page_title: Ned Kelly
section_title: Siege and shootout
hierarchical_section_title: Ned Kelly / Glenrowan affair / Siege and shootout
caption_attribution_description: The Kelly gang exchanges gunfire with police during the Glenrowan siege.
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: The gang estimated that the policemen inside Sherritt's hut would relay news of his murder to Beechworth by early Sunday morning, prompting a special police train to be sent up from Melbourne. They also surmised that the train would collect reinforcements in Benalla before continuing through Glenrowan, a small town in the Warby Ranges. There, the gang planned to wreck the train and shoot dead any survivors, then ride to an unpoliced Benalla where they would rob the banks, set fire to the courthouse, blow up the police barracks, release anyone imprisoned in the gaol, and "generally play havoc with the entire town" before returning to the bush. While Byrne and Dan were in the Woolshed Valley, Ned and Hart tried, but failed, to damage the track at Glenrowan, so they forced line-repairers camped nearby to finish the job. The outlaws selected a sharp curve in the line that ran across a deep ravine, and told their captives that they were going to "send the train and its occupants to hell".
  The bushrangers took over Glenrowan without meeting resistance from the locals, and imprisoned them at Ann Jones' Glenrowan Inn, while the other hotel in town, McDonnell's Railway Hotel, was used to stable the gang's stolen horses, one of which carried a tin of blasting powder and fuses. Their packhorses also carried suits of bullet-repelling armour, each complete with a helmet and weighing about 44 kilograms (97 lb). The gang made these suits with the intention of further robbing banks. The police had been informed by their spies about the armour, but dismissed these claims as tall tales.
  By Sunday afternoon, the gang had gathered a total of 62 hostages at the hotel. As the hours passed without any sight of the train, the gang insisted that drinks be provided to the townspeople and that music be played. They danced with hostages while the landlady's son sang bushranger ballads, including one about the Kelly gang. Dan and Byrne became fairly drunk; Ned, however, abstained from drinking, and instead staged hop, step and jump and other games with the hostages, who were also encouraged by the bushrangers to amuse themselves with card games. One hostage later testified, "[Ned] did not treat us badly—not at all".
  At about 10 pm, Ned and Byrne captured Glenrowan's lone constable, Bracken, with the assistance of hostage Thomas Curnow, a local schoolmaster who sought to gain the gang's trust in order to thwart their plans. Believing that Curnow was a sympathiser, Ned let him and his wife return home, but warned them to "go quietly to bed and not to dream too loud", as one of the gang would visit during the night. Back at the hotel, Kelly grew increasingly anxious over the train's non-arrival. The delay was caused by the fact that the policemen in Sherritt's hut waited until daylight to emerge and give the alarm, and news of the murder did not reach Melbourne until Sunday afternoon. Only at 1 am on Monday did a police train carrying troopers, native trackers and several journalists steam into Benalla to collect reinforcements. Upon hearing the train's approach at 3 am, Curnow, despite Kelly's warning, rushed to the line and warned the pilot train to stop by raising a lit candle behind a red scarf. He told the driver of the gang's plan. The trains then slowly made their way to Glenrowan.
  Around this time, Kelly decided to let the townspeople return home, but Ann Jones told them to stay to hear the outlaw lecture. Byrne interrupted the conversation, alerting the group about the train's arrival. The gang prepared for action and hurried to dress in their armour. Bracken meanwhile told the hostages to lie low, and escaped to the railway station to explain the situation to the police. Superintendent Hare led six constables and five native trackers towards the hotel where the armour-clad outlaws waited for them on the verandah. As the police approached the police commander Superintendent Hare noticed a single figure standing on the verandah, who immediately opened fire on the police. The police returned fire and the other three gang members all dressed in t
caption: The gang and police exchange gunfire. Drawing by Tom Carrington, one of several journalists present during the battle.
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