On the 10th of July 1879, two children coming home from Reid’s Creek School met two of the Kelly gang, on the road halfway between the school and the Sherritt selection. The two gang members offered the children some bread, which the youngsters took and ate appreciatively. As Joe was usually spotted alone around the … Continue reading Breaking Bread
The snippet above is what was read by Joe at Faithfull’s Creek, as recounted by Mrs Fitzgerald: “A copy of The Australasian was lying on the table, and the news it contained concerning the gang was read by him with avidity. He denied the report that certain burned saddles which had been found in the … Continue reading Certain Burned Saddles
On the 25th of October 1878, Ned, possibly joined by Joe, rides south across Toombullup to visit Johnny Byrne, a distant relative of Joe. Near the Byrne home, possibly alerted by Johnny, they discover the tracks of police horses heading deep into the ranges. Later, as the sun begins its decent over the North East, … Continue reading The Day before Tragedy
Early in the hours of the 28th October 1878, having ridden across the rain drenched Oxley Flats from Greta, Joe knocked at the door of Moon’s Pioneer Hotel, while the other three waited across the road on horseback, and purchased a bottle of brandy. Briefly warmed by the liquor, they rode across the bridge toward … Continue reading A Bottle of Brandy from Moon’s Pioneer Hotel
The events of the 26th of October 1878 were tragic for everyone. Three lives were lost and four lives were outlawed. Nothing would ever be the same again. Families were left with nothing but grief and heartbreak, which would forever stay with them. It is impossible to comprehend what either side was feeling, when the … Continue reading The Tragedy at Stringybark Creek
At 2.30 on the afternoon of the Euroa bank robbery, Joe stood outside the storeroom, watching as Ned, Dan and Steve headed off in the direction of the township. He was dressed in his new tweeds, with a double-barrelled shotgun clutched in his hand, a brace of revolvers in his belt and two rifles within … Continue reading The Storeroom at Faithfull’s Creek
In early 1879, Detective Ward received word that the Kelly Gang had been spotted at Gundowring, north of Bright, by a friend of Joe's named Ah Man. According to Ward, "He told me that he saw the four outlaws at Gundowring. I asked him how he knew they were the outlaws. He said he knew … Continue reading A Sighting by Ah Man
For the past three weeks we have been camped up in the Warby Ranges, with a moss eaten cave becoming our home. The weather up here is nothing like it is down among the plains. The winds that flog the mountain side are unrelenting in their torment and not a day goes by when a … Continue reading Sardines and Salted Beef
After the tragedy of April 1878, Joe joined the Kelly brothers in making whisky at Bullock Creek in the Wombat Ranges. Previous to this, he had aided them in their sluicing enterprise, with Ned asserting it had been making them ‘good wages.’ However, now, more than ever, even more money was needed, and the young … Continue reading Sluicing for Gold
‘Dan Kelly was the youngest of “Red” Kelly’s three sons. All accounts of him show that he was of a quieter and less forceful nature than his brother Ned, although the general public have been led, through the vicious misrepresentation by the police, to regard him as a treacherous and bloodthirsty scoundrel. This misrepresentation was … Continue reading Not a Bloodthirsty Scoundrel
An Outlaw’s Journal 