NED KELLY RAID TRAIL OF 1879
JERILDERIE
New South Wales, Australia
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 Timeline
Saturday, February 8, 1879 8:00pm
Kelly gang arrive at the Woolshed Inn
11:00pm
Kelly gang depart Woolshed Inn for Jerilderie
11:30pm
Police Barracks surrounded with Senior Constable Devine and Trooper Richards being captured and locked up in the “logs”. Police horses turned out of the stables and the horses of the Bushrangers installed.
Sunday, February 9, 1879 10:00am
Dan Kelly escorted Mrs Devine across to the Courthouse for her to prepare it for celebrating Mass.
Monday, February 10, 1879 7:45am
Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne ride to the Blacksmith shop of Samuel Rea and have their horses re-shod.
9:00am
Dan and Joe departed the Blacksmith shop and rode over Powell’s bridge, following the telegraph line to find a location where the line might be cut without being noticed.
9:45am
Dan and Joe returned to Police Barracks and advised Ned Kelly they were unsuccessful in their task.
10:00am
Ned, Joe Byrne, and Trooper Richards begin their walk downtown towards the Royal Mail Hotel and the Bank of New South Wales. Dan Kelly and Steve Hart follow on horseback.
10:30am
Party arrive at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart ride around to the rear of the Hotel and round up all those in the Hotel yard.
11:00am
Ned and Joe entered the Bank of New South Wales premises from the rear door, bailing up the Bank Teller, Edwin Living, and the junior Teller James Mackie. Living and Mackie were escorted back to the parlour of the Royal Mail Hotel.
Timeline Monday, February 10, 1879 11:45am
Hart and Living went in search of the Bank Manager, John Tarleton, who was found having a bath in one of the Hotel’s bathrooms.
12:30pm
Joe Byrne and Living returned to the Bank. Samuel Gill calls into the Police Barracks in search of news for his Jerilderie and Urana Gazette.
12:45pm
The Schoolmaster William Elliott calls at the Post and Telegraph Office to collect mail. As it is not yet one o’clock he decides to cross to the Bank and deposit the previous day’s offerings to the church.
12:50pm
William Elliott entered the Bank and was bailed up by Joe Byrne.
1:00pm
Ned Kelly returned to the Bank with the Bank Manager. The inner draw of the safe was opened and the contents placed in a bag held by the Schoolmaster. Post and Telegraph Master, Henry Jefferson, went to lunch at the Travellers Rest Hotel.
1:30pm
All five people returned from the Bank to the parlour of the Hotel.
1:45pm
Joe Byrne went out to the rear of the Hotel and mounting his horse rode over to the Post and Telegraph Office.
2:00pm
Henry Jefferson, Post and Telegraph master returned from lunch at the Travellers Rest Hotel, to be confronted by Joe Byrne. Ned Kelly returned to the Bank with Herbert Tiffen, instructing Tiffen to remove documents kept in the safe, take them out into the Hotel’s back yard, and burn them. James Rankin Snr, Hugh Harkin, and Samuel Gill entered the Bank to be confronted by Ned Kelly, Harkin and Gill escaping. Ned escorted Rankin next door to the parlour of the Hotel. Kelly and Rankin then went to Harkin’s store where Harkin was re-captured, along with a customer, Rudolph Gartman. The four then returned to the Hotel.
Ned Kelly Raid Trail of 1879
2:30pm
Ned, Trooper Richards, and Edwin Living went in search of the Printer, Samuel Gill, calling at his home and office located opposite the Hotel.
2:45pm
Ned, Richards, and Living then walked around to the stables of the Travellers Rest Hotel to inspect a race horse that Ned had been told about.
3:00pm
Ned, Richards and Living returned to the Royal Mail Hotel, and from there went across to the Post and Telegraph Office.
3:30pm
Ned, Joe Byrne, Richards, Living, Jefferson, and James Rankin Jnr returned to the Royal Mail Hotel. Joe Byrne and Dan Kelly rode their horses to the Police Barracks. Steve Hart went into the Bank, took Living’s saddle and walked over to the stables of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel where he saddled up the race horse and rode to the Barracks. Ned Kelly addressed the captives in the Royal Mail Hotel, railing against the injustices of the Victorian police.
4:00pm
Ned left the Royal Mail Hotel for the Barracks with Jefferson and young Rankin. James Mackie went down to “The Park” to round up the horses of Tarleton and Living.
4:30pm
Living, and then Rev Gribble, called at the barracks to plead cases for not taking Living’s saddle, or the race horse. Joe Byrne and Dan Kelly departed for Wunnamurra Station.
4:45pm
Steve Hart arrived at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel and walked to the Saddlery shop of James Mahood, along with Thomas McDougall, licencee of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel.
Note: The time frame mentioned in this document is approximate only.
WELCOME
to the Ned Kelly Raid Trail When Ned came to town in 1879 he was already infamous for the Stringy Bark Creek incident, he was an outlaw with a bounty on his head and orders to ‘be shot on sight’. Yet he visited Jerilderie in spite of a vow by the NSW Police that he would never cross the border; daringly relieved the Bank of NSW of over £2000, chopped down the telegraph poles, locked the local police in their own cells, booked up the cost of shodding his horses to the NSW Police whilst parading in police uniform, held over 30 hostages and shouted the bar in just 3 short days. What many readers may be unaware of is that the real purpose for his visit was to publish what is now known as “The Jerilderie Letter” at the Office of the Jerilderie & Urana Gazette. This was his manifesto - an account of his actions, his side of the story, highlighting his plight and the corruption of the law. Unfortunately for Ned the printer was not home and Living, the Bank of NSW’s Teller, promised to hold the letter in safe custody to be passed onto the printer upon his return. However this copy of the letter never surfaced and was not to be printed until over a century later, when it was donated to the State Library as a National Treasure by Bronwyn Binns, wife of Ned Kelly historian Ian Jones. One of the most appealing facets of this Letter is that it contains a type of humour that sits well with most Australians, however its real worth is that it gives us a direct insight into the real Ned Kelly - beyond the myth. The Ned Kelly Raid Trail allows you to walk in the footsteps of the Ned Kelly gang over that fateful weekend. Six of the sites are still extant giving us a small glimpse of the town as it once stood. Explore the Jerilderie Letter whilst you walk along the Raid Trail and perhaps you can make the decision –
Ned Kelly hero or outlaw?
