Bushranger

Edward (Ned) Kelly was considered an outlaw within society in the late 19th century, due to his actions against injustices in society. However, in Australian history, the question was proposed whether Kelly was a bush hero or criminal. In recent times, the Australian media and culture has presented Kelly to become a national bush hero. The legend of Ned Kelly has changed overtime due to the historical recounts forming the Bush myth. Within this legend, the cultural identity of Australia was formed. Throughout many artworks, bushrangers have been depicted as either heroes and villains. In Sidney Nolan’s artwork “Ned Kelly”, it showcases Kelly as a hero due to his juxtaposition towards the bush. One of Kelly’s famous publications is the ‘Jerilderie…

My central research question is: Where did the idea of rebelling against authority come from and how did it inspire bushrangers? In Australia in the 19th century, outlaws were known as bushrangers. In today’s society, bushrangers are seen as folk heroes and are a part of Australia’s national identity. This especially is seen through Australia’s most notorious bushranger, Ned Kelly, who is considered somewhat as a legend, and inspires an idea of rebellion against authority. However, this idea of…

invasion, arson, murder and more commonly, highway robbery as gold was often shifted from the mines to town via highway, making them lucrative targets. Gangs of bushrangers were often created from escaped criminals and convicts who had nowhere to go and were under close watch by the law. Rangers would often flee to the bush after these notorious heists and lay low for periods of time. Although not all bushrangers were as bad as they seemed, a prime example of this…

experienced and politically savvy former army officer, Captain John McLerie, once a nominee for the Victoria Cross. However, the wave after wave of people flooding the state from all over the colony and the globe to the new goldfields overwhelmed the revamped force. Robberies, beatings, murder were becoming commonplace as those who without luck resorted to the revolver for a few shillings to get by on or flee. Reports were rampant and into this mix came the dedicated bushranger who boldly…

have been many speculative reports that a romantic relationship had existed between one Margaret Monks and John Dunn reputedly formulated during the lead up and time of the Binda Boxing day raid on the 26th December 1864 by Ben Hall, John Gilbert and John Dunn and that as a result of the supposed evening spent by the bushrangers and women a relationship had developed between Dunn and Monks which would result in the near future the birth of a son between the two? At the time of the evenings…

Australian film history The first film In Australia, also the first full length feature film in 1906 was, The Story of the Kelly Gang, which was a huge success in both Australian and British theatres, it was also the beginning of a genre of bushranger stories. Until in 1911 when South Australia banned the screening of bushranger films, Victoria soon followed. Thanks to the work of pioneers of Australian movie making such as Raymond Longford and Ken Hall, the Australian cinema continued to…

Gangs within Australia have a long history since the time of colonisation to modern times. However, there is often a denial in media that gangs have actually not existed in Australian history since the beginning, rather it if it is to be believed, that gangs only started to emerge in the late twentieth century. History has shown the proof of gang existences since colonisation, comprising of convicts who were fighting the law- more commonly known for being Bushrangers; such as Ned Kelly and the…

Today I will be talking about Ben hall’s life and what makes him a hero. Ben Hall is different from the other bushrangers. One of the victims of the holdup described him as “a quiet, good-looking young fellow, rather tall, frank-looking face.” He was not a heartless, cruel, malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness. (Bradley:2007). Ben Hall was praised by everyone in the district as a fine, hard-working, dedicated and honest stockman. He was known variously as ‘Bold Ben…

One common entity that connects Carney and Adair is the convict named Dolan. Dolan was also one of the reasons why Adair decided to pay visit to Carney; he wanted to make sure whether the rumours about Dolan being in fact his foster brother Fergus Connellan, were true. Fergus in fact did become a bushranger and was a leader of a gang which consisted of Irish revolutionarists. Fergus and Adair were from the very beginning two very opposed characters since Fergus was the wild oneand “he wasn´t…

Ned Kelly is an Australia born man, who lived most of his life in Glenrowan, Victoria. Ned Kelly was considered one of Australia’s most famous bushrangers, he was an outlaw that rob banks, coaches and held up the wealthy. However, he was considered a hero by many. He would give money and food that he stole from the rich to the poor. Even though he was breaking the law, he still thought he was doing the right thing. Back then, only the rich would be able to have three meals a day, whereas the…