97-545: The Jerilderie Letter is a handwritten document that was dictated by Australian bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly to fellow gang member Joe Byrne in 1879. It is named after the town of Jerilderie , New South Wales , where the Kelly gang carried out an armed robbery in February 1879, during which Kelly tried to have his document published as a pamphlet. It is one of only two original Kelly letters known to have survived. Described as
194-611: A manifesto , the letter is a 56-page document of approximately 8,000 words. In it, Kelly aims to justify his actions, including the murder of three policemen in October 1878 at Stringybark Creek . He describes cases of alleged police corruption and calls for justice for poor rural families. It is a longer and more detailed version of the Cameron Letter which Kelly sent to a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and
291-598: A 'searching enquiry' if sufficient evidence was provided. Kelly and Byrne read about this exchange in the newspapers and may have mistaken it as an opportunity to tell their side of the story. Kelly dictated a long letter to Byrne with the intention of sending it to Cameron. On 9 December 1878, the Kelly Gang robbed the National Bank in Euroa , Victoria, after taking hostages at Younghusband's station nearby. Joe Byrne kept watch over
388-877: A TAFE NSW Campus, which is part of the Riverina Institute of TAFE. Deniliquin is also the base for the NSW Department of Education South West Riverina regional office. South West Music Regional Conservatorium, part of a network of regional Conservatoriums in NSW, also offers a range of music tuition. Sporting clubs in the area include: The Deniliquin Football Association ran from 1900 to 1932. Deniliquin Blueheelers, just recently reformed has been approved by New South Wales Rugby League to rejoin Group 17 Rugby League enabling
485-556: A bushranger was "an open villain who subsists by highway robbery, and will sooner be killed than taken alive". Over 2,000 bushrangers are estimated to have roamed the Australian countryside, beginning with the convict bolters and drawing to a close after Ned Kelly 's last stand at Glenrowan . Bushranging began soon after British settlement with the establishment of New South Wales as a penal colony in 1788. The majority of early bushrangers were convicts who had escaped prison, or from
582-488: A convict uprising, declared martial law in an effort to suppress Howe's influence. Most of the gang had either been captured or killed by 1818, the year Howe was clubbed to death by a soldier. Vandemonian bushranging peaked in the 1820s with hundreds of bolters at large, among the most notorious being Matthew Brady 's gang, cannibal serial killers Alexander Pearce and Thomas Jeffrey , and tracker-turned-resistance leader Musquito . Jackey Jackey (alias of William Westwood)
679-693: A corner on the Macintyre (1894) and Bailed Up (1895), both set in Inverell , the area where Captain Thunderbolt was once active. Although not the first Australian film with a bushranging theme, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)—the world's first feature-length narrative film —is regarded as having set the template for the genre. On the back of the film's success, its producers released one of two 1907 film adaptations of Boldrewood's Robbery Under Arms (the other being Charles MacMahon's version ). Entering
776-766: A final version of the Cameron/Euroa letter that was circulated in December 1878. Kelly took his document to Jerilderie where he intended to have it published as a pamphlet for public distribution. During the raid on the town, Kelly tried to find the town's newspaper editor and printer, Samuel Gill, aiming to have him print the letter. When he couldn’t find Gill, Kelly gave the letter to bank accountant Edwin Living demanding that he give it to Gill and warning "Mind you get it printed, or you'll have me to reckon with next time we meet". Living ignored Kelly's demands and set off on horseback with
873-412: A government clerk. The original and both handwritten copies have survived. During the Kelly Gang's raid on Jerilderie, Kelly gave his document to bank accountant Edwin Living demanding that it be given to the town's newspaper editor for printing. Living ignored Kelly's threats and he and the bank's manager rode to nearby Deniliquin where they took a train to Melbourne to deliver the letter to the office of
970-693: A group of armed locals in Bobin, NSW , and the death of his brother, Joe Governor, near Singleton, NSW a few days later. Jack Underwood (who had been caught shortly after the Breelong Massacre) was hanged in Dubbo Gaol on 14 January 1901, and Jimmy Governor was hanged in Darlinghurst Gaol on 18 January 1901. The final phase of bushranging was sustained by the so-called "boy bushrangers"—youths who sought to commit crimes, mostly armed robberies, modelled on
1067-469: A half years, one of the longest careers of any bushranger. He sometimes operated alone; at other times, he led gangs, and was accompanied by his Aboriginal 'wife', Mary Ann Bugg , who is credited with helping extend his career. The increasing push of settlement, increased police efficiency, improvements in rail transport and communications technology, such as telegraphy , made it more difficult for bushrangers to evade capture. In 1870, Captain Thunderbolt
SECTION 10