THE TRAIL The Ned Kelly Raid Trail map has been designed with a visitor friendly perspective and all sites are shown in relation to their proximity to the Visitor Information Centre rather than numbering in relation to the sequence of the events that transpired over the weekend of February 8 – 10th, 1879. This Trail incorporates a combination of sites, six of which Ned or members of his gang visited directly, and which are still extant. Others are sites connected to the Kelly gang and key local figures who were prominent in the Ned Kelly saga as it relates to the Jerilderie incident, and the now famous “Jerilderie Letter”. This creates a wider significance to the Trail and gives the visitor a greater insight into the impact of the raid upon the ‘daily life’ of the town over that historic weekend. For our Kelly aficionados we have also included a detailed timeline as part of our cover so that you can, if you wish, retrace directly, in situ, the footsteps of Ned Kelly and his gang.
2 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
CONTENTS 1. Post and Telegraph Office Henry B Jefferson, Postmaster James E Rankin, Junior Postal Clerk
4
2. Blacksmith Shop of Samuel Rea, Proprietor
6
3. Site of The Riverina Hotel Martin Murphy, Proprietor
7
4. Site of The Courthouse Hotel
8
5. The Office of Michael J. Curtin, Auctioneer
9
6. Home of Sir John Monash, 1874–1877
10
7. 63 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie
12
8. Stores of - J D Rankin, General Merchant - H D Harkin, General Merchant - Bank Of New South Wales - Royal Mail Hotel, Chas. Cox (Licencee)
13
9. The Residence & Printing Office of The Jerilderie and Urana Gazette Samuel Gill, Editor and Proprietor
16
10. Site of The Saddlery of James Mahood
18
11. Site of The Traveller’s Rest 17 Hotel Stables
19
12. Site of The Traveller’s Rest Hotel Lessee Mr Thomas Mcdougall
20
13. Site of Police Barracks, Lockup and Stables
21
14. Jerilderie Courthouse Constructed 1874
23
15. Site of The Woolshed Inn Re-Named The Pastoral Hotel
25
16. Site of The ‘Park’ Residence
26 NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 3
1. P ost and Telegraph Office
Henry B Jefferson, Postmaster James E Rankin, Junior Postal Clerk
At approximately 12.45pm on Monday, 10 February, 1879 the local school teacher, Mr William Elliott, called at the Post Office to collect the mail for the school and himself. As it was not yet 1.00pm Mr Elliott decided to cross over to the Bank and deposit the previous day’s church takings, before returning to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel for his lunch. At 1.00pm Mr Jefferson left the Post and Telegraph Office for his usual lunch at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel. On completing his lunch, Mr Jefferson remarked that something must have been going on over at the Bank, as the Schoolteacher had gone to the Bank shortly before 1 o’clock 4 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
and had not turned up at the hotel for his lunch (as was his custom). On returning to the Post Office at 2.00pm, Mr Jefferson was confronted by a ‘policeman’ who brushed by him and went behind the counter to read the telegraphic correspondence that had transpired that day. On Jefferson admonishing the ‘policeman’ for going behind the counter Joe Byrne drew his revolver and ordered Mr Jefferson to shut down the telegraphic machine. Mr Jefferson and Mr Rankin were kept under guard until Ned Kelly arrived. After a brief inspection Ned walked next
door and ordered the bootmaker, Mr J Roe, to fetch his axe from the wood heap and start cutting down the telegraph poles so as to prevent any further communications. Ned had Mr Roe relieved of wielding a very blunt axe by Mr Martin Murphy, the publican of the Riverina Hotel who had unsuspectingly strolled down to the Post Office from his hotel to see what was going on. Seeing that not much progress was being made, Ned Kelly then ordered two bystanders, Mr Thomas Brown and Mr Charles Naw to go across to Mr J D Rankin’s Store and get a new axe each, and keep cutting down telegraph poles until sundown. The two gentlemen, Brown and Naw, carried out their orders, cutting down 8 poles for a distance of approximately 500 metres.
By then Ned and Joe Byrne had escorted Mr Jefferson and young Rankin across to the Royal Mail Hotel, and from there to the Police Barracks where they were locked up, along with Senior Constable Devine and Constable Richards. During this time Joe Byrne had taken Mr Jefferson’s watch, which Ned Kelly had ordered Joe Byrne to return. Despite the warnings of Ned Kelly not to attempt to repair the telegraph lines or help others to do so, Jefferson, whilst still confined in the ‘logs’ issued instructions to Messrs Elliot and Mackie. When released by Mrs Devine (also acting on Ned Kelly’s instruction) Jefferson soon strung temporary lines along fence posts and began communicating to Deniliquin and Wagga Wagga Police Barracks (in particular) on the events that had unfolded during the day. NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 5
2. B lacksmith Shop of Samuel Rea, Proprietor
Early on Monday morning of 10 February, 1879, Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne, dressed in police uniforms, rode their horses from the Police Barracks and Lock-up to the Blacksmith Shop of Samuel Rea located on this site to have them re-shod, booking the cost to the NSW Police Department.
Mark Amos Whitby came into ownership of Samuel Rea’s Blacksmith shop on 11 April 1882, with the Whitby family retaining ownership until 11 July 1918.
6 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
3. S ite of The Riverina Hotel
Martin Murphy, Proprietor
At approximately 3.00pm on Monday, 10 February, 1879 Martin Murphy stepped out of his Riverina Hotel and was promptly beckoned by the neighbouring fruit shop proprietor, Jim Fox, to be told that something strange was going on down at the western end of town. People had been entering the Royal Mail Hotel or the adjoining Bank of New South Wales since 11 o’clock that morning, but nobody had been seen coming back out. The fruit shop owner offered the opinion that the Bank was being ‘stuck up’. Another shop owner joined the conversation stating he had heard a rumour the Kelly Gang was in town to rob the Bank. In scoffing at the story Mr Murphy bet the fruit shop owner half a sovereign that there was nothing in the yarn.
