- Joe Byrne and Steve Hart-shot dead three policemen, the government of Victoria proclaimed them outlaws. Fleeing to the bush, Kelly vowed to avenge his mother, who was imprisoned for her role in the incident. A violent confrontation with a policeman occurred at the Kelly family's home in 1878, and Kelly was indicted for his attempted murder. He later joined the " Greta Mob", a group of bush larrikins known for stock theft. While a teenager, Kelly was arrested for associating with bushranger Harry Power and served two prison terms for a variety of offences, the longest stretch being from 1871 to 1874 on a conviction of receiving a stolen horse. The Kellys were a poor selector family who saw themselves as downtrodden by the Squattocracy and as victims of persecution by the Victoria Police. His father, a transported convict, died shortly after serving a six-month prison sentence, leaving Kelly, then aged 12, as the eldest male of the household. Kelly was born in the then- British colony of Victoria as the third of eight children to Irish parents. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout with the police. Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer.
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