page_title: Ned Kelly
section_title: Outlawed under the Felons' Apprehension Act
hierarchical_section_title: Ned Kelly / Stringybark Creek police murders / Outlawed under the Felons' Apprehension Act
caption_attribution_description: Proclamation by the Governor of Victoria declaring Ned and Dan Kelly outlaws following the Stringybark police murders.
context_page_description: Ned Kelly was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer. One of the last bushrangers, and by far the most famous, he is best known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout with the police.
  Kelly was born in the then-British colony of Victoria as the third of eight children to Irish parents. His father, a transported convict, died shortly after serving a six-month prison sentence, leaving Kelly, then aged 12, as the eldest male of the household. The Kellys were a poor selector family who saw themselves as downtrodden by the Squattocracy and as victims of persecution by the Victoria Police. While a teenager, Kelly was arrested for associating with bushranger Harry Power, and served two prison terms for a variety of offences, the longest stretch being from 1871 to 1874 on a conviction of receiving a stolen horse. He later joined the "Greta mob", a group of bush larrikins known for stock theft. A violent confrontation with a policeman occurred at the Kelly family's home in 1878, and Kelly was indicted for his attempted murder.
context_section_description: In response to the public outrage at the murder of police officers, the reward was raised to £500, and on 31 October 1878, the Victorian Parliament passed the Felons' Apprehension Act, coming into effect on 1 November 1878, which outlawed the gang and made it possible for anyone to shoot them: there was no need for the outlaws to be arrested or for there to be a trial upon apprehension (the act was based on the 1865 act passed in New South Wales which declared Ben Hall and his gang outlaws). The act also penalized anyone who harboured, gave "any aid, shelter or sustenance" to the outlaws or withheld or gave false information about them to the authorities. Punishment was "imprisonment with or without hard labour for such period not exceeding fifteen years". With this new act in place, on 4 November 1878, warrants were issued against the four members of the Kelly gang. The deadline for their voluntary surrender was set at 12 November 1878.
caption: Proclamation by Governor George Bowen declaring Ned and Dan Kelly outlaws
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