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Media Release
Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage
Senator the Hon. Ian Campbell

3 July 2005

C174/05

National listing for site of Ned Kelly's last stand

The site of Ned Kelly's last stand, at Glenrowan in northern Victoria, has been added to the Australian Government's National Heritage List, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, announced today.

"Ned Kelly has become a part of the Australian story -both as one of our best-known historical figures and also as a mythological character - to some a bushranger, some see him as a larrikin and some a hero," Senator Campbell said.

"The 8ha Glenrowan siege site being listed today played a defining role in both the story and the myth of Ned Kelly.

"This is where the Kelly Gang, after being hunted by the law for almost two years, laid siege to this small rural town and finally confronted the Victorian police on 28 June 1880. The ensuing battle between gang members in heavy armour made from ploughshares, and the Victorian police, led to the ultimate deaths of all four gang members.

"Three were killed that day and Ned Kelly was wounded, captured and hanged five months later (on 11 November 1880) in the old Melbourne Gaol for the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek, north of Mansfield, two years earlier. More than 125 years later, we are all familiar with the figure of a faceless bushranger in heavy blackened armour. This is an image that has haunted and inspired many of the nation's greatest talents to express his story through art, literature, film, music and other forms of popular culture.

"That is why the Glenrowan site is of outstanding national significance.

"One of Australia's great artists, Sidney Nolan, created his celebrated Ned Kelly series of paintings with square-headed bushranger figures in a stark Australian landscape. Nolan described the truly Australian essence of the Kelly tale when he said that it was 'a story arising out of the bush and ending in the bush'.

"What is believed to be the world's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, which was made in 1906, was one of many which have been centred on the bushranger. Numerous actors have played Ned Kelly including Heath Ledger, Mick Jagger, Yahoo Serious and John Jarrett.

"Fiction writers immortalising the bushranger include Robert Drewe, Jean Bedford, and Peter Carey who won a Booker Prize for his novel, The True History of the Kelly Gang. Kelly has also been celebrated in song by musicians such as John English, John Williamson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Midnight Oil and Redgum.

"In trying to project the essence of what it means to be Australian, the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics featured a myriad of Ned Kellys.

"The National Heritage listing of the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct, which includes the key sites of the final Kelly conflict, will ensure that this symbolic place in Australian folklore is protected for the future."

For more information visit: http://www.deh.gov.au/heritage/national/index.html

Media Contact:
Renae Stoikos 02 6277 7640 or 0418 568 434

The site of Ned Kelly's Last Stand has been protected by Heritage Victoria.

According to 'inherit', Heritage Victoria's magazine issue 16 March 2003, The site of Ned Kelly's Last Stand became the 2,000th item on it's register.

The Council Chair, Ms Gallagher said, "The historical and cultural significance of the siege at Glenrowan in 1880 is extremely high, not just to Victorians but to all Australians,'. "It is important that the site is listed on the register, which means that it is now protected under the Heritage Act 1995". "Any major development to the site will require a permit".

I think it is lucky for us that nothing has been developed on the site of the original Inn.

HERITAGE PRECINCT GLENROWAN.

According to the Council, late in 2002 an area was registered which included, 'Church St to the north, Burns Street and Ned Street to the east, Hill Street to the south and Beaconsfield Parade to the west, thus creating a heritage precinct.

It has enormous historical, social and archaeological significance according to the Council because this is where the last stand was and where the gang tried to derail a train.

According to the Victorian Heritage Register:

(it) is the place most intimately connected with the legend that surrounds Ned Kelly, amongst the most well known of Australian historical figures. In a similar way the Eureka Historical Precinct invokes the history of another rebellion against authority.(The population of the Glenrowan district) were generally sympathetic to the outlaws.

The cultural significance of Ned Kelly and his gang, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, is intrinsically captured in our Australian vernacular, and the protected precinct in Glenrowan reflects the collective desire to remember them.

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The following is directly from the Australian Government's Heritage site:

Australian Heritage Database

Place Details

Glenrowan Heritage Precinct, Old Hume Hwy, Glenrowan, VIC

Photographs:	None
List:	National Heritage List
Class:	Historic
Legal Status:	Nominated place
Place ID:	105729
Place File No:	2/08/239/0012

Nominator's Summary Statement of Significance:

The Glenrowan Heritage Precinct is the area of central Glenrowan which played host to the infamous "Kelly Siege" on 28 June 1880. The siege led to the capture and the subsequent hanging of Ned Kelly and the deaths of his other gang members Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart.

