About The Ned Kelly Touring Route

Welcome to the Ned Kelly Touring Route Website! The Ned Kelly Touring Route is a joint initiative between the municipalities of the Rural City of Wangaratta, Benalla Rural City, Mansfield, Strathbogie, Indigo and Jerilderie (NSW) Shire Councils, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding.  The Old Melbourne Gaol is also a strategic partner in the project which is also strongly supported by Tourism Victoria.

A grant was received from the Federal Government's Regional Tourism Program for  $82,500 to undertake a Scoping Study and prepare a Strategy and Implementation Plan.

The project aims to develop appropriate collateral and interpretive signage at each of the key "Kelly" sites in Victoria and southern New South Wales  and provide visitors with an enhanced level of understanding about the background and events which led to the "Kelly Uprising".

This site is a key part of the project, and brings together information from a variety of sources in one handy location.

The Kelly Story in brief

" I am a widow's son outlawed and my orders must be obeyed"
Ned Kelly, February 1879

The era of Ned Kelly and his gang is one of the most remarkable episodes in Australia's history. Spanning just two short years between 1878 and 1880 the "Kelly outbreak" has assumed epic proportions in the Australian psyche, and Ned Kelly is arguably Australia's best known historical character. His short and violent life has been a continuing inspiration for poets, writers, artists and filmmakers. Being "as game as Ned Kelly" is regarded as an admirable trait - courageous, resolute and independent.

Just who was Ned Kelly? Behind the head piece of his famous and crude suit of armour was a man of many faces. He was a common criminal. He was a hero to Irish immigrants who were persecuted by the establishment. He was a bushranger who held up a whole town, not just banks. He was intensely protective of his family and avenged a police officer's assault on his sister.

Ned was barely educated, yet his famous letters were poetic and passionate. He killed police officers, was outlawed and could be shot on sight by anyone. Yet when he was sentenced to hang, more than 30,000 people signed a petition asking for a reprieve.

Ned Kelly has never faded from our national consciousness. Indeed the passing years have served to build Kelly's legendary stature. Why? Perhaps because he had so many qualities ordinary Australians admire. He was a larrikin. Loyal to his family and ready to sacrifice himself for his mates. Represented the struggling classes. Thumbed his nose at the establishment. And he was fearless.

Whatever the truth, Ned Kelly is a central figure in the Australian national identity, characterised by his ambivalent status as both a hero and a villain. He is part of our folklore, our popular culture and our art.

"The day will come when we will all have to go to a bigger court than this"
Ned Kelly to justice Sir Redmond Barry on being sentenced to death in October 1880

Ned Kelly Touring Route goes back to its Irish beginnings

The raw, bittersweet memory of Ned Kelly will now resonate throughout Ireland, with the inclusion of the Kelly family's birthplace in County Tipperary, in the Ned Kelly Touring Route.

By following the Touring Route, Kelly-inspired visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the Kelly narrative through story boards installed at the sites where the historic events occurred - Old Melbourne Gaol, Avenel, Euroa, Stringybark Creek, Glenrowan, Beechworth, Benalla and Jerilderie - geographic markers of a national phenomenon.  A storyboard will also be erected on the site of the Kelly family home in Moyglass, County Tipperary, where Ned Kelly's father 'Red Kelly' lived, before being transported to Australia in 1841.

"Ned Kelly is part of the Australian story - both as one of our best-known historical figures and also as a mythological character.   Through the Ned Kelly Touring Route we are committed to telling the many layers of the story with authenticity and sensitivity," said Graham Nickless, Project Manager of Ned Kelly Touring Route.

"The Irish connection with the Kelly legend is very real.  Extending the Touring Route to Ireland reflects Kelly's Irish ancestry as well as his iconic status, even outside Australia.  Just as the Kelly legend knows no boundaries across our cultural landscape, it also has a strong grip on the Irish consciousness", he continued.

Future development of the Ned Kelly Touring Route in Ireland may include the site of Ned Kelly's mother, Ellen Kelly's hometown in Northern Ireland and other Kelly gang member's Irish connections.

Ned Kelly has been an enduring presence in the Australian psyche for more than 125 years.  Ned Kelly, the bushranger, the larrikin, and to some, the hero, is one of Australia's best-known historical figures. He is also part of the nation's mythology, repeatedly re-emerging through Australia's art, literature, film music and other forms of popular culture.