On 28 June 1880, Australian bushranger NED KELLY (1854-1880), wearing homemade body armor, was captured in a final violent confrontation with police. At his subsequent trial, KELLY was found guilty of murder and he was hung on 11 November 1880, ending a career of confrontation with British law enforcement officers which had begun at age 14 and which included highway robbery, the use of horses without permission, damaging police uniforms, bank robbery, train wrecking, killing a police informant, and of course violently resisting arrest, resulting in the deaths of at least three officers. In the time since his execution, NED KELLY has become the most famous folk hero in Australia, mythologized by some as an Australian Robin Hood and a symbol of resistance against British colonial rule. The Australian term as game as Ned Kelly is a common expression. Films about KELLY include The Story of the Kelly Gang (Australia, 1906), another with Mick Jagger in the title role (1970), and more recently Ned Kelly (2003) starring Heath Ledger. It is both interesting - and controversial - that NED KELLY is today an Australian icon and the nations sole national hero.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:56:01 +0000
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