Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.

Ned Kelly was one of Australia’s most famous and controversial bushrangers, becoming a legendary figure in Australian history and folklore. Born Edward Kelly in December 1854 in Beveridge, Victoria, he was the son of Irish immigrants who struggled to make a living in colonial Australia. His father, John “Red” Kelly, had been transported to Australia as a convict, and the family experienced poverty and frequent confrontations with the police. After his father’s death in 1866, Ned helped support his mother and siblings. As a teenager, he became involved in criminal activities, including horse theft, and served several prison sentences. Kelly developed a deep resentment towards the police and colonial authorities, whom he believed unfairly targeted his family and other poor Irish settlers. These tensions eventually contributed to his transformation from a petty criminal into one of Australia’s most notorious outlaws.

In April 1878, a confrontation between police officer Alexander Fitzpatrick and members of the Kelly family resulted in Ned’s mother, Ellen Kelly, being arrested and imprisoned. Ned and his younger brother Dan went into hiding, and a reward was offered for their capture. In October 1878, Ned and Dan, accompanied by Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, encountered a police party at Stringybark Creek in northeastern Victoria. During the confrontation, three police officers were shot dead, making the Kelly Gang wanted for murder. The gang subsequently carried out two daring bank robberies, at Euroa in December 1878 and Jerilderie in New South Wales in February 1879. During the Jerilderie robbery, Kelly attempted to publicise his grievances through a lengthy document known as the Jerilderie Letter, in which he accused the police of corruption, harassment and persecution of his family. The letter became an important historical document, revealing Kelly’s anger towards colonial society and his attempts to justify his actions.

The Kelly Gang’s final confrontation with the authorities occurred in June 1880 at Glenrowan, Victoria, where they planned to derail a train carrying police officers and ambush its occupants. The gang took hostages at the Glenrowan Inn and prepared for a violent showdown. In anticipation of the battle, Kelly and his companions had constructed remarkable suits of homemade armour from thick iron plates, designed to protect their heads and torsos from police bullets. When police surrounded the inn on 28 June, a fierce gunfight erupted. Ned Kelly emerged wearing his distinctive iron helmet and armour, advancing towards police while exchanging gunfire. Although the armour protected much of his upper body, his exposed legs were repeatedly struck by bullets, and he was eventually captured. The other three gang members died during the siege. Kelly’s extraordinary appearance in his iron armour became one of the most recognisable images in Australian history, symbolising both his defiance and the dramatic end of the bushranging era.

Following his capture, Ned Kelly was taken to Melbourne, where he stood trial for the murder of police officer Thomas Lonigan at Stringybark Creek. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Despite a substantial public campaign calling for his sentence to be commuted, Kelly was hanged at Melbourne Gaol on 11 November 1880, aged 25. His reported final words are often quoted as “Such is life”, although the historical evidence for this famous expression remains uncertain. More than a century after his execution, Kelly remains a deeply divisive figure in Australian culture. Some regard him as a courageous rebel who stood against injustice, police corruption and the oppression of poor settlers, while others see him as a violent criminal responsible for multiple deaths. His story has inspired countless books, films, songs and artworks, including Sidney Nolan’s celebrated series of paintings depicting Kelly in his iron helmet. Today, Ned Kelly occupies a unique place in Australia’s national identity, representing the enduring fascination with rebellion, resistance to authority and the country’s colourful colonial past.