The events surrounding the siege at Glenrowan brought to a dramatic climax the Kelly Uprising in North East Victoria which remains so indelibly etched in Australian folklore.

The precinct is divided by the railway line and the railway station which played a pivotal part in the drama. North of the railway line in what is now known as Siege Street is the site of Jones's Glenrowan Inn where the bushrangers held out. Further north and east is the place where Ned was finally captured. To the south of the railway line is the site of the former McDonnell's hotel where the Kelly sympathisers gathered.

After two years of outlawry in the north east of Victoria, Kelly and his gang planned to ambush and derail a police train. This action is said to have been planned as a precursor to a general uprising in the north east. In the event the police took longer than anticipated to arrive, resulting in the gang taking many captives in the town. Eventually, in the early hours of 28 June 1880, the police were warned of the gang's presence and surrounded the Glenrowan Inn. After a fierce night time gun battle which resulted in the wounding and capture of Ned Kelly early after daybreak, the police set fire to the inn in the afternoon and burnt it to the ground sealing the fate of the other outlaws inside. Ned Kelly was later tried in Melbourne and hanged on 11 November 1880 for the murder of police at Stringybark Creek in 1878.

The Glenrowan Heritage Precinct is historically significant as the place most intimately connected with the legend that surrounds Ned Kelly, among the most well known of Australian historical figures. The small town of Glenrowan was central to the history of the Kelly gang. The members lived in the district and spent much time there among a population generally sympathetic to the outlaws. The plan for a final showdown with police by derailing a train was a feasible if reckless plan that suited itself to the topography of the town where the railway line between Benalla and Wangaratta makes a sweeping curve on a steep embankment. The siege, the police cordon, the capture of Ned and the burning of the Glenrowan Inn are firmly implanted in Australian folklore and are directly related to this physical place. Significant fabrics remaining from the event are the Stationmaster's house (relocated to 16 Siege Street from its original site) and the railway platform (the current station building is a recent remodelling). Many of the mature trees existed at the time of the siege and one group, the "Kelly copse" where Ned tethered his horse, is of particular note. The stump and log where he was captured are no longer visible but remnants of the stump may exist below ground.

The legend of Ned Kelly continues to evoke debate and conjecture to this day, however there is no disputing Ned's redeeming characteristics of larrikinism, bravado, support of the underdog and family loyalty which is still revered today in our Australian culture.

Glenrowan, the legend of Ned Kelly and the dramatic events of the Kelly Siege in 1880 will always hold a unique place in Australia's heritage.

Official Values: Not Available

Description:

The 17 hectare area currently contains the Glenrowan Primary School, various private residences,
St Paul’s Anglican Church, numerous vacant land lots, Railway/Public Reserve, a number of properties
within the commercial sector of Glenrowan and the historic Kelly Siege site which contains the following:

Original railway platform and the reconstructed railway station building.
Former Stationmasters House site, Beaconsfield Parade/Siege Street.
Site of Platelayer’s tents (between Anne Jone’s Inn and the railway station).
Site of Anne Jone’s Inn and its various outbuildings (stables, kitchen etc).
Remnant of the creek/trench where police, trackers and volunteers took cover along the
trench/drain line, and to the east of Anne Jone’s Inn site.
Site of Ned Kelly’s fall and capture (“Kelly Log” site, between Church and Siege Streets).
Site of “Kelly Copse” between Church and Siege Streets.
McDonnells Railway Tavern (50 Gladstone Street) where the burnt bodies of Steve Hart and
Dan Kelly were taken following the Siege. Also where the gang had left their horses and
blasting powder intended for Benalla.
Railway Goods Shed.
Granite markers noting the sites associated with the Siege.
Timber bollards representing location of key players during the Siege.

