Dan Kelly

**Dan Kelly** (1 June 1861 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger and outlaw. He was the son of an Irish convict and youngest brother of bushranger Ned Kelly. Dan and his brother killed three policemen. They formed the Kelly Gang with two friends. Dan Kelly died during the famous capture of Glenrowan.

More books have been written about the Kelly Gang than any other subject in Australian history. The Kelly Gang were the subject of the world's first full-length feature movie, *The Story of the Kelly Gang*, made in 1906. They robbed banks, took over whole towns, and kept the people in Victoria and New South Wales . For two years the Victorian police searched for them and locked up their friends and families, but could not find them. 

## Early life
Dan Kelly's father, John "Red" Kelly, was an Irishman, a convict who had been sent to Van Diemen's Land in 1842. The house in Kelly Street is still standing. The original three rooms were added to over the years, and the house now has 11 rooms.

Red married an Irish girl, Ellen Quinn, in Melbourne in 1850.

On 15 April 1878, Constable Fitzpatrick went to the Kelly's house to arrest Dan Kelly for stealing horses. Dan had been seen in Chiltern riding a stolen horse. He had also built a small still for making alcohol. Kennedy and Scanlon went searching for the Kellys, while Lonigan and McIntyre remained at the camp. The bushrangers, wearing homemade armour, would then capture any of the policemen that were alive after the crash. Dan also organised some sporting games including long jump and hop, step and jump. Ned Kelly let Thomas Curnow, the school teacher, go home to his wife. Dan told his brother not to  Curnow, and to keep him at the hotel. Byrne died after being shot in the groin. Ned Kelly went back to the hotel but could not find Dan or Steve Hart who were hiding in a back room. He again left and tried to find his horse. Ned Kelly was shot in the legs as he searched outside for his brother. Ned Kelly's armour was sent to Melbourne to be used at his trial. Joe Byrne's armour was sent to the police depot in Richmond. At the end of 1880, all the pieces were in Melbourne. One set of armour was given to Sir William Clarke. and the police have Dan and Steve's armour which can be seen at the Victoria Police Museum in Melbourne Australia.

## Dan Kelly after Glenrowan
Because it was not possible to prove how they died, or that the bodies were really Dan and Steve, there have been many stories about what might have happened. It is possible they may have killed themselves. This was the story that was used in the first Kelly movie, *The Story of the Kelly Gang* in 1906, and in the 2003 Ned Kelly movie. There have also been stories that both survived the fire. There is little evidence to support these claims. One man, James Ryan, said he was Dan Kelly. In 1934 he went on stage at the Brisbane Exhibition and told stories about the Kelly Gang. He died on 29 July 1948, after being struck by a train. The Ipswich City Council have put a memorial on his grave. In 2001, scientists took a small piece of bone from the grave of Charles Devine Tindall at Toowoomba, Queensland, to see if they could find DNA to prove he was Dan Kelly. Devine, who had burn scars on his body, told his family he was really Dan. He said he had hidden under the floor of the Glenrowan hotel and escaped after the fire. The men had fought in the Second Boer War. Another man, Jim Davis from Darra (a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland), said in 1938 that he was Dan Kelly. He claimed that he, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne had escaped from the hotel. He also said he was born at the Eureka Stockade in 1854, which makes him too old to have really been Dan.

The story of Dan and Ned Kelly has been told many times. There have been more books written about the Kelly Gang than any other event in Australian history. The very first full-length movie in the world, made in 1906, was *The Story of the Kelly Gang*. In the 2003 Ned Kelly movie starring Heath Ledger as Ned Kelly, the part of Dan Kelly was played by Laurence Kinlan. Orlando Bloom played the part of Joe Byrne.

In 2012 a pistol was put up for sale which had "1876 DAN KELLY" carved into it. A pistol was known to have been found at Glenrowan after the siege but it is now lost. The pistol being sold was found on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in 1900. It is a muzzle load single shot pistol made for the East India Company Cavalry.

## References
## Other websites
*The Ned Kelly Trail  - has many photographs of Ned Kelly linked places and items.
*Photograph of Dan Kelly at the State Library of Victoria
*Bill Denheld's website on Stringybark Creek, with maps and photos
*Photograph of the Glenrowan Inn 
*Photograph of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart's armour 
*Photograph of Dan Kelly's body after the fire 
*Photos of the archaeological dig at Glenrowan in 2008