While standing there, the three gentlemen noticed a crowd gathered in front of the Post and Telegraph Office, whereupon Mr Murphy decided to stroll by and see what was going on. Arriving there he was promptly pressed into service by Ned Kelly who handed him an axe and ordered him to commence chopping down the telegraph pole in front of the Post and Telegraph Office. Ned quickly noted that Mr Murphy was inexperienced with an axe and subsequently ordered him to hand over the axe to another man by the name of Thomas Brown. Mr Murphy beat a hasty retreat back to his Hotel, with Mr Fox later lamenting the fact that he was never paid the winning bet!
Photograph of Curtin’s Riverina Hotel, circa 1920. The single storey section to the left would be part of Murphy’s original Hotel, with the two-storey section being added in 1914.
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 7
Empire Day celebrations in front of the Courthouse Hotel in 1919. The Hotel was delicenced in 1922 but used for private accommodation before demolition sometime in the early 1940’s.
4. S ite of
The Courthouse Hotel
The Courthouse Hotel was built in 1871/72 by Mr John Hanlon. After one year he sold out and built the Lauriston Hotel on the Conargo Road, about 14 km from Deniliquin. On the Monday evening of 10 February, 1879, Mr Edwin Living, the Teller at the Bank of New South Wales in Jerilderie, stopped at the Lauriston Hotel to have a meal and rest his horse on his way to Deniliquin to report the raid on Jerilderie by the Kelly Gang. While at the hotel, Mr Living agreed to leave the original ‘Jerilderie Letter’ with Mr Hanlon for him to copy - to be picked up upon his return. Mr Living continued onto Deniliquin and then onto Melbourne the following day.
8 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
Mr John Hanlon
On Thursday, 13 February, 1879 Mr Living called into the Lauriston Hotel on his return to Jerilderie from Melbourne, and persuaded Mr Hanlon to hand him both the “Jerilderie Letter” and the copy that Mr Hanlon had made. Much to the disgust of Mr Hanlon, his copy was never returned to him, as promised. In the late 1890’s the Lauriston Hotel was destroyed by fire. Mr Hanlon sold the land to Mr Alex Landale of Wandook and took a selection on Wargam Station which he named Paragon Park. In 1906 he was appointed Chairman of the Windouran Shire Temporary Council, and later elected as a Councillor of the first Windouran Shire Council.
5. Th e Office of Michael J. Curtin, Auctioneer
On at least two occasions in 1878, Mr Curtin sold horses at the Jerilderie Sales on behalf of the ‘owner’, Mr Steve Hart. On the last occasion a dispute arose, whereby Steve Hart accused Mr Curtin of overcharging £1, a charge which was indignantly repudiated with Mr Curtin remarking that “for all I know they (the receipts) might be bogus ones”. Whilst guarding the captives in the Royal Mail Hotel on 10 February, 1879 Steve Hart inquired as to the whereabouts of the ‘Auctioneer Curtin – I’ve got some unfinished business with him’. On being advised that Mr Curtin was at the Land Board Office in Urana on business Hart expressed his regret that he was unable to ‘catch up with him’. Michael Curtin heard of Steve Hart’s implied threat against him on his return from Urana the following day. Thinking that two could play the same game – he armed himself and joined the party that was defending the Post and Telegraph Office (on the Tuesday and Wednesday nights) against the threatened return of the Kelly gang to hold up the Urana Coach. By Thursday, Michael Curtin, was so disgusted at the lack of Police reinforcements being sent to the town; including the fact that Trooper Richards was seconded onto patrol down to the Murray River, that he decided to ride to Deniliquin and express those concerns particularly as rumour was rife that the Kelly gang was intending to return to
Mr Michael John Curtin
Jerilderie. On the way to Deniliquin he met the Coach transporting the Bank’s replacement cash and the two Bank officials that were returning to Jeriderie, escorted by one policeman. Michael John Curtin was born in Ireland in 1839 and arrived in Australia via New Zealand in 1870. Shortly thereafter he settled in Jerilderie working as a butcher. On 12 May 1872 he married the widow Hedwidges Schaneck, although strangely the record of marriage lists the name as Teresa H Gliniska. Obviously one surname was her maiden name and the other her married name. Mrs Curtin’s occupation before marriage was that of a dressmaker which she carried on at her residence that was later rented by the Postmaster General as the Post and Telegraph Office held up by Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne on 10 February 1879. Michael Curtin was elected as the first Mayor of the Municipality of Jerilderie in 1889, and died in Jerilderie on 22 August, 1896, at 57 years of age. He is buried in Row A Lot 27 of the Roman Catholic section of the Jerilderie cemetery. NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 9
6. H ome of
Sir John Monash, 1874–1877
It was claimed that as a lad, Sir John Monash met Ned Kelly and held his horse for him; a claim never denied nor confirmed by Sir John, but doubted by future biographers of his career. What is fact however is that Sir John’s father, Louis Monash, managed the store adjacent to this site from 1874 to 1883, with Sir John attending the local public school from 1874 at age nine, until 1877. The local school teacher, William Elliott, recognized the academic genius of young Sir John and persuaded his parents to take him to where he could receive better schooling and his potential more fully developed. So Mrs Monash took the children to reside in Melbourne, where Sir John Monash was enrolled in Scotch College. As the 10 February, 1879 was the last day of school holidays for his school it is possible that young John Monash may have been in Jerilderie with his father during part of the Ned Kelly raid, but not on the actual day of the robbery as his attendance at school in Melbourne is confirmed the next day. On the day of the robbery, the Editor of the local paper, Samuel Gill, called into the store next door, managed by Louis Monash, to tell him and his employees of what he had found out on his visit to the Police Barracks shortly beforehand. Sir John had fond memories of his time in Jerilderie and kept up a life long 10 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
John Monash 1878
correspondence and friendship with his former school teacher William Elliot, who had been captured on entering the Bank and pressed into service by holding the bag that the bank’s money was scooped into. William Elliott resigned as the Schoolmaster of the Public School in 1885 to take over the local paper, by this time called The Jerilderie Herald and Urana Advertiser. During 1913 and 1914 Elliott published in serial form, his account of the raid on Jerilderie by Ned Kelly and his gang. In it Elliott claimed that both Ned Kelly and Steve Hart were no strangers to Jerilderie, Hart selling horses at the horse sales conducted in
The store managed by F J Jones from 105 to 1910, formally managed by John Monash from 1874 until 1883. A fire gutted it in 1935 to be replaced by what is here now, subdivided into two shops.
