Such Is Life

I've decided to devote an entire post to Ned Kelly, even though the Melbourne gaol (pronounced jail, people.) was essentially part of my successful trip to Melbourne.
*Et pour mes amis français, en bas pour lire en francais!*
To say that Ned Kelly is a legend is the biggest understatement since the captain of the Hindenburg said, "Does someone smell gas?!" [Thank you, Tina Fey.] Ned Kelly is so much more than a legend. His story is so epic and iconic that it has weaseled itself into Australian literature, folklore, culture, art and film. He is a folk hero and a symbol of Irish-Australian resistance to the Anglo-Australian ruling class. One of our resident professors, Sharon Clarke, has not only a framed photograph of Ned Kelly and his epic beard, but an entire library devoted to the Kelly gang. So who is this famed robber? Is he a villain? Saviour? Bushranger? Modern-day Robinhood? Hero?
He would rob banks for example, but burn the mortgage deeds for the people of the town. During a bank robbery, his gang members would keep their hostages "busy" with drinks at the local pub. He was proclaimed a local hero at the age of 12 when he saved a boy's life from drowning. He was given a green sash by the family that he wore the same day he was captured at Glenrowan.

I first read about the folklore surrounding Ned Kelly in Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country when he succinctly wrote that you couldn't understand modern-day Australian culture without understanding this outlaw's story. It somehow ties together greater themes of good versus evil, the strained history between the British and the Irish playing itself out in Australia, and the perpetual predicament of justice and human rights.

Ned Kelly was the son of Irish immigrants, born in Victoria in 1852, and considered Irish-Australian. At the time, the British ruling class had a deep-seated resentment for the working class, ill-educated (and ill-mannered) Irish low-lifes. After a series of run-ins with the police, bank robberies and hostage crises, Kelly and his gang ambushed a couple of policemen, and out of self-defense (or so they say) Kelly shot and killed Officer Thomas Lonigan, thus raising the bounty on his head to about £5,000. Kelly built himself and his gang extremely "homemade" and amateur armour-- he used blades from farming equipment to make the armor that weighed over 100 pounds. 

 Can you imagine moving in that thing?

The epic battle came at Glenrowan in June 1880, about 40 police vs the 4 gang members after an attempted bank robbery. The armor protected Kelly's vital areas during the shootout, but he was finally taken down and arrested with 28 bullet wounds in his legs. Ouch!
He was taken the to Melbourne prison hospital, and nursed back to health so he could withstand trial. Keep in mind, he was a thorn in the ruling Anglo-Australians' side at the time. They wanted to being this dude dead, on any charge. It was the Wild West out there, and they planned on bringing down Kelly and his family (his mother, Ellen, was in prison at the time for a crime for which she was wrongly accused)
After months in the hospital, Kelly was put on trial for the death of Officer Lonigan two years prior, accused of murder and hanged on November 11, 1880. Why was his death so significant?
First of all, his daring and defiance to the ruling class at  the time was revolutionary. The Irish had suffered for far too long at the hands of the British, whether in the Old World or the New, and he stood up for his people. Second, it was clear that Kelly was not given a fair trial and was simply hanged to make an example of him.


I led two separate tours of the Melbourne gaol where Kelly was imprisoned and later hanged. The gaol cells are absolutely tiny-- about 3 ft by 4 ft. The guide explained that at the time, it was believed that solitude and isolated confinement were the best tools for rehabilitation. Prisoners were kept in their cells 23 hrs a day and interacted with other humans once a week. Instead of rehabilitation, this led to depression, anxiety and general crazy town. Didn't work.
 Our group also got to participate in a fun courtroom drama, where we re-enacted the Ned Kelly trial, acting out major characters from the trial. Witnesses, prosecutors, jury members, Ned Kelly's beard. We got to dress up in white-haired wigs and robes, and read from a script to decide the ultimate question: Was Ned Kelly granted a fair trial?

