Glenrowan
“But, all the same, I may as well say that my success was owing to my using a shot gun instead of a rifle or pistol. It was no use trying to reach a vulnerable place in that man’s armour with a bullet. Shot was the stuff for that job; good big shot. And that’s what I got him with at last…”
Testimony given by Anton Wicks (i.e. Wick, Weekes) regarding Aaron Sherritt’s death.
“When he stuck up Bracken at the police station, he went into Bracken’s bedroom, and found Mrs. Bracken in bed with her little son. He shook hands with the little boy, and said, “I may be worth £2000 to you yet, my child.” He then demanded handcuffs and cartridges from Bracken, who had, however, to defend his office, where these things were, by cunning, evasive replies, for had Kelly got the handcuffs he would in all probability have put a pair on the constable, who would then have been unable to escape from the hotel, as he so opportunely did.”
Constable James Arthur’s recollections of the siege given to the Royal Commission.
Witness testimony of Constable William Phillips regarding his involvement in the Kelly pursuit and the siege of Glenrowan.
Evidence from Constable Dwyer to the 1881 Royal Commission.
Testimony given by Senior-Constable John Kelly regarding his involvement in the Kelly pursuit and the Glenrowan siege.
Ned Kelly tells his own version of what happened at Glenrowan in a letter from the condemned cell at Melbourne Gaol.
The whole of the members of the gang were very jolly, and Ned told us that they had come there to settle the black trackers, and that he would be on the spot when the train ran over the culvert, and would shoot all who were not killed. We knew we could do nothing, and therefore did not take any steps to warn those in the train of the danger. Every member of the gang was then sober. They showed us their armor, and seemed to think that the police could do them no harm. At half-past two on Monday morning Ned Kelly said something to the effect that he did not think the special train was coming, and I then asked him if we could go home. He said ‘Yes,’ and I thanked him.
I wish to place before you the facts of my case, which have never been placed in their true light. As represented, I took up arms in 1878 for the purpose of shooting the police, but six months elapsed between the shooting of Constable Fitzpatrick on the 13th of April and the Stringy-bark tragedy on the 26th of October, 1878, and there neither was robbery nor any other offence reported as done by me or my companions.
Glenrowan 