“The outlaws were very civil and joked and laughed with us constantly. They brought us brandy when we required it. Hart said that he had drunk six nobblers of brandy, and it was so bad that if he took another he thought he would lose his head.”
Category: The Glenrowan Archives
A collection of archival material that records the events surrounding the Glenrowan siege and its aftermath from contemporary authors and witnesses.
“The excitement caused here by the conflict between the police and the Kellys, and the destruction of the desperate gang of outlaws, is subsiding. A general feeling of relief is experienced by the respectable inhabitants of the district, and it is pretty certain that now the gang are no longer to be feared that some of their movements during the past twelve months will be made known. Already stories concerning their movements are freely circulated, and from these it is apparent that the police have during the past month or six weeks made it very unpleasant for the outlaws.”
“On Saturday evening, by the last train to Melbourne, Mr Leving, of the Bank of New South Wales, paused through Sandhurst on a visit to his relatives at Castlemaine (writes the Bendigo Independent). A member of our staff interviewed the gentleman, and in the course of conversation, was shown about 30 telegrams from different papers asking for Mr Leving to forward for publication the Kelly autobiography in his possession, all of which requests had, of course, to be refused.”
“In our issue of Saturday last we give an extract from the Rutherglen and Wahgunyah News, in which it was stated that recently a large body of armed men was seen the vicinity of Yarrawonga. There is a crossing at that place, and it is in the direct line for Jerilderie, which township the Kellys stuck up some time ago.”
The sittings of the Commission were continued to-day. Mr Hare continued his statement, which was commenced on Friday. Amongst the papers handed over to him by Mr Nicolson there were, he thought, a dozen letters from the diseased stock man and other agents. There were letters also from Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne to — and Detective Ward, (These letters will be produced later on.)
“Edward Kelly, a young man about twenty years of age, who has been suspected of being a confederate of the notorious bushranger Power, was charged with assaulting a hawker named Jeremiah McCormick. Mr Lamont, instructed by Mr Norton, appeared for the prosecution.”
“For some time past very little news, if any, has come to hand in reference to the Kelly gang, and many persons, who are not fully conversant with Greta and its inhabitants, are under the impression that the Kellys have made their escape from the colony.”
“At last, however, a spirit arrived breathless haste at a sitting, and on being asked why the spirits had not come to the watchers before, said that all the good spirits had been busy for days making a net to spread over the precincts of the Melbourne gaol, in which to enmesh the spirit of Ned the atrocious when it should leave his body.”
“Kate Kelly and her brother, with Ned’s horse, &c., commenced to exhibit them selves in an old out-house up a lane in King-street, a few doors from Pitt street; Kate and Jim on horseback, the former on Ned’s grey mare, and the latter on Kate’s pony; Kate is dressed in deep black and Jim in bushranger’s attire.”
“Before Messrs. Charlton, Dean, Moses, and Carpenter, at the Water Police Court this morning, James Gregory Tompkins and James Pringle were summoned at the instance of sub inspector Anderson, for that on the 23rd day of November, on the premises at the rear of No. 128, Pitt-street, in Sydney, they did permit to be exhibited to the public a woman named Kate Kelly, and a man named James Kelly, relatives of the notorious criminal, Edward Kelly, who was recently executed in the neighbouring colony, to the great damage and common nuisance of all persons therein inhabiting and passing, to the evil example of others in the case offending, and against the peace of the Queen.”
Glenrowan 