#17328452385371164-548: A major industry and the area around Deniliquin was home to several Merino studs. In 1861, George Hall Peppin and his two sons, experienced English sheep breeders, established a Merino stud at Wanganella station, north of Deniliquin. There, the brothers developed the Peppin Merino , able to thrive in drier inland regions. Today, as many as 70 per cent of Merinos in Australia are said to be directly descended from these sheep. In
1261-502: A self-made book of kangaroo skin and written in kangaroo blood. In it was a dream diary and plans for a settlement he intended to found in the bush. Sometime bushranger Francis MacNamara, also known as Frank the Poet , wrote some of the best-known poems of the convict era. Several convict bushrangers also wrote autobiographies, including Jackey Jackey, Martin Cash and Owen Suffolk . Jack Donahue
1358-636: A shootout with the police. Ned Kelly, the only gang member to survive, was hanged at the Melbourne Gaol on 11 November 1880. In July 1900, the Governor brothers—a trio group consisting of an Aboriginal fencing contractor named Jimmy Governor and his associates, Joe Governor and Jack Underwood—perpetrated the Breelong Massacre, wounding one and killing five members of the Mawbey family. The massacre sparked
1455-427: A summary of the contents of the letter was being published and commented on in Australian newspapers. In July 1880 a government clerk made another copy of Kelly’s document when the prosecution case was being prepared for Kelly’s trial for murder in October 1880. The original was returned to Edwin Living after Kelly's trial and execution. The Jerilderie Letter is 56 pages long and contains approximately 8,000 words. It
1552-529: A ten-year sentence in HM Prison Pentridge . Within a year of his release in 1879, he and his gang held up the town of Wantabadgery in the Riverina . Two of the gang (including Moonlite's "soulmate" and alleged lover, James Nesbitt) and one trooper were killed when the police attacked. Scott was found guilty of murder and hanged along with one of his accomplices on 20 January 1880. Among the last bushrangers
1649-637: A trooper in 1830. That same year, west of the Blue Mountains , convict Ralph Entwistle sparked a bushranging insurgency known as the Bathurst Rebellion . He and his gang raided farms, liberating assigned convicts by force in the process, and within a month, his personal army numbered 80 men. Following gun battles with vigilante posses, mounted policemen and soldiers of the 39th and 57th Regiment of Foot , he and nine of his men were captured and executed. Convict bushrangers were particularly prevalent in
1746-464: A widows son outlawed and my orders must be obeyed. The letter has been described as both Kelly's "manifesto" and his "confession". In it, Kelly admits to crimes but claims he was forced into becoming a criminal due to police persecution of himself and his family. He also gives his version of the killing of three police officers at Stringybark Creek in October 1878, arguing that he shot the men in self-defence: "... this cannot be called wilful murder for I
1843-476: Is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales , Australia, close to the border with Victoria . It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately 725 kilometres (450 mi) south west of the state capital, Sydney and 285 kilometres (177 mi) due north of Melbourne . The town
1940-621: Is considered a classic of Australian colonial literature. It also cited as an important influence on the American writer Owen Wister 's 1902 novel The Virginian , widely regarded as the first Western . Bushrangers were a favoured subject of colonial artists such as S. T. Gill , Frank P. Mahony and William Strutt . Tom Roberts , one of the leading figures of the Heidelberg School (also known as Australian Impressionism ), depicted bushrangers in some of his history paintings, including In
2037-516: Is divided in two parts by the Edward River , an anabranch of the Murray River , with the main business district located on the south bank. The town services a productive agricultural district with prominent rice, wool and timber industries. At the 2021 census , the urban population of Deniliquin was 6,431. Deniliquin is the namesake of the deeply buried Deniliquin multiple-ring structure, which
SECTION 20
#17328452385372134-678: Is suggested to be at the core of a 320 mile diameter impact structure formed by a meteor strike over 400 million years ago, possibly responsible for the Late Ordovician mass extinction . Prior to European colonisation, the Indigenous Australian traditional owners of the Deniliquin area are the Barababaraba people. In 1843, the entrepreneur and speculator Benjamin Boyd acquired land in
2231-555: Is the document Kelly handed to Living. The text is from a copy of the original letter made in 1879 or 1880 by a government clerk, and is printed here with such spelling, punctuation, etc, as the clerk or Kelly and Byrne, or all three possessed. The original and both copies of the Jerilderie Letter have been digitised and are available online. Australian artist Sidney Nolan painted numerous Ned Kelly works, beginning with his now-iconic 1946–47 series, which Nolan later said later said
2328-575: Is written in the first person on notepaper 20.3 x 12.5 cm in size. There is little punctuation and it is not grammatically correct, however it contains very few spelling mistakes. The original letter includes an undated note written by Edwin Living stating that "This is the document given to me by Ned Kelly when the Bank at Jerilderie was stuck up in Feby. 1879". In the letter Kelly defends his bushranging actions, condemns those he believed had wronged him and warns