History:

It was on the evening of Saturday June 26, 1880 that members of the Kelly gang first descended upon Glenrowan in order to implement what would have been their grandest and most ambitious scheme, and which they hoped would prompt the formation of a republic in north eastern Victoria. While Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne travelled to Beechworth to murder Aaron Sherritt, former friend turned police informer, Steve Hart and Ned Kelly planned to tear up the railway line on the outskirts of Glenrowan in order to derail the police train travelling en route to Beechworth. Skyrockets would then be launched to rally sympathisers, who would join the gang and move on to Benalla. There the inbound railway line was to be similarly vandalised, rendering the town entirely inaccessible by rail and allowing the gang to take over the police barracks and to rob a local branch of the Bank of New South Wales. This would clearly trigger a guerrilla war that it was envisaged would lead to the eventual foundation of the so-called Republic of North Eastern Victoria.

The grand plan however went wrong from the very beginning. At Glenrowan, Ned and Steve found it too difficult to lift the railway line and sought the assistance of some railway workers camping near the railway station. They lacked tools, so Ned moved to the stationmaster's house located next to the level crossing and demanded that the stationmaster, John Stanistreet, instruct the men to lift the rails. But Stanistreet could not help, instead advising Ned to seek out two local platelayers, Reardon and Sullivan, who were living nearby. While Ned sought these men, Steve arranged for the necessary tools to be obtained from a locked shed in the railway reserve. Ned soon returned with Reardon and Sullivan, along with numerous members of Reardon's family, and another labourer, Larkins, who was lodging with them. The railway line was duly pulled up, with an entire length of rail (and nine sleepers still attached) removed and dumped down the adjacent embankment.

In order to prevent news of the gang's scheme from reaching the police, any locals who happened to pass by were taken `captive'. The women and children were taken to the stationmaster's house, where they were guarded by Steve Hart, while the remainder moved up the hill to Ann Jones' Glenrowan Inn to the north of the railway station. By this time, Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne had returned from Beechworth and the gang set up their headquarters in the two-roomed skillion at the rear of the Inn. Ned and Joe patrolled the railway crossing, advising passers-by that they were to be detained.
By midday on Sunday June 27, the police train had still not arrived in Glenrowan, so Ned amused his captives in the Inn by encouraging dancing, and later athletics contests in the fenced paddock at the rear. Late in the afternoon, the large number of captives, originally over sixty, was reduced when the gang allowed about twenty, mostly the trustworthy locals and Kelly sympathisers, to return to their homes. One of the last to leave was local school teacher Thomas Curnow who was allowed to return to his home some time after ten o'clock that evening. This proved to be another mistake on the part of the Kelly gang.
After returning to his house, attached to the school building in High Street, Curnow was determined to warn the police of the impending derailment. Taking a red scarf and candle, he ran along the railway line, and flagged down the pilot locomotive. Curnow informed the train guard of the situation at Glenrowan and then, somewhat fearful for his own safety, returned to his house. The information was passed on to the special police train; the carriages were unlocked, lights were extinguished, and it began its slow ascent into Glenrowan. It was now sometime between two and three o'clock on Monday morning.

Back at the Glenrowan Inn, about a mile away, Ned Kelly's `party' had continued into the night. Around two o'clock in the morning it was decided to allow the civilian captives to leave and the forty-odd people, including the women and children formerly kept at the stationmaster's house, crowded into the dining room of the Inn for a final address from Ned. This however was interrupted when Joe Byrne announced that the train was coming. The train stopped at the cutting for some time, later approaching slowly and pulling in at the station.