Jerilderie, and Ned Kelly staying at the Royal Mail Hotel for at least a week some years previously. Other historians have Ned Kelly traveling around the Riverina at various times either in search of work or in search of his step father. Monash recalls in his writings that his attendance at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on 27 December 1918 was comparable to the occasion in which he had met Ned Kelly, 41 years earlier.
Taken literally this statement means that Monash was claiming he met Ned during the school holidays of 1877/1878, and not during the raid itself, in February 1879. For more information on the Monash connection with Jerilderie ask for the pamphlet available at the Jerilderie Information Centre.
“...Did Sir John hold Ned’s horse?” NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 11
63 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie, Restored 2007.
7. 6 3 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie When Ned Kelly and his gang raided Jerilderie on 8, 9 & 10 February 1879 there were no buildings on this triangle of land, from Bank Lane eastward to where Powell and Jerilderie Streets meet. The significance of this site is in relation to instructions given by Ned Kelly to Herbert Tiffen, the groom at the Royal Mail Hotel, to light a fire and burn the documents that were held in the safe of the Bank of New South Wales as securities against loans made by the Bank. As at the end of December 2007, the Title Deed to this parcel of land, being part of Lot 7, Part Portion 4, Volume 284, Folio 96, is the only document unearthed so far that required a Statutory Declaration to be made for a duplicate Title Deed to be issued as a consequence of the destruction of the originals. 12 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
A Provisional Certificate of the within has been issued with the following Endorsement – “The above is with the consent of the Land Titles Commissioners issued as a Provisional Certificate of Title upon the Statutory Declaration of the above named James Morris and one John Walter Tarleton of Jerilderie Bank Manager that the original was destroyed or lost and contains together with the Place an exact copy of the Register Book Vol. 284 Fol. 96. “[Signed] “Land Titles Office, “Sydney 26 August 1879.”
8. S tores of
- J D Rankin, General Merchant - H D Harkin, General Merchant - Bank Of New South Wales - Royal Mail Hotel, Chas. Cox (Licencee)
At approximately 10.30am on Monday, 10 February, 1879 Ned Kelly, Joe Byrne and Trooper Richards entered the front bar of the Royal Mail Hotel, where Trooper Richards introduced Ned to the Licencee Mr Charles Cox. Ned informed Cox that he required a room for a few hours to put the people in as they came along “for I have come here to stick up and rob the Bank today”. Meanwhile, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart had ridden their horses into the yard behind the Hotel, stabled their horses and proceeded to round up the employees and others (including sympathizers) that were in the yard.
Dan and Steve herded the captives into the back parlour of the Hotel and from then on every customer or subsequent captive was placed there and kept under the watchful eyes and guns of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart. Ned Kelly and Byrne then went out on to the back verandah of the Hotel which was also common to Harkin’s store, the Bank of New South Wales, and the Hotel, and entered the Bank through the back door. Walking up the passageway, Ned went to the left into the Bank Manager’s Office, while Joe Byrne went to the right into the Teller’s Office and counter, bailing up Edwin Living the Teller, and James
J D Rankin’s store was located on the showroom of Jerilderie Motors, to the left of the photograph. H D Harkins store was located on the hotel driveway, and part of the 1928 two storey section. The first two archways of the two storey section is concealing where the Bank of New South Wales was located. The single storey section of the Hotel on the right is the renovated original part of the hotel, as well as outbuildings located immediately behind the single storey section.
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 13
Mackie the Junior Teller, who was at the front door looking out for the return of the Bank Manager, Mr John Tarleton, from an overnight stay on a station some miles out. Ned then came into the banking chamber from the unoccupied Bank Manager’s Office and ordered Living to open his cash till, which contained £691. As the safe holding the reserve cash required two keys and the Bank Manager had the other, Ned and Joe Byrne retraced their steps, escorting Mr Living and young Mackie out the back door of the Bank and back into the Bar Parlour. After a short time Ned ordered Steve Hart to get the Bank Manager, who by this time had returned and was having a bath. After getting dressed (minus his watch and chain which had been lifted by Steve Hart) Tarleton was also escorted to the Bar Parlour. Meanwhile Joe Byrne and Mr Living had returned to the Bank front office, when William Elliott, the local Schoolmaster, entered the Bank and was bailed up. Ned Kelly walked in with Tarleton and the second key. Elliott was ordered to jump
“...for I have come here to stick up and rob the Bank today.” 14 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
over the counter and hold the moneybag whilst the £691 of the teller’s cash till was scooped into it along with a further £1,450 from the safe. Ned also rifled through various bank papers, deeds etc announcing his intention to burn them. Mr Living pleaded with Ned not to destroy his Life Policy, to which Ned agreed and handed it to Living. The five men then returned to the Bar Parlour. Joe Byrne handed the bag of money to Dan Kelly, went out the back, mounted his horse and went to the Post and Telegraph Office. After a drink, Ned Kelly in company with the Hotel’s groomsman Mr Herbert Tiffen, returned to the Bank whereupon Ned ordered Tiffen to take all bank documents out into the back yard and burn them; a task which Mr Tiffen carried out with great efficiency. Ned decided to change out of police uniform into some clothes belonging to the Bank Manager and while doing so, into the Bank walked the storekeepers of the adjoining shops, James Rankin Snr Plan of the Bank of New South Wales
Photograph courtesy of the Sun, 11 September 1911
and Hugh Harkin, along with Samuel Gill, the proprietor of the Jerilderie Gazette, who had earlier alerted the two storekeepers that something was wrong at the Police Barracks, and decided to consult with the Bank Manager.
From there the trio proceeded to the Post and Telegraph Office, returning with Joe Byrne, Henry Jefferson, James Rankin Jnr, James Monohan, an unlucky customer of the Post Office, and Bootmaker Mr J Roe, the owner of a rather blunt axe.