2425-519: The American Old West , and their crimes typically included robbing small-town banks, bailing up coach services and plundering stations (pastoral estates). They also engaged in many shootouts with the police, resulting in deaths on both sides. The number of bushrangers declined in the 1870s due to better policing and improvements in rail transport and communication technology, such as telegraphy . The last major phase of bushranging occurred towards
2522-647: The Parliament of New South Wales passed a bill, the Felons Apprehension Act 1865 , that effectively allowed anyone to shoot outlawed bushrangers on sight. By the time that the Clarke brothers were captured and hanged in 1867, organised gang bushranging in New South Wales had effectively ceased. Captain Thunderbolt (alias of Frederick Ward) robbed inns and mail-coaches across northern New South Wales for six and
2619-606: The gold rush era of the mid-19th century, with many bushrangers roaming the goldfields and country districts of New South Wales and Victoria , and to a lesser extent Queensland . As the outbreak worsened in the mid-1860s, the concept of outlawry was introduced to curtail the careers of the Gardiner–Hall gang , Dan Morgan , and the Clarke gang , among others. These " Wild Colonial Boys ", mostly Australian-born sons of convicts, were roughly analogous to British highwaymen and outlaws of
2716-483: The 1860s, Deniliquin was the centre of a short-lived campaign by wealthy pastoralists including Peppin, George Desailly, Robert Landale and William Brodribb for secession from New South Wales and the creation of a new Riverina colony. This campaign was supported by David Jones, proprietor of the local newspaper, the Pastoral Times . A Post Office was opened in Deniliquin on 1 January 1850. The first Telegraph Office
2813-399: The 1860s, including the 1862 Escort Rock robbery , Australia's largest ever gold heist. The gang also engaged in many shootouts with the police, resulting in deaths on both sides. Other bushrangers active in New South Wales during this period, such as Dan Morgan , and the Clarke brothers and their associates, murdered multiple policemen. As bushranging continued to escalate in the 1860s,
2910-480: The Australian bush between the 1780s and the early 20th century. The original use of the term dates back to the early years of the British colonisation of Australia, and applied to transported convicts who had escaped into the bush to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up " robbery under arms " as a way of life, using the bush as their base. Bushranging thrived during
3007-496: The Bank of New South Wales. After Kelly’s trial in October 1880 and execution on 11 November 1880 the letter was returned to Living and it remained in private hands until it was donated to the State Library of Victoria in 2000. On his way to Deniliquin to catch a train to Melbourne with Kelly's document, Edwin Living stopped to rest at John Hanlon's hotel eight miles from Deniliquin. It is believed that Living allowed Hanlon to read
Jerilderie Letter - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-684: The Berriquin Irrigation District in 1939, using water diverted from the Murray River at Lake Mulwala through the Mulwala Canal . An ample and reliable water supply led to the development of water-intensive industries such as rice growing. During the Second World War , RAAF Station Deniliquin was home to No. 7 Service Flying Training School RAAF . It was also a final disbanding site for squadrons returning from active duty against
3201-677: The Bushranger (1830), William Thomas Moncrieff 's Van Diemen's Land: An Operatic Drama (1831), The Bushrangers; or, Norwood Vale (1834) by Henry Melville , and The Bushrangers; or, The Tregedy of Donohoe (1835) by Charles Harpur . In the late 19th century, E. W. Hornung and Hume Nisbet created popular bushranger novels within the conventions of the European "noble bandit" tradition. First serialised in The Sydney Mail in 1882–83, Rolf Boldrewood 's bushranging novel Robbery Under Arms
3298-757: The Death of Captain Logan ", poems attributed to Frank the Poet (Francis MacNamara), a convict who was imprisoned in Port Arthur , Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania ) at the same time as John "Red" Kelly, Ned's father. It is speculated that "Red" Kelly passed on MacNamara's poetry to his son. An eyewitness to the Jerilderie raid noticed in the letter signs of Kelly's revolutionary fervor: The Victorian Government ... came in for its share of vituperation and abuse ... Kelly called upon all and sundry to be up and resist, and hound down
3395-761: The Deniliquin Ute Muster. Deniliquin has been home to many music festivals. These include: The local newspaper is the Deniliquin Pastoral Times . It is published on Tuesdays and Fridays and – on each of these days – has a circulation of 2787, with an estimated readership of 10,260. Other newspapers circulated throughout the Deniliquin region include the Herald Sun , The Age , The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph . There are two local commercial radio stations: 102.5 Edge FM (Music that makes you feel good), 1521 2QN (News, Talk and only
3492-509: The Edward River was in fact still running. Deniliquin Council and members of the Deniliquin community have since attempted to rectify the damage to local tourism by improving the profile of Deniliquin in various media outlets. Deniliquin has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: According to the 2021 census , there were 6,431 people in Deniliquin. Deniliquin is a service centre for
