Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser (NSW : 1856 – 1861; 1863 – 1889; 1891 – 1954), Friday 20 August 1880, page 3
Epitome of News
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It is stated that old Martin Cherry, who died from a gunshot wound received during the attack by the police on Jones’s public house, had been shot by Ned Kelly. The following statement on the subject is furnished by a correspondent of the ‘Benalla Standard’:— “The Press and the public seem to be in doubt how Martin Cherry came to his death at Glenrowan. I was one that was in the house at the time, and I will endeavour to show how it occurred. When the police arrived at Glenrowan they commenced to fire into the dwelling from all directions. The bullets came thick and fast like showers of hail. Each of us endeavoured to protect ourselves as well as we could — some under beds, others on the floor. I took refuge among some bags of grain. I could occasionally hear bullets strike and bury themselves in the bags of grain behind which I was sheltered. As the bullets continued to pour in among us I heard some person cry out, ‘For God’s sake, come here ; I am shot.’ I recognised Martin Cherry’s voice. I immediately ran to his assistance, and I found him bleeding from a wound he had received in the groin. I pulled a sheet from off a bed, and did my best to stop the bleeding by tying the sheet over the wound. I had scarcely completed the rough dressing when a bullet grazed the back of my head, so, finding I was in extreme danger of being shot myself, I lifted a mattress off a bed and placed it over Cherry to protect him as much as possible from further danger, and then rushed back to my previous place of shelter, when I remained until about 10 o’clock in the morning, when the police gave us all permission to leave the house. I wish to state that Martin Cherry was lying on the floor when the shot struck him that caused his death, and the said shot was fired from outside the house. Ned Kelly was not in the house at the time, and had not been for some hours previous to Cherry being shot, which statement can be confirmed by all who were in the house at the time. In conclusion, I wish to observe that some members of the police force have visited me since the Glenrowan tragedy, and have implied by indirect threats to keep my mouth shut respecting how Cherry came by his death. But thinking it best to let the public know the truth is my only excuse for trespass on your space.”
Glenrowan 