On hearing a rap on the counter Ned came into the bank chamber area and bailed up Rankin, with the other two gentlemen making their escape.
Whilst Ned Kelly delivered a speech to approximately 42 of his ‘captive’ audience (including sympathizers) on the tyranny and deceit of the police and squatters alike, Joe Byrne and Dan Kelly mounted their horses and with the bank money, proceeded towards the Police Barracks.
Mr Gill set out for ‘Carrah Homestead’ to seek help in raising the alarm at Deniliquin. Harkin returned to his adjoining store to search for his revolver. Unfortunately for Mr Harkin, Ned with Rankin, had followed him, and he was subsequently ‘captured’ and escorted back to the Hotel Bar Parlour, along with a customer in Mr Harkin’s Store, and the Chemist Mr Rudolph Gartman. Trooper Richards and Mr Living then accompanied Ned Kelly across to the residence of Samuel Gill and from there to inspect a racehorse at the stables of the Travellers Rest Hotel.
Steve Hart went and found Mr Living’s saddle and walked over to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel stables, saddled up the racehorse and rode it to the Police Barracks. On finishing his speech Ned Kelly, in company with Trooper Richards, Jefferson and young Rankin, started walking towards the Police Barracks, to the intersection of Jerilderie Street with Powell Street, where they hitched a ride with a passing Hawker. The hostages were free to leave the Hotel when they liked. NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 15
9. Th e Residence & Printing Office of The Jerilderie and Urana Gazette Samuel Gill, Editor and Proprietor
Samuel Gill came to Jerilderie from Deniliquin in 1876 to commence a printing shop. He first commenced printing the newspaper Jerilderie and Urana Gazette in September, 1877. On Monday, 10 February, 1879 Ned Kelly tried to find him in order to print the “Jerilderie Letter”. Earlier in the day Mr Gill had become aware that something was amiss in the Bank and had taken off for ‘Carrah Homestead’ - a point whereupon a messenger could be sent on to Coree Homestead and from there on to Deniliquin to inform the police of what was happening in Jerilderie. Shortly before 2.30pm on Monday, 10 February, 1879, on his way to inspect a racehorse at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel Stables, Ned Kelly, in company with Trooper Richards and the Bank Teller,
16 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
Mr Edwin Living, knocked on the door of the private residence and printing office of Samuel Gill, which was answered by his wife. Mrs Gill was aware of the Kelly Gang’s presence in Jerilderie, having been warned by Mrs Pride, of the Butcher Shop behind the residence facing Powell Street. Samuel Gill, on his way to “Carrah Homestead” had called into Pride’s Butcher Shop and asked Mrs Pride to warn his wife and inform her of his intentions. When Ned asked for Mr Gill, his wife informed him that he had not returned for his dinner and knowing who Ned Kelly was, said “I don’t know where my husband is; perhaps by this time, he is dead down the creek”, to which Ned replied “Look here Mrs Gill, I do not want
Photograph of Samuel Skevington, Chemist, 1905 – 1929. The wooden structure in the background was his Chemist shop for several periods during that time. It was also the residence and office of Samuel Gill, Editor and Proprietor of the Jerilderie and Urana Gazette, where Ned Kelly went to in search of Gill, to find only his wife at home.
to injure your husband in any way, I have a statement here which contains a little act of my life, and I want it published by Mr Gill, will you take it?”. Mrs Gill refused to take what has now become famous as the “Jerilderie Letter”. Ned appeared somewhat perplexed as to what to do next until Mr Living offered to take custody of the 58 page manuscript and give it to Mr Gill when he returned, for it to be published. On handing over the manuscript Ned said to Mr Living “Mind that you keep your promise and see that they are printed, or you will have to reckon with
me next time we meet”. Kelly, Richards and Living then walked around to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel Stables. However Mr Living did not give the manuscript to Gill, rather he kept it himself, and it was not to re-surface until more than 100 years later. A synopsis was printed in the ‘Argus’ on 17 February, 1879, with either the copy made by Mr Hanlon of the Lauriston Hotel, or a further copy made by Mr Living himself, probably being the so called ‘original’ that was given into police custody, as demanded.
“...I have a statement here which contains a little act of my life”. NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 17
10. Site of The Saddlery of James Mahood Just after 2.00pm on Monday 10 February 1879 the Editor of the Jerilderie and Urana Gazette, Samuel Gill, called on Mr James Mahood, the Saddler, to inform him of the Bank hold-up presently under way at the Bank of New South Wales by members of the Ned Kelly gang. It would appear that Mahood was somewhat skeptical of Gill’s narrative and so Gill left to raise the alarm in other quarters. James Mahood was left in no doubt as to the veracity of Gill’s account when shortly before 5.00pm later that day Steve Hart, in company with Thomas McDougall, Lessee of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, appeared at his saddlery shop and demanded to see the saddles that he had for sale. On selecting one, Hart ordered Mr McDougall to pick it up and carry it
back to his hotel, where Steve Hart had tied up the un-saddled horse of Senior Constable Devine. Apart from the money and gun from the Bank, the police guns and the horse assigned to Senior Constable Devine, Mr Mahood’s saddle was the only item “stolen” by Ned Kelly and his gang. All drinks at the Royal Mail and Traveller’s Rest Hotels were paid for. The Bank documents destroyed were mortgages and other documents given to the Bank as security. Unfortunately the Head Office in Sydney had copies, as did the Land Titles Office. Within 14 days the banknotes were in circulation in Benalla, Wangaratta and Beechworth, whilst Devine’s horse was recovered at the upper reaches of the King River. Mahood’s Saddlery Shop, located on part of Lot 3, Section 22, or 25-31 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie
“...Hurrah for the Good Old Times of Morgan and Ben Hall”. 18 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
11. S ite of The
Traveller’s Rest 17 Hotel Stables
At approximately 2.45pm on Monday, 10 February, 1879, Ned Kelly, in company with the Lessee of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Mr McDougall, Police Constable Richards, and Mr Living, the Teller at the Bank of New South Wales, arrived at the stables to inspect a racing mare “Minnie”. Ned was aware of the mare’s presence through information received from a sympathizer. Ned asked Mr McDougall what he valued the mare at, and on being told £50, Ned replied “if I take the mare away with me I will give you that amount for her”. At approximately 3.30pm Steve Hart, acting on instructions given by Ned Kelly, arrived at the stables, having walked over from the Royal Mail Hotel carrying the hunting saddle belonging to Mr Living. He saddled up the racing mare “Minnie’, which was actually the property of Miss Mary McDougall, the daughter of the hotel Lessee, and rode it to the Police Barracks to meet up with the rest of the Kelly gang.
