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Nabbing Ned Kelly
The extraordinary true story of the men who brought Australia's notorious outlaw to justice
by David Dufty
Published by Allen and Unwin
ISBN 9781761067341
After reading this factual account of Ned Kelly, you may be surprised to realise that he was not quite the ‘Robin Hood’ type, hard done by and larrikin character we’ve been led to believe.
I found this carefully researched account of the Kelly Gang’s exploits and their willingness to murder, quite startling at times.
Ned Kelly may have been harshly treated as a teen, but was it really a justification for living the life he chose, killing and terrifying ordinary people?
His hatred of the police is quite clear and well-known, but it is surprising to read that he also had a reasonably good relationship with some police officers, indeed respectful, even if they were looking to arrest him and bring him to justice. Kelly thought it quite justifiable that any police officers were fair game to be murdered.
David Dufty’s research enabled him to unearth the true facts, from the legal perspective and must have taken considerable time and patience to wade through all the documentation. The factual accounts of several incidents, such as the bank hold up at Eurora, and what the local people had to endure, through no fault of their own, other than they lived in the town, to the massacres at Stringybark Creek and the way in which the Kelly Gang manipulated the truth. What happened in Jerilderee and the Jerilderee letter - the mystery of who actually wrote the letter and, of course the events at Glenrowan and finally nabbing Ned Kelly.
It must have been quite terrifying for the good, law-abiding citizens who never knew where or when the Kelly Gang may turn up from their hiding places in the bush in Victoria They could so easily have been shot or taken hostage while going about their daily lives.
It is most interesting to read how Ned Kelly changed his stories of events and how he justified to himself the murders at Stringybark Creek. Then there are his versions of what happened with his sister, Kate, and his mother.
Clearly, his perspective is different to what actually happened. He blamed everyone else for things that went wrong. It is also interesting to read that Kelly sympathisers came from some surprisingly different people that one might expect to be upstanding, law-abiding citizens.
In it’s detail some paragraphs can be a little confusing describing the situations with so many people involved that I found it helpful to re-read some of these to get a clearer understanding.
The exerts from articles, written in the newspapers of the day, make interesting reading, including expert opinions such as from Professor Nimshi, a self-proclaimed, all-round scholar from Wangaratta, who proffered commentary on Ned Kelly’s skull, “The head of the man is non-intellectual. The base of the skull with the whole basilar section of the brain is a massive development of the lower animal proclivities …..prompts him to the commission of vicious brutal acts of outrage and aggressiveness….”
This most interesting account puts the myth of Ned Kelly and his gang into perspective and really does reveal the truth. If you read this book, and you are likely to change your thoughts and no longer see him as the legend, most believe he is. And did he say, "such is life"?
David Dufty’s research and writing is most informative and at times provides a gripping read.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading Australian history or is fascinated by Ned Kelly and his gang.
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you Liked this review, Buy me a coffee
