Book 21 - Ned Kelly's Last Stand - Frank Clune

You know, after all this time, and for all of my life, I realised that I had not read a book about our most famous outlaw - Edward Kelly. Well, I have now, and it was a great read.

This was the oldest book that I have read as part of this bog, by far, it was published in 1964 by Frank Clune, who really did an outstanding job of the research for the book. Frank documented Ned's life and he detailed the lives of the other Irish immigrant families and how they really were targeted (some would say unfairly) by the Victorian Police Department of the time. Actually, Frank is scathing of the Victorian Police, as he describes them as lazy, corrupt, inept and in many other defamatory ways throughout the book.

To Ned's life - he and his family were targeted by the Police force - generally for things that were minor, or for crimes they just did not commit. Ned and his brother Dan both served time in jail, as did Ned's mother - for a crime she was innocent of. That was the turning point for Ned, and he went on a one man mission to make the point that the police force was victimising him and his family. The first lot of police officers that were sent to capture Ned were shot dead (in self defence - is the way Ned described it). That was the crime that he would eventually hang for, but following that, he, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart went on a crime spree that lasted nearly two years, and ended in the gun fight at the Glenrowan Hotel. The final battle was a shambles for the Kelly Gang, which saw Joe Byrne fatally injured and Dan Kelly and Steve Hart apparently take their own lives with some sort of poison (though that was never conclusive).

Ned could have escaped, though he went back into battle, armour clad and injured, nearly unable to walk. He was finally felled, and he was found to have 28 bullet injuries in the parts of his body there were not protected by his suit of armour. Eventually, his armour was probably his downfall, as it restricted his movement, and in the end, he thought it made him invincible.

In the end, Ned has become a household name. He was a Robin Hood - stealing and providing for poorer families. He never had to worry about people 'ratting' on him, as he gave a lot of people the proceeds from the banks that he was robbing. That was, though, all except for Aaron Skerritt, who was killed by the Kelly Gang for being paid to provide information on there whereabouts.

What must be said, though, is that he was a rat bag. Ned robbed, killed and generally broke the law. he was a self proclaimed horse thief, and he admitted stealing many horses (of which he was never tried or found guilty of). He is now a famous Aussie icon, and we all know the famous words he used when he was being hung - 'such is life'. The book was a good read, and it seemed very accurate. At the end of it all, you loved Ned, and detested Police Officers, which I think was the author's intent.

One final thing - there is a comment in the book that goes along the lines of - Ned Kelly was an outlaw, and is now infamous in Australia. He never, though, really changed anything in our history, other than to write his name indelibly upon it. He lead a team of four men - he was a great leader, very courageous and very driven. If he could have mustered a bigger team, maybe int the hundreds, he may have had a bigger impact on Australian history (especially politically), where he may have been able to petition some sort of change, maybe against laws and a police force that at the time persecuted the innocent.

3.75 out of 5 - a good read, and interesting.