Section of sub-division of Land granted to J C Powell showing the site of Hotel, Stables and other buildings, the Store, and Blacksmith shop. Note the location of Pride’s Butcher shop, on Lot 3 facing Powell Street.
which was undertaken to complement the nearby Lake Jerilderie, officially opened on 11 February 1979 during the centenary celebrations held to commemorate the raid on Jerilderie by Ned Kelly and his gang. The Steel Wings Windmill was also incorporated into the project, and installed in July 1979. The park was officially opened on 21 October 1980 and at the request of the Lions Club, named Luke Park in honour of a foundation member of the Club, Thomas Luke, and who was also the driving force behind the establishment of the Lake.
Miss McDougall’s mare was later let loose in the Police Horse paddock for her to collect after a plea made by Rev. Gribble to Ned Kelly on Miss McDougall’s behalf. Mr Living’s saddle was also returned to him after a personal plea to Ned Kelly, also made at the Police Barracks. On this site now stands Luke Park, a project of the Lions Club of Jerilderie, NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 19
12. S ite of The Traveller’s Rest Hotel Lessee Mr Thomas Mcdougall
The extent to which the population of Jerilderie was largely unaware of the presence of the Kelly Gang in Jerilderie is typified by the fact that at 1.00 pm on Monday, 10 February, 1879 as was his usual habit, the Postmaster, Mr H B Jefferson arrived at the Traveller’s Rest Hotel for lunch. On finishing his lunch the waitress said to him that there were rumours of something unusual going on at the Royal Mail Hotel and Bank. Mr Jefferson replied that the local school teacher, Mr William Elliott, had called into the Post Office for his mail shortly before 1.00pm and then left there for the Bank. Because Elliott hadn’t turned up for his lunch also, Jefferson agreed that there must be something strange going on at the Bank. At 2.00pm Mr Jefferson left the Hotel and returned to the Post Office to be confronted by Joe Byrne. The Lessee of the Hotel, Mr McDougall, certainly became aware of the Kelly Gang being in Jerilderie when some time after
2.30pm he was confronted by Ned Kelly, demanding a look at the McDougall’s racing mare “Minnie”. Later, Mr McDougall was prevailed upon by Steve Hart to come with him and carry back a saddle which Steve Hart had ‘procured’ from the Saddlery of James Mahood. Later still, at approximately 5.00pm, Ned Kelly rode up to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, shouted the bar, that by this time appeared to be full of ‘strangers’; had Steve Hart return Rev. Gribble’s watch to him; bought two bottles of brandy “to go”, and to the cheers of the ‘strangers’, rode off towards Conargo, singing “Hurrah for the Good Old Times of Morgan and Ben Hall”. An eyewitness to these events was none other than the local schoolteacher, Mr William Elliott, who on his release from the parlour of the Royal Mail Hotel at 4.00pm, walked over to the dining room of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel to eat his rather belated lunch.
Photograph taken from the Water Tower post 1935. The original barracks is the bottom of the ‘L’. What was known as the Sergeants residence was demolished after the new residence was placed in front of it, in 1964.
20 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
13. S ite of Police Barracks, Lockup and Stables
Towards midnight on Saturday, 8 February, 1879 the Kelly Gang converged on the Police Barracks. Ned Kelly waited on horseback at the fence, approximately 50 metres in front of the Barracks, while Joe Byrne, Steve Hart and Dan Kelly crept up to the Barracks with Joe Byrne taking up position on the eastern end; Steve Hart and Dan Kelly on the western end. When in position Ned Kelly rode up to the Barracks calling out for Senior Constable Devine. On hearing his name, Devine called out “I’m in bed, what do you want?” Whilst still on horseback Ned replied “For God’s sake get up. There is a row on up at Davidson’s and they’re fighting. If they are not stopped there will be murder before morning. Get up at once and come up, and bring Richards with you.” Devine sprang out of bed, donned his trousers and socks, and stepped out onto the verandah. Trooper Richards had also heard the exchange, and stepped out onto the verandah from the office door, similarly attired as he also had been in bed in the leanto attached to the office. With both Devine and Richards on the verandah in front of him Ned Kelly drew
his revolver and said “Throw up your hands, I’m Ned Kelly”, and as the other three outlaws stepped onto the verandah “Don’t move for you are also covered by my men from both ends of the verandah, and on the slightest movement on the part of either of you, you will be shot by them”. Ned Kelly dismounted and ordered Devine and Richards into the dining room, to be met by Mrs Devine, also hastily dressed. Ned assured the captives that no harm would come to them provided they obey his instructions. He ordered Mrs Devine to make some supper and whilst she was doing this, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart retrieved the gang’s horses and took them to the Police Stables, where they released the police horses into the horse paddock, and stabled their own. Ned and Joe Byrne escorted Devine and Richards to the “logs” and locked them in along with a drunk, who had earlier been ensconced. The outlaws then took turns at guard duty while the other three slept. On Sunday morning the outlaws dressed themselves in police uniforms and after breakfast, prepared by Mrs Devine,
“...Throw up your hands I’m Ned Kelly” NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 21
walked about the Barracks and Stables so as the locals would think they were new troops on their way south to the Victorian border, where patrols were being carried out in an endeavour to catch the Kelly Gang attempting to cross the border in to New South Wales. At 10.00 am Dan Kelly escorted Mrs Devine across to the Courthouse for her to prepare it for the church service to be held there. Throughout the day, Devine and Richards had been allowed out of the cell, under guard, to be returned to the cell later that evening with each member of the Kelly Gang doing shifts. Early on Monday morning Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne rode their horses to the Blacksmith Shop of Mr Samuel Rea, and had them re-shod. Acting upon Ned’s instruction, they then rode down to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, and crossing the bridge, followed the telegraphic line to see if the wires could be disconnected anywhere. They returned to the Police Barracks and advised Ned that they were unsuccessful. At approximately 10.00 am the Gang released Trooper Richards from the lockup, handed him his empty revolver and ordered him to walk between Ned and Joe Byrne towards the town; the Royal Mail Hotel being their destination. Dan Kelly and Steve Hart followed on horseback, some distance to the rear. Ned and his gang were to return to this site later that day after a morning filled with activities. At approximately 3.30 pm Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne, riding Steve Hart’s horse and carrying the proceeds from the Bank, returned to the Police Barracks and began to make preparations for their departure. 22 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
Police Stables 2007.