3589-427: The Governor brothers to engage in a crime spree across northern New South Wales, triggering one of the largest manhunts in Australian history, with 2,000 armed civilians and police covering 3,000 km of northern New South Wales in a search for the brothers. The Governor brothers were pursued by authorities for a total of three months, consequently being brought down on 27 October with the arrest of Jimmy Governor by
3686-616: The Japanese in the Pacific. No. 22 Squadron RAAF and No. 30 Squadron RAAF were disbanded here in 1946, and in 1945 and 1946 it was also a base for No. 78 Squadron RAAF before it was finally disbanded in Williamtown . Also during World War II, Muswellbrook was the location of RAAF No.15 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 29 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for
3783-418: The Jerilderie Letter as that of an "avant-garde artist with hardly a comma to his name", and in writing True History of the Kelly Gang , he aimed to recreate it. Of his first reading of the Jerilderie Letter, Carey said: Somewhere in the middle Sixties, I first came upon the 56-page letter which Kelly attempted to have printed when the gang robbed the bank in Jerilderie in 1879. It is an extraordinary document,
3880-516: The Jerilderie raid, but it was not published in full until 1930. Jerilderie schoolteacher William Elliott read Kelly's document soon after Edwin Living returned to Jerilderie from taking it to the Bank of New South Wales in Melbourne. Elliott gave a synopsis of the document to Jerilderie newspaper editor Samuel Gill and Gill wired the synopsis to Melbourne. The Melbourne Age published the synopsis on 18 February 1879. On 22 February, Gill also published
3977-595: The Murray Valley. These areas produce 50% of Australia's rice crop, 20% of New South Wales's milk production, 75% of New South Wales's processing tomatoes and 40% of New South Wales's potatoes. Sawmills in the area process timber harvested from the River red gum forests lining the Edward and Murray floodplains. As the largest town in the south western Riverina, there is a range of government and commercial services to residents of
Jerilderie Letter - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-1000: The Play on the Plains Festival, held each September/October on the New South Wales Labour Day long weekend. The festival includes the well-known Deniliquin Ute Muster . The Deni Play on the Plains Festival has set a number of world records, including the following: Deniliquin has had many local bands, some notable ones being the Lincolns, the Stormtroopers and the Lexies. Attempts been made to encourage other bands to come to Deniliquin to perform, with varying success. Solo performers who came from Deniliquin include Shane McGrath, Michael Gorham and Joel Sulman, with local artists often showcased at
4171-408: The authorities, admired for their bravery, rough chivalry and colourful personalities. However, in stark contrast to romantic portrayals in the arts and popular culture, bushrangers tended to lead lives that were "nasty, brutish and short", with some earning notoriety for their cruelty and bloodthirst. Australian attitudes toward bushrangers remain complex and ambivalent. The earliest documented use of
4268-489: The border to Echuca and Bendigo through to Melbourne and beyond from 24 March 1859. Finally the N.S.W. Government took the private company over and created its own offices and telegraph lines. The Government Telegraph Office at Deniliquin opened on 1 August 1861. It merged with the Post Office on 1 January 1870 before separating on 1 August 1875 and then getting back together on 29 June 1901. On 19 December 1868, Deniliquin
4365-681: The bushranger genre, including The Bushranger (1928), Stingaree (1934) and Captain Fury (1939). Ned Kelly (1970) starred Mick Jagger in the title role. Dennis Hopper portrayed Dan Morgan in Mad Dog Morgan (1976). More recent bushranger films include Ned Kelly (2003), starring Heath Ledger , The Proposition (2005), written by Nick Cave , The Outlaw Michael Howe (2013), and The Legend of Ben Hall (2016). Deniliquin Deniliquin ( / d ə ˈ n ɪ l ɪ k w ɪ n / )
4462-568: The colonial authorities, the Government tried to bring an end to any such collaboration by rewarding Aborigines for returning convicts to custody. Aboriginal trackers would play a significant role in the hunt for bushrangers. Colonel Godfrey Mundy described convict bushrangers as "desperate, hopeless, fearless; rendered so, perhaps, by the tyranny of a gaoler, of an overseer, or of a master to whom he has been assigned." Edward Smith Hall , editor of early Sydney newspaper The Monitor , agreed that
4559-483: The colonies of Queensland , New South Wales and the Victorian gold rush centres of Victoria , it soon became an important river crossing and the first bridge was built over the Edward River in 1861. The Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company built a private railway in 1879 to connect with Moama , across the Murray River from the busy river port of Echuca , connected by rail to Melbourne. Wool growing quickly became
4656-486: The convict system was a breeding-ground for bushrangers due to its savagery, with starvation and acts of torture being rampant. "Liberty or Death!" was the cry of convict bushrangers, and in large numbers they roamed beyond Sydney, some hoping to reach China , which was commonly believed to be connected by an overland route. Some bolters seized boats and set sail for foreign lands, but most were hunted down and brought back to Australia. Others attempted to inspire an overhaul of