In my opinion, no, he was set up for a death sentence. There was a fellow from Parliament, Gaunson, who tried to get Ned a fair trial since he was pretty much screwed with Redmond Barry at the bench  (he was infamous for having a burning hatred for the Kelly family, and had previously sentenced Ellen Kelly to three years in prison).
Gaunson purposely sent an inexperienced and dim-witted lawyer, Henry Bindon, to force Judge Barry to adjourn until later date. Unfortunately, Barry was still the residing judge when they resumed, and Kelly was left the halfwit Bindon, rather than Molesworth, who was originally meant to defend Ned. The prosecutor was Charles Smyth (this was my role during the reeanctment) who painted a dark portrait of Kelly and his doings. They say that the shorter the time a jury takes to decide, the more likely it is that the verdict is guilty. For Ned, they took less than 15 minutes.

I've never had much (or any for that matter) interest in law or court cases, but I find this one fascinating. The whole trial was ludicrous and entirely unfair. After Judge Barry sentenced him to death, the two had an infamous exchange where Kelly basically told Barry that he'd see him in hell.
Kelly was hanged at the Melbourne gaol on Nov 11, 1880, his last words being "Well, I supposed it'd have to come to this. Such is life." Ironically, Judge Barry died only 12 days after the hanging, supposedly of blood poisoning.
How, you ask?
From a carbuncle, or infection at the back of his neck-- from years of wearing a horse-hair wig. Talk about his wig was killing him, literally.

About a decade ago, folks did a re-trial of the Kelly trial, presenting new evidence that was concealed or absent. For example, they proved that Kelly did not actually kill Officer Lonigan, the crime for which he was accused and hanged. 

What's interesting nowadays is that you'll get two different accounts of this legendary figure. Some will tell you that he was a villain, a cold-blooded cop-killer, a famed bankrobber, a bushranger in the Wild West of Australia. Others will tell you that he was a modern-day hero who stood up for justice in the face of tyranny. I guess it all depends whether you are descended from the English or the Irish.

At the end of the day, I'm still left with the haunting question of... "What would his face really look like without all that facial hair?"


*Un p'tit mot pour mes amis français: désolée, mais mon francais écrit c'est vraiment affreux. Tout se passe bien ici en Australie, je suis bien installée à Sydney avec une apartment dans le centre-ville, mais sans colocs!! :( Mes colocs Gaëtan, Pauline et Elise me manquent trop... Je bosse pour Boston University, il y a 62 étudiants dans notre programme. J'organise des évenements pour le programme, je m'occupe de 24 étudiants dans notre résidence, et je bosse dans notre bibliothèque. Deux jours par semaine je bosse pour une organisation AFAP qui soutien des ONGs en Asie et Afrique, notamment des petits groupes qui ont besoin des fonds et des conseils. Je suis stagiaire, je suis chargée des affaires sociales, pour augmenter les membres dans l'organisation. 
Enfin, j'ai un vélo mais il y n'a PAS les pistes cyclables!!! Je suis en colère!!! C'est assez dangereux de rouler dans la rue avec les buses et les taxis qui passent. Mais je me méfie, et j'espère de pas se peter la geuele...une deuxieme fois :) La semaine dernière je suis allée avec la programme à Melbourne pour le weekend--une ville simplement GENIALE. La ville est assez petite mais il y a des galleries, le film, le theatre, les arts, la culture, la cuisine que extraordinaire, avec des petits cafés européens partout. Je me vois bien à Melbourne, je m'entend bien avec la culture. 
La semaine prochaine je vais à Cairns au Great Barrier Reef dans le nord, là où l'ocean est bleue claire. Trop beau! En décembre, je vais en Chine pour voir la petite Buddha Claire, et nous passerons par Bali (le surf!!!!!) avant de rentrer à Sydney pour Noel et le Nouvel An.
Voilà-- j'espère que mon francais écrit est pas trop dur à comprendre. Des années et des années de cours de grammaire-- tout pour rien! Quel honte!