Steve Hart then arrived on the racehorse ‘Minnie’ using Edwin Living’s saddle. Ned Kelly, with Trooper Richards, Postmaster Jefferson and his assistant James Rankin, then arrived having ‘hitched’ a ride from a passing hawker. Richards, Jefferson and young Rankin were then locked up with Senior Constable Devine and the ‘drunk’, with Mrs Devine being given the key with the warning not to release them before 7.30pm that night, otherwise he would return and “burn the roof right over her and her children’s heads”. The Bank Teller, Edwin Living, arrived to plead his case for the return of his saddle, which was granted by Ned. Rev. Gribble followed shortly after to plead the case for the return of the racehorse ‘Minnie’. Again, Ned Kelly granted the request, much to the disgust of Steve Hart, who let the horse loose into the Police Barracks paddock. Then he rounded up Devine’s horse and proceeded towards town bareback, to obtain another saddle. Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne, leading Steve Hart’s horse as a packhorse, departed for Wunnamurra Homestead, riding due south past the Courthouse. Ned Kelly mounted up and rode towards the Traveller’s Rest Hotel for a farewell drink.
14. J erilderie Courthouse Constructed 1874 Until the erection of the Roman Catholic Church in 1882 the congregation conducted their church services in the Courthouse. So before 10.00 am on Sunday, 9 February, 1879, Mrs Devine, wife of Senior Constable Devine, advised Ned Kelly that it was customary for her to prepare the altar in the Courthouse when a church service was to be held, which was to be at 11.00 am that day. If the usual procedure was not followed and inquiries made, Ned thought that it may upset his plans to rob the Bank the following day, and so he ordered Dan Kelly, dressed in police uniform, to escort Mrs Devine across the road to the Courthouse and assist her in making the necessary preparations. Mrs Devine was a regular attendant at Mass, but those who noticed her absence also noticed the ‘extra’ police across the road at the Police Barracks and so
Plan of Court House façade with proposed 1889 extensions. The dotted line depicts the extent of the original building.
dismissed her absence because of extra household duties. Fortunately for Ned Kelly, a relieving Priest, Fr Kiely officiated on that day, rather than the usual visiting Priest, Fr Slattery. Fr Slattery’s usual habit was to go over to the Barracks after Mass for a chat with the Devines, and if this had occurred, Ned would have had no alternative but to lock up the popular priest, which certainly would not have gone unnoticed; possibly thwarting Ned’s plans for the following day. Jerilderie was gazetted as a place for holding Courts of Petty Sessions on 23 July 1869. Prior to the erection of this purpose-designed Courthouse in 1874 Courts were held in privately owned buildings as required, and more than likely, from 1872 in the Courthouse Hotel, that was constructed in that year on the south-west corner of Jerilderie and Bolton Streets (see separate reference).
Photograph of the Courthouse taken in 1911 – 1929.
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 23
Jerilderie Court House was converted to the town’s public library after its closure as a Courthouse on 1 August 1988.
When originally built the Court House was a rectangular brick building with a hipped roof of corrugated iron. In 1889 the building was extended to the west (or to the right looking from the main street) to provide a witness’ room. In the 1920’s further extensions were made to include a porch off the
Magistrates room at the rear of the Court House, further behind it some toilets, conversion of the witness’ room to the office of the Clerk of Petty Sessions, with an amenities room off it to the rear, and enclosure of the western section of the front verandah as the new witness’ room.
Snapshot of the interior prior to its closure as a Court House. Much of the furniture is still extant within the Public Library.
24 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
15. S ite of The Woolshed Inn
Re-Named The Pastoral Hotel
At Sundown, on 8 February, 1879, Ned Kelly and his gang arrived at the Hotel for a meal and some conviviality. The barmaid, Mary Jordan, the Lady of the House, was better known as Mary the Larrikin. On leaving the Hotel about 11pm on the pretext of continuing their journey from Tumut to Deniliquin, Ned tipped Mary a florin, for amongst other things, answering the many questions asked about the police presence in Jerilderie and possibly because she obeyed his instructions in not serving Joe Byrne any more whiskey. Some historians writing on the raid have Ned returning to the Woolshed Inn on the Sunday night on his own, others claim it was Joe Byrne, whilst some make no mention of it at all. In 1859 an enterprising man by the name of William Davidson (18281875) of Tumut, noted that the “Cape” area had been surveyed in 1852 as a
likely site for a town. He built a house, hotel and blacksmith shop from bricks made by himself, and a bridge over the Billabong Creek. History has proved that the town of Jerilderie did not develop on this site. The Woolshed Inn changed its name to the Pastoral Hotel on 12 September, 1879. It was closed as a hotel in name, but was granted a wine licence which it operated under until its closure in 1889. It is believed that the reason for the cancellation of the Hotel licence was because the ceiling of the accommodation on the verandah was too low, and an order was placed on the owner of the Hotel for its rectification. On a subsequent inspection it was found that rather than raising the ceiling, the floorboards were removed along with two feet of dirt. Perpendicular thinking rather than lateral.