4753-401: The convict system, or simply sought revenge on their captors. This latter desire found expression in the convict ballad " Jim Jones at Botany Bay ", in which Jones, the narrator, plans to join bushranger Jack Donahue and "gun the floggers down". Donahue was the most notorious of the early New South Wales bushrangers, terrorising settlements outside Sydney from 1827 until he was fatally shot by
4850-441: The decline in penal transportations to Australia in the 1840s. It had ceased by the 1850s to all colonies except Western Australia , which accepted convicts between 1850 and 1868. The best-known convict bushranger of the colony was the prolific escapee Moondyne Joe . The Australian gold rushes of the 1850s and 1860s marked the next distinct phase of bushranging, as the discovery of gold gave bushrangers access to great wealth that
4947-461: The document and make a copy of it before Living left the hotel taking the original with him. A report at the time said Living had forgotten the document when he left Hanlon's hotel and Hanlon had made a copy before sending the original to the Bank of New South Wales in Melbourne. When Living called at Hanlon's hotel on his way back from Melbourne, he asked for the copy. Hanlon gave it to him after Living promised he would subsequently return it. The copy
SECTION 50
#17328452385375044-437: The document towards Deniliquin , New South Wales , 50 miles away, from where he planned to catch a train to Melbourne . J.W. Tarleton, the bank's manager, followed Living to Deniliquin. When Living stopped to rest at John Hanlon's hotel eight miles from Deniliquin he gave an account of what had happened in Jerilderie. He allowed Hanlon to read Kelly's document and make a copy of the pages. The heading Hanlon gave to his copy of
5141-403: The eastern colonies. Its origins in a convict system bred a unique kind of desperado, most frequently with an Irish political background. Native-born bushrangers also expressed nascent Australian nationalist views and are recognised as "the first distinctively Australian characters to gain general recognition." As such, a number of bushrangers became folk heroes and symbols of rebellion against
5238-479: The end of the decade, epitomised by the Kelly gang in Victoria, led by Ned Kelly , Australia's best-known bushranger and outlaw. Although bushrangers appeared sporadically into the early 20th century, most historians regard Kelly's capture and execution in 1880 as effectively representing the end of the bushranging era. Bushranging exerted a powerful influence in Australia, lasting for over a century and predominating in
5335-411: The exploits of their bushranging "heroes". The majority were captured alive without any fatalities. In Australia, bushrangers often attract public sympathy (cf. the concept of social bandits ). In Australian history and iconography bushrangers are held in some esteem in some quarters due to the harshness and anti-Catholicism of the colonial authorities whom they embarrassed, and the romanticism of
5432-619: The eyes of not only the Victoria Police and inhabitants but also the whole British army and no doubt they will acknowledge their hounds were barking at the wrong stump and that Fitzpatrick will be the cause of greater slaughter to the Union Jack than Saint Patrick was to the snakes and toads in Ireland. In describing the brutalisation of Irish convicts in Australia, Kelly paraphrases lines from "A Convict's Tour of Hell" and " The Convict's Lament on
5529-562: The first "golden age" of Australian cinema (1910–12), director John Gavin released two fictionalised accounts of real-life bushrangers: Moonlite (1910) and Thunderbolt (1910). The genre's popularity with audiences led to a spike of production unprecedented in world cinema. Dan Morgan (1911) is notable for portraying its title character as an insane villain rather than a figure of romance. Ben Hall, Frank Gardiner, Captain Starlight, and numerous other bushrangers also received cinematic treatments at this time. Alarmed by what they saw as
5626-486: The glorification of outlawry, state governments imposed a ban on bushranger films in 1912, effectively removing "the entire folklore relating to bushrangers ... from the most popular form of cultural expression." It is seen as a major reason for the collapse of a booming Australian film industry. One of the few Australian films to escape the ban before it was lifted in the 1940s is the 1920 adaptation of Robbery Under Arms . Also during this lull appeared American takes on
5723-696: The hits you love) and also broadcast on 106.1FM, while ABC Local Radio 's ABC Riverina service (broadcast from Wagga Wagga ) is available on AM675. Other stations broadcasting throughout the region include Radio National , SBS Radio and Sky Sports Radio . Locally available TV stations include ABC Television (ABC TV, ABC TV Plus, ABC Me and ABC News), SBS Television (SBS TV, SBS Viceland, SBS Food, NITV, SBS WorldWatch, SBS World Movies), Prime7 (Prime7 HD, 7Two, 7mate, 7flix and Racing.com), WIN Television (WIN HD, 9Go!, 9Gem, TVSN, WIN Gold and 9Life) and Southern Cross 10 (10 HD, 10 Peach, 10 Bold, 10 Shake, SBN and Sky News Regional). WIN Television produces
5820-403: The hostages at the station while the rest of the gang carried out the robbery, and some of the hostages recalled seeing Byrne working on a long letter. Shortly after the Euroa robbery, Donald Cameron and Police Superintendent John Sadleir each received a copy of Kelly’s letter which he had signed 'Edward Kelly, enforced outlaw' and in which he attempted to tell his side of the events leading up to