Superintendent Hare and a few of his men immediately went to the stationmaster's house, where Mrs. Stanistreet informed them that her husband and some forty others were being held captive by the Kelly gang at Jones' Glenrowan Inn.
It was around three o'clock in the morning that the four members of the Kelly gang emerged from the Inn in full armour, taking positions along the front of the building. Recognising Superintendent Hare coming through a gate, Ned fired the first shot, hitting Hare in the wrist. The three other gang members opened fire as the police took cover behind trees, on the ground, and in a deep ditch. Almost immediately Ned was seriously wounded by police gunfire as a single bullet entered his left arm inflicting four wounds, followed by a second bullet into his right foot. In the first few minutes the police gunfire had penetrated the light timber walls of the Inn, injuring several of the captives, one of them fatally. Two other civilians would be subsequently killed by police gunfire. A ceasefire was called to allow the women and children to leave the building. However some were delayed, caught in the resumed gunfire, and ran back into the Inn. Meanwhile, across the railway line near McDonnell's Hotel, Jack Lloyd had launched the sky rockets, originally planned as a signal to rally Kelly sympathisers when the train was derailed.
By this time a seriously wounded Ned had re-loaded his rifle and crept around the side of the Inn, still firing at the police cordon. He limped towards a clump of three trees, about 100 metres to the east of the Inn, where he had tethered his mare. However before he could mount he sank to the ground, having lost much blood from his wounded arm. He removed his helmet and cap, and, after resting briefly, mounted and rode east towards the Gap where he met with his cousin Tom Lloyd. Realising that he had left his rifle back at the tree clump, Ned sent Tom to recover it. Tom found that the weapon was caked with blood rendering it useless, and returned to Ned. Ned then outlined his somewhat foolhardy plan to turn away his assembled army of sympathisers, and to return to the Inn alone to rescue the other three members of his gang. As Ned returned to the Inn, entering from the rear, a volley of bullets penetrated the building and Joe Byrne, who was standing at the bar, was killed instantly. Ned retreated to the bush for a second time, meeting up again with Tom Lloyd. When he realised that Dan and Steve had not found their way to safety, Ned prepared to return and assist them.

The police saw the ironclad figure of Ned emerge from the bush and before they even knew it was Ned, began firing. Dan and Steve, hearing Ned's calls, emerged from the Inn and opened fire from the rear. Ned staggered towards the Inn as bullets bounced off his armour, soon reaching the small clump of trees where he had previously left his cap and rifle. Suddenly a horse appeared. This was Joe Byrne's mare Music, a horse that Ned frequently rode. She approached him but the seriously wounded Ned did not try to mount. As Music began to move away, a trooper shot her, though she was not killed. Ned, his energy rapidly diminishing from his wounds, moved towards a nearby fallen tree.

The bullets continued to fly. Sergeant Steele closed in and at close range fired two barrels of buckshot into Ned's legs and hips, causing him to collapse against the fallen tree. Captured, disarmed and unmasked, Ned was taken to the stationmaster's office at the railway station. Here he was attended to by Doctor Nicholson who believed the bushranger was dying. Later that day Father Gibney arrived at the scene and prepared to administer the Last Rites to the wounded Ned.
Dan Kelly and Steve Hart meanwhile had remained inside the Inn. A ceasefire was called at ten o'clock that morning to allow the remaining captives to vacate the building. Numerous suggestions were put forward to flush out the two remaining gang members. Finally at around three o'clock in the afternoon, Senior Constable Johnson set fire to the building. A huge crowd of spectators had gathered by this time, including the three Kelly sisters and a considerable number of other sympathisers. They all watched as the flames engulfed the small hotel. Father Gibney entered the burning building and discovered the bodies. of two young men, assumed to be Dan and Steve.

After the burnt-out building collapsed, police recovered the charred remains, and they were taken to McDonnell's Hotel. Realising that the police were well and truly outnumbered by Kelly sympathisers, Superintendent Sadleir defused a potentially flammable situation by handing over the bodies of Dan and Steve to the families of the gang members, rather than attempting to remove them for an official inquiry. The corpse of Joe Byrne was taken to Benalla. Ned Kelly, seriously wounded but still alive, was taken to Melbourne for trial.

The curious public was quick to descend upon the Siege Site. Visitors and locals sifted through the ashes of Jones' Inn, searching for souvenirs and coming across cutlery, bullets, and even human remains. The gang's horses were robbed of their saddles, bridles and horseshoes - in some cases even having their hooves cut off. At the tree near where Ned was captured, people collected leaves and soil splattered with his blood. Some posed for photographs alongside the ruins of the Inn, and at other key sites such as the clump of trees where Ned had rested, and the huge fallen tree log where he was ultimately captured.

The Siege Site soon became something of a tourist destination. In September 1881, just over one year after the event, the Australasian Sketcher reported a Sunday school picnic at Glenrowan. Several siege-related landmarks were illustrated including Thomas Curnow's schoolhouse, the derailment site, Jones' Inn and the "Kelly Tree". It was duly noted that `the children seemed quite alive to the historical associations of the place, and all spent the day very agreeably'.
The Siege Site remained largely recognisable for the next six decades. Photographs taken in the late 1940s show the site as a grassed expanse with mature Eucalyptus trees, timber post and rail fences, unsealed roads, and the original railway level crossing still intact.
More dramatic changes in the post-War era have considerably altered the appearance of the site, including the demolition of McDonnell's Hotel, the removal of timber fences, the sealing of dirt roads and the construction of the railway overpass in place of the original level crossing.

