FESTIVAL REPORT

THE INAUGURAL NED KELLY FESTIVAL AT GLENROWAN.

Imagine this if you will, the Kelly Gang, wearing their suits of armour, fighting the police at Glenrowan and you are a spectator!

Though it was Sunday, November 8, 2009, it could well have been June 28, 1880.

The festival was more than just the Last Stand re-enactment, however for this report I shall stick to my thoughts on the re-enactment mostly.

That being said, the vendor stalls on show were top class, too. I wished I had a bit more spare cash!
There were items for sale I had always wanted such as the bar chairs made of old 40 gallon drums with
Ned painted on the side. They were great!

A chap with a camper van attached to his stall was selling some great displays depicting Ned out the front of the inn
and I was informed that these were his best seller. (there were others with an American Wild West feel too).

Another bloke was selling corrugated sheet iron sheep and of course steel Neds.

Parks Victoria was there and were kind enough to be giving away some nice animal cards that my son was happy to collect.

Many local businesses were well represented with Food and Wine tastings.

Sal Kimber & The Rolling Wheel performed but I am sorry to say I missed them as I was eating lunch at the time.
I was over at Billy Tea Rooms having a feed with Joe Dipisa, my son Coen and Joe’s girlfriend Mel.

I think we had been relaxing far too much as after all this effort to be here we realised that the Siege
was to start in several minutes! We all rushed off toward the re-enactment and only just made it with
seconds to spare.

For those who know the areas around Glenrowan I shall describe what I saw.

Parked cars had been removed from Siege street in an attempt to make things look more authentic.

There were plastic barriers up similar to the ones we have seen recently at Stringybark Creek
to keep spectators outside the field of action. Loud speakers were set up to the rear, a replica inn
facade had been constructed and was in place. As you will see from my photos, the inn as in the
case of the one built for the doco ‘Uncovered’, was made to represent the inn, not to be an exact
copy of it.

There were so many people watching (even a couple of local police) that we could not get anywhere
near to a spot to see what was going on. Being on the somewhat shorter side I was lucky to have
big Joe alongside, Joe helped a few of us to a better vantage point situated where the rose gardens
are (being careful not to tread on any bushes).

We now had clear vision of the entire area to the foreground, this area was once the railway reserve
section of the original battleground. Whilst technically we were on the original site of the battle, the
media were slightly incorrect when they said that we were on the site of the inn itself.

There were a couple of problems to be overcome from the beginning, we had no idea of the cause until
after the whole event had ended.

The biggest issue was that the sound system was at the rear, closer toward the replica railway station.
This may have been ideal for us as spectators but was not good for the actors, as it turned out the actors
inside the Inn could not clearly hear the narration, this was especially true for the re-enactors wearing armour.
These poor buggers were not only roasting in the heat of the day but after every volley had trouble hearing
what was being said.

Despite these issues there was no doubt that the crowd loved it when the Kelly Gang gave the police volley
after volley of shot in their direction. The firing of blanks from these authentic antique firearms was fantastic
and the only let down was that there was not enough ammo to keep them going as long as we may have liked.

The action was easy enough to follow, the Kelly Gang take prisoners......there is lots of dancing...
the school master Curnow is allowed to go home but warns the train....policeman Bracken escapes......
...police shoot at the gang and the gang return fire……prisoners try to escape, Mrs. Reardon’s baby’s
forehead is slightly grazed…….publican Mrs. Jones’s son is fatally wounded and Mrs. Jones screams out at
the police…the police close in on the Inn, prisoners escape….Ned is finally captured and the Inn is set on fire
………………however these are just words, a short note on what happened.

The feelings I wish to convey of the re-enactment are those of sheer joy and excitement!
We were present in the making of history, the first re-enactment of any note in twenty years.
Not only that but the first time I know of since the original siege that all four gang members were represented
together in such an event (most times only Ned Kelly is featured at re-enactments).

With authentic looking armour on the gang and original period weapons with the police the stage had been
well and truly set for something we would never forget.

When the battle had concluded everyone clapped and I walked over to the station to chat to the script writer,
Mike O'Shea (who had used the Glenrowan1880 website for his research). The script had been shown to me
some time back and I offered a few suggestions re historical accuracy. While some of my suggestions were
accepted and some were not, the errors left in were minor in the broader scheme of things. (annoying to me
perhaps because I knew it was my text) Overall I think that he did a very commendable job with it in a short time frame.

My hat goes off to all involved in the festival who helped make it such a success, especially the hardworking organisers.

FOOTNOTE: There appears to have been some unfortunate politics happening behind the scenes, the people who I worked
hard with in 2009 may not be involved in 2010. If this is the case I am unsure of my involvement as well.

http://www.kellycountryfestival.com.au/

The following Glenrowan area food and wine vendors were featured at
the Festival:

www.kingvalleyfinefoods.com.au

www.graniterangeestate.com.au

www.morrisonsofglenrowan.com

www.auldstone.com.au

www.passchendaeleverjuice.com.au

www.booseycreekcheese.com.au

For another perspective visit my mate Joe Dipisa's new website.

A special thanks to Eva, Chris, Cecilia & Mike. Not forgetting my editor Sharon Hollingsworth yet again for her work.

NOTE: The committee won the Community Pride Award 2010 - "Innovative Community Project or Event".