5917-543: The killing of three policemen at Stringybark Creek in October 1878. The police advised against releasing the letter to the press for publication but reporters were permitted to read it. Newspaper accounts of the contents of Kelly's letter ranged from dismissive to sympathetic. Kelly dictated his letter to fellow Kelly Gang member Joe Byrne sometime before the Gang's raid on the town of Jerilderie in southern New South Wales from 8 to 10 February 1879. Byrne then rewrote it in neater handwriting. The Jerilderie Letter appears to be
SECTION 60
#17328452385376014-484: The killings, the Victorian Government enacted the Felons' Apprehension Act 1878 which authorised any citizen to shoot a declared outlaw on sight. A substantial reward was offered for each member of the Kelly Gang, 'dead or alive'. On 14 November 1878, the day before the members of the Kelly Gang were outlawed, a Victorian parliamentarian criticised the progress of the police hunt for the gang. In response to Donald Cameron’s criticism, Victorian Premier Graham Berry promised
6111-405: The lawlessness they represented. Some bushrangers, most notably Ned Kelly in his Jerilderie letter , and in his final raid on Glenrowan , explicitly represented themselves as political rebels. Attitudes to Kelly, by far the most well-known bushranger, exemplify the ambivalent views of Australians regarding bushranging. The impact of bushrangers upon the areas in which they roamed is evidenced in
6208-418: The letter being tendered as evidence. The government copy, now held by the Public Record Office Victoria , was the basis for all published versions of the Jerilderie Letter until November 2000 when the original was donated to the State Library of Victoria. Summaries of the contents of the Jerilderie Letter were published during Ned Kelly's lifetime. The first synopsis was published in newspapers within weeks of
6305-404: The letter is "Ned Kelly's Confession". The following morning Living and Tarleton took the train to Melbourne where they delivered Kelly's letter to the office of the Bank of New South Wales. As with the Cameron/Euroa letter, the police advised against making Kelly's letter available to the public and it was not published in full until 1930. However, shortly after the Kelly Gang's raid on Jerilderie
6402-654: The lowest daytime maximum in summer was 11.7 °C (53.1 °F) on 2 February 2005 at the new airport site. This reading was substantially colder than the previous February low maximum of 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) set in 1951, and colder than even the March record low of 12.1 °C (53.8 °F). Notable people from, or who have lived in, the Deniliquin area include: Deniliquin has three public primary schools (Deniliquin South, Deniliquin North and Edward), one Catholic primary school (St Michael's primary school), one public high school (Deniliquin High School) and one independent K-10 school (Deniliquin Christian School) It has
6499-407: The names of many geographical features in Australia, including Brady's Lookout , Moondyne Cave , the township of Codrington , Mount Tennent , Thunderbolts Way and Ward's Mistake . The districts of North East Victoria are unofficially known as Kelly Country. Some bushrangers made a mark on Australian literature . While running from soldiers in 1818, Michael Howe dropped a knapsack containing
6596-502: The north-east of Victoria. He also calls for squatters to share their property and wealth with the poor of their district. Kelly condemns the British monarchy and, in "an escalating promise of revenge and retribution", invokes "a mythical tradition of Irish rebellion" against what he calls "the tyrannism of the English yoke": It will pay Government to give those people who are suffering innocence, justice and liberty. If not I will be compelled to show some colonial strategm which will open
6693-470: The passionate voice of a man who is writing to explain his life, save his life, his reputation … And all the time there is this original voice - uneducated but intelligent, funny and then angry, and with a line of Irish invective that would have made Paul Keating envious. His language came in a great, furious rush that could not but remind you of far more literary Irish writers. Bushranger Bushrangers were armed robbers and outlaws who resided in
6790-502: The penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (now the state of Tasmania ), established in 1803. The island's most powerful bushranger, the self-styled "Lieutenant Governor of the Woods", Michael Howe , led a gang of up to one hundred members "in what amounted to a civil war" with the colonial government. His control over large swathes of the island prompted elite squatters from Hobart and Launceston to collude with him, and for six months in 1815, Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Davey , fearing
6887-402: The police in December 1878. Two copies were made of Ned Kelly's letter, one by publican John Hanlon and one by a government clerk. Only summaries of its contents were published in the press during Kelly's lifetime; it was not published in full until 1930. The original and both handwritten copies have survived. Edward (Ned) Kelly was born in Victoria , Australia , around 1855. As a teenager he
6984-533: The properties of landowners to whom they had been assigned as servants. These bushrangers, also known as "bolters", preferred the hazards of wild, unexplored bushland surrounding Sydney to the deprivation and brutality of convict life. The first notable bushranger, African convict John Caesar , robbed settlers for food, and had a brief, tempestuous alliance with Aboriginal resistance fighters during Pemulwuy's War . While other bushrangers would go on to fight alongside Indigenous Australians in frontier conflicts with