Condition and Integrity:

The historic Kelly Siege site within the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct remains relatively intact and still affords the opportunity for the public to relate to the events of the infamous siege with largely unfettered access to the actual location where the pivotal elements of the siege unfolded. Significant research and consultation has been undertaken with the development of the Glenrowan Master Plan which articulates the opportunities for refurbishment and sensitive development.

Location:

About 17ha, at Glenrowan, being an area bounded by a line commencing at the intersection of the centerlines of the Old Hume Highway and Beaconsfield Parade, then easterly via the centerline of the Old Hume Highway to Burns Street, then southerly via the centerline of Burns Street to Siege Street, then easterly via the centerline of Siege Street to its intersection with the alignment of the eastern boundary of Allotment 9A, then southerly via the alignment and eastern boundary of Allotment 9A to its intersection with the centerline of Gladstone Street, then westerly via the centerline of Gladstone Street to its intersection with the alignment of the eastern boundary of 56 Gladstone Street, then southerly via the alignment and eastern boundary of 56 Gladstone Street to its intersection with centerline of Hill Street, then westerly via the centerline of Hill Street to its intersection with the centerline of Beaconsfield Parade, then northerly via the centerline of Beaconsfield Parade to the commencement point.

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The Age Newspaper.

Kelly's sites off limits

November 22 2002
By Larissa Dubecki

The location of the Kelly Gang's last stand in Glenrowan has been declared a heritage site and will be protected from development.

The area includes the railway line and platform near where the Kelly gang had planned to derail a train, and the site of Jones' Glenrowan Inn, where the gang took captives on June 28, 1880.

The inn was razed by police during the siege in which gang members Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart were trapped and killed.

Ned Kelly was tried in Melbourne and hanged on November 11, 1880, for the murder of police at Stringybark Creek in 1878.

The statement of cultural heritage significance prepared by Heritage Victoria describes the town of Glenrowan as central to the Kelly legend. "The members lived in the district and spent much time there among a population generally sympathetic to the outlaws," it says.

"The siege, the police cordon, the capture of Ned and the burning of the Glenrowan Inn are firmly implanted in Australian folklore."

Surviving landmarks from the siege include the stationmaster's house, which has been relocated to the north of the site, and the railway platform, which has been remodelled.

Heritage Council chairwoman Chris Gallagher said: "We will look to see if there is a story to tell through spent bullets in the soil and artefacts from the demolished pubs."

The listing means that any major development on the site will need a permit.

Wangaratta Mayor Irene Grant said the people of Glenrowan had long recognised the importance of the area.

Heritage Victoria has other sites of significance to the Kelly story of its register:

Kelly house Beveridge.(c1860) The only existing building where Ned Kelly lived as a small boy.

Royal Mail Hotel and cottage Avenel (1850) - Richard Shelton, son of the owner of the hotel, was rescued from drowning in the nearby Hughes Creek by the young Ned Kelly.

Kyneton Court House (1856) - in 1870, Kelly appeared before the court on charges of robbery under arms.

HM Prison Beechworth- Ned and his mother were imprisoned here in the 1870's.

Police Memorial Mansfield (1880)- erected to Sergeant Michael Kennedy and Constables Thomas Lonigan and Michael Scanlon who were killed while in the pursuit of the Kelly Gang in 1878. Ned Kelly was found guilty of the murder of Lonigan in 1880.

(it is interesting to note that this memorial was until recently known as 'the Kelly memorial'.)

Police lockup, Warracknabeal (1872)- Constable R.C. Molyneuse, officer in charge from 1871-74, assisted in the capture of Ned Kelly at Glenrowan.

Magistrate's Court Melbourne (old Supreme Court)- Kelly was tried at the then Supreme Court (which later became the site of the Melbourne Magistrate's Court) in 1880.

Old Melbourne Gaol (1853)- Kelly was hanged at the gaol in 1880.

206 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne (1856)- formerly owned by Sir Redmond Barry, the Supreme Court Judge who presided over Ned Kelly's trial. Sir Redmond died 12 days after Kelly's execution in 1880.