Photograph of the Woolshed Inn, taken in 1918
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 25
16. S ite of The
‘Park’ Residence
At the time of the Ned Kelly Raid on Jerilderie in February, 1879, the “Park” residence was occupied by the Church of England Minister, Rev. J B Gribble. Rev. Gribble was unaware of the Kelly presence in Jerilderie until informed of the situation by the Junior Teller of the Bank, James Mackie, who had been ordered to the park to run in the horses of the Bank Manager and the Teller. Rev. Gribble decided to walk into town to find out for himself what was happening, and met up with the Lessee of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, Mr Thomas McDougall, who informed him that the Kelly Gang had taken his daughter’s race horse “Minnie”. Rev. Gibble proceeded on towards the Police Barracks whereupon he confronted Ned Kelly who subsequently ordered Steve Hart to let loose “Minnie” and take Sergeant Devine’s grey horse instead. Having already been ordered to hand back Edwin Living’s saddle to him, Steve Hart was then told to ride bare-back into town and obtain a new saddle. On retracing his steps towards home, Rev Gibble again met Mr McDougall walking towards him carrying a saddle on his head. He began to advise Mr McDougall of “Minnie” being in the Police Barracks paddock when Steve Hart stepped out from behind Mr McDougall, and promptly relieved Rev. Gribble of his watch and guard. The good Reverend stood somewhat perplexed for some time 26 | NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879
Rev. Gribble
before gathering his resolve to return to the Traveller’s Rest Hotel, upon which time Ned Kelly had arrived. He again confronted Ned Kelly, who subsequently ordered Hart to return the watch admonishing him to next time ‘go for a good one’. Thinking that he had pushed his luck far enough Rev. Gribble beat a hasty retreat for his home. John Brown Gribble was born in Cornwall, England in 1847 and migrated to Melbourne with his parents in the following year, settling in Geelong. In 1868 he married Mary Ann Elizabeth Bulmer and in 1876 was admitted to the ministry of the United Free Methodist Church. Shortly thereafter he joined the Congregational Union of Victoria and moved to the Rutherglen area from where he traveled widely, preaching the gospel. It was during one of these such travels that Rev Gribble came into contact
with the Manager of the Wunnamurra Station at the time, Mr McKenzie who enticed him to settle in Jerilderie by offering him the use of the main house of what was once William Virgoe’s “South Jerilderie” Station. It was at Jerilderie that Gribble first came into contact with the Aboriginal people that for him became a life long work in the struggle to improve the welfare of the Aboriginal people. Gribble only remained in Jerilderie for a little more than twelve months, moving to Darlington Point towards the end of 1879 to establish the Warrengesda Mission, on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. After a trip to England in 1884 Rev Gribble returned to Australia where he established a Mission on the Gascoyne River in Western Australia. Family history has it that Rev Gribbles work amongst the Aborigines in that State so enraged the local settlers that he had to
be smuggled on board a ship in the dead of night to flee their wrath. From there Rev Gribble went to Cairns in Queensland where he opened the Yarrabah Mission, subsequently catching malaria. Rev Gribble retired to Sydney where he died on 3 June 1893, and was buried in the Waverley cemetery. The “Park” residence was once the original homestead of squatter William R Virgoe, who in 1852 was officially granted a lease of land of 33,190 acres, extending south from the Billabong Creek for approximately 6 miles or 10 kilometres, and fronting the creek for approximately 10 miles or 16 kilometres. When sold to Peterson and Sargood in 1866 at the time of acquiring Wunnamurra Station the residence and park area was loaned to the township for community purposes. The adjoining paddock was used as a horse paddock for businessmen of the town.
NED KELLY Raid Trail of 1879 | 27
360° VIRTUAL TOURS Scan to step inside and explore the 360° virtual tours of the Ned Kelly Raid Trail of 1879 sites and artefacts.
Jerilderie Racecourse
North WILS
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Golf Course
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Melbourne
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Jerilderie, 1879 - Significant Sites 1 Post & Telegraph Office 2 Blacksmith Shop of Samuel Rea 3 Site of the Riverina Hotel 4 Courthouse Hotel 5 Office of Michael J Curtin, Auctioneer 6 Home of Sir John Monash 1874 - 1877 7 63 Jerilderie Street
8 Stores of JD Rankin, HD Harkin, Bank of New South Wales and Royal Mail
13 Site of the Police Barracks, Lockup and Stables
9 Site of James Mahood’s Saddlery Shop
15 Site of the Woolshed Inn (Re-named the Pastoral Hotel)
10 Site of the Residence and Printing Office of the Jerilderie and Urana Gazette, Samuel Gill, Editor and Proprietor 11 Site of the Traveller’s Rest Stables 12 Site of the Traveller’s Rest Hotel
14 Jerilderie Courthouse
16 The “Park” Residence
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Bed & Breakfast
Airport
Caravan Park
Medical
Dump Point
Petrol Station
Free Camping
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Police Station
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School
Public Toilet
Supermarket
Playground
Walking Track
Swimming Pool
Old Railway
Parks
Jerilderie is one of three towns in the Murrumbidgee Council area. Established in 1859, it is nestled on the banks of the Billabong Creek and is the only town in NSW to feature in the Ned Kelly saga. Jerilderie has more surviving authentic Kelly sites than anywhere else along the Ned Kelly Touring Route. As you explore Jerilderie and its rich history, uncover why the town’s name was derived from the Jeithi tribe’s word meaning “reedy place”. murrumbidgee.nsw.gov.au 1300 676 243 mail@murrumbidgee.nsw.gov.au #VisitMurrumbidgee
Murrumbidgee Council Jerilderie Office 35 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie NSW 2716 1300 676 243
Sticky Fingers Candy Shop & Visitor Information Centre 63 Jerilderie Street, Jerilderie NSW 2716 0448 878 597
Acknowledgments The Ned Kelly Raid Trail of 1879, Jerilderie was refreshed by Murrumbidgee Council in 2023 and proudly funded by the NSW Government. Murrumbidgee Council would like to thank former Councillor Laurie Henery for the generous contribution of his private research to the Ned Kelly Raid Trail Project. Matt Beaver Photography, Straight Lines Design & Marketing, Evoke Photography, State Library of NSW, Jerilderie and District Historical Society, Uniting Church of Jerilderie, Conargo Shire Council Archives, The Melbourne Sun, Graeme Mahood, C Nelson, Lea Reid, R. Slattery, Gaila and Peter Smith.