7081-431: The public not to defy him. He begins with the words "Dear Sir, I wish to acquaint you with some of the occurrences of the present past and future ..." and ends with a threat: neglect this and abide by the consequences, which shall be worse than the rust in the wheat in Victoria or the druth of a dry season to the grasshoppers in New South Wales I do not wish to give the order full force without giving timely warning but I am
7178-540: The reformed club to make a comeback for the first time since 1977. The club previously competed in Group 17 Rugby League from the early 1960s until 1977. They won three premierships in a row in 1969, 1970 and 1971. However The town had a now defunct Club called Deniliquin Raiders which competed in the Goulburn Murray Rugby League Competition in the late 90’s to early 2000’s Deniliquin is home to
7275-478: The rise of the colonial-born sons of poor ex-convicts who were drawn to a more glamorous life than mining or farming. Much of the activity in the colony was in the Lachlan Valley , around Forbes , Yass and Cowra . The Gardiner–Hall gang , led by Frank Gardiner and Ben Hall and counting John Dunn , John Gilbert and Fred Lowry among its members, was responsible for some of the most daring robberies of
7372-453: The scoundrels and wipe them off the face of the earth, ... Kelly was undoubtedly ambitious, and would seemingly have liked to have been at the head of a hundred followers or so to upset the existing government or bring them to terms. With his ambition there must also have been a lot of the Don Quixote about him. Two copies were made of Ned Kelly’s letter, one by publican John Hanlon and one by
7469-455: The serials were plagiarisations of his book Inner History of the Kelly Gang, published in 1929, and Davies' solicitors were forced to pay Kenneally compensation. Kelly's document was first called the "Jerilderie Letter" by author Max Brown in his 1948 biography of Kelly called Australian Son . Brown included the letter in full in his book and introduced it as an "8,300 word statement I have called The Jerilderie Letter". He continued: This
7566-563: The southern hemisphere is in Deniliquin, producing large packs and bulk rice for export markets. The rice mill closed in December 2007 and will reopen in April 2011. Deniliquin is also the headquarters of Murray Irrigation Limited, an irrigator owned private company and one of the largest privately owned irrigation supply companies in the world. Murray Irrigation manages the operations of the Berriquin, Deniboota, Denimein and Wakool Irrigation Areas in
7663-579: The storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000 ($ 1,800,000). In April 2006, the Herald Sun reported on its front cover that the Edward River was dry, with an accompanying photograph showing a dry creek. This was later revealed to be erroneous; the photograph was of an unknown channel on a farm within 60 kilometres (37 mi) of Deniliquin, while
7760-413: The surrounding agricultural region. The region includes both dryland and irrigated areas. The dryland areas support grazing, in particular beef cattle and wool growing. Deniliquin is home to many famous Merino studs and the saltbush plains produce quality medium class wool. The irrigated areas produce a range of high-yield crops. Rice was a major crop until the recent drought. The largest rice mill in
7857-543: The synopsis in his Jerilderie Herald and Urana Gazette . Other newspapers also published summaries of Kelly's document soon after the Jerilderie raid. At the end of its synopsis published on Friday 21 February 1879, the Burra Record (South Australia) concluded: There is a boastful intemperate tone throughout the letter ... There is much in Kelly's letter unsuitable for publication, and it will consequently be withheld. The full text of Kelly's document (with some corrections)
7954-403: The term appears in a February 1805 issue of The Sydney Gazette , which reports that a cart had been stopped between Sydney and Hawkesbury by three men "whose appearance sanctioned the suspicion of their being bush-rangers". John Bigge described bushranging in 1821 as "absconding in the woods and living upon plunder and the robbery of orchards." Charles Darwin likewise recorded in 1835 that
8051-479: The town and the surrounding area. Deniliquin has a cold semi-arid ( BSk ) climate with hot, sunny summers and cool, mostly cloudy winters. The town's highest temperature of 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) was reached on 12 January 1878, and is one of the highest ever recorded in Australia. Despite the stretches of extreme heat, Deniliquin is prone to cold fronts in the summer on account of its western longitude, making for an extreme variation at times. In contrast,
8148-525: The town site was surveyed in 1848, and gazetted in 1850. The original Native Police force of Frederick Walker was organised at Deniliquin in 1848. The Deniliquin Post Office opened on 1 January 1850. In 1853, William John Wills of the Burke and Wills expedition worked as a shepherd at the Royal Bank sheep station near Deniliquin. As Deniliquin was established on the convergence of major stock routes between
8245-407: The vicinity of present-day Deniliquin (probably via his agent Augustus Morris). The location was then known by colonists as The Sandhills. Although there are several origin stories for the name Deniliquin, the most common suggests Boyd (or Morris) named it after 'Denilakoon', a local Indigenous Elder, famed for his wrestling prowess. An inn and a punt were established on the site between 1845 and 1847;
8342-608: Was a privately constructed and operated office in concert with Moama. In March 1858, the Victorian Government had extended its telegraph line from Bendigo (Sandhurst) through Castlemaine to Echuca. The nearest New South Wales telegraph lines to the Echuca-Deniliquin area at that time were at Albury, Gundagai and Bathurst. Hence the pro-active citizens of Echuca and Deniliquin formed the Deniliquin and Echuca Telegraph Company and built and operated their own private line across
8439-520: Was compelled to shoot them, or lie down and let them shoot me". Kelly's hatred of the police is evident throughout letter. He outlines cases of alleged police corruption and calls on corrupt policemen to resign. At one point he calls the Victorian police "a parcel of big ugly fat-necked wombat headed big bellied magpie legged narrow hipped splaw-footed sons of Irish Bailiffs or English landlords". Kelly demands justice for his and other poor Irish families in
8536-712: Was constituted as the Municipality of Deniliquin, and the first municipal election was held on 23 February 1869. In 1993, the enactment of the Local Government Act (NSW) saw the name of the council changed from the Municipality of Deniliquin to the Deniliquin Council . Large-scale irrigation schemes came to the Deniliquin area with the establishment of the Deniboota and Denimein Irrigation Districts in 1938 and
8633-517: Was fatally shot by a policeman, and with his death, the New South Wales bushranging epidemic that began in the early 1860s came to an end. The scholarly, but eccentric Captain Moonlite (alias of Andrew George Scott) worked as an Anglican lay reader before turning to bushranging. Imprisoned in Ballarat for an armed bank robbery on the Victorian goldfields, he escaped, but was soon recaptured and received
8730-551: Was first published in The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA) in 1930 as part of a serialised account of the Kelly Gang by J.M.S. Davies called "The Kellys Are Out!". Between 1 November and 16 December 1930, "The Kellys are Out!" was also published in the Melbourne Herald with the Jerilderie Letter appearing in the 27 November to 2 December instalments. Teacher and activist J. J. Kenneally sued Davies claiming
8827-484: Was frequently in trouble with the police, was arrested several times, and served time in prison. In mid-1878, following his mother's imprisonment on perjured police evidence and feeling that the police were harassing him, Kelly took to bushranging with his brother, Dan , Joe Byrne , and Steve Hart . They became known as the Kelly Gang. After the Kelly Gang shot dead three policemen at Stringybark Creek in Victoria in October 1878 they were declared outlaws. Reacting to
8924-428: Was inspired by "Kelly's own words, and Rousseau , and sunlight". The Jerilderie Letter in particular "fascinated [Nolan] with their blend of poetry and political engagement". Australian author Peter Carey has said the main lnfluences on his Booker Prize -winning novel True History of the Kelly Gang (2001) were the Jerilderie Letter, Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings, and James Joyce . Carey described Kelly's voice in
9021-496: Was not returned and Hanlon never saw his transcription again. The National Museum of Australia acquired Hanlon's copy in 2001. The original document was temporarily made available to the Victorian Government in July 1880 so that a copy could be made for the Crown prosecution case against Kelly during his trial for murder later that year. However, Kelly's defence counsel objected to the copy of
9118-553: Was portable and easily converted to cash. Their task was assisted by the isolated location of the goldfields and the decimation of the police force with many troopers abandoning their duties to join the gold rush. In Victoria, several major gold robberies occurred in 1852–53. Three bushrangers, including George Melville, were hanged in front of a large crowd for their role in the 1853 McIvor Escort Robbery near Castlemaine . Bushranging numbers also flourished in New South Wales with
9215-471: Was sent from New South Wales to Van Diemen's Land in 1842 after attempting to escape Cockatoo Island . In 1843, he escaped Port Arthur , and took up bushranging in Tasmania's mountains, but was recaptured and sent to Norfolk Island , where, as leader of the 1846 Cooking Pot Uprising , he murdered three constables, and was hanged along with sixteen of his men. The era of convict bushrangers gradually faded with
9312-439: Was the Kelly gang in Victoria, led by Ned Kelly , Australia's most famous bushranger. After murdering three policemen in a shootout in 1878, the gang was outlawed, and after raiding towns and robbing banks into 1879, earned the distinction of having the largest reward ever placed on the heads of bushrangers. In 1880, after failing to derail and ambush a police train, the gang, clad in bulletproof armour they had devised, engaged in
9409-575: Was the first bushranger to have inspired bush ballads , including "Bold Jack Donahue" and " The Wild Colonial Boy ". Ben Hall and his gang were the subject of several bush ballads, including " Streets of Forbes ". Michael Howe inspired the earliest play set in Tasmania, Michael Howe, The Terror of Van Diemen's Land , which premiered at The Old Vic in London in 1821. Other early plays about bushrangers include David Burn 's The Bushrangers (1829), William Leman Rede 's Faith and Falsehood; or, The Fate of
#536463