JOE D

HERITAGE DIG NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS DOCO DIG AFTER DIG KEN'S PHOTOS

RELICS RELICS GLENROWAN INN DAVE DIG JOE DIG CHANGING FACE TIME TEAM

The following article was written for 1880 by fellow Kelly History lover Joe Dipisa.

Joe has been a mate of mine for several years and has always strived hard to learn the truth about Ned.

The following is his experience at the Glenrowan dig.

Photos by Joe. (click to enlarge)

My Glenrowan Inn Dig Experience (15/5/08)

by Joe Dipisa

Ned Kelly and his gang....I can remember as far back as primary school
with vivid memories of my then teacher, Mr. Lion, telling the story of
Ned Kelly, the wild colonial boy who, against all odds bravely, took
on the Victorian police of the 1880s.

I always had a soft spot for the boys and as I got older and began to
understand more, I delved deeper and deeper into the Kelly saga. I
travelled far and wide in search for Ned. I made Ned my passion and
turned it into a quest for the truth.

My quest for truth has taken a dramatic turn which I for one would
never have foreseen. Some weeks back I contacted Shivaun Brown
(Wangaratta council) and expressed my eagerness to take part in the
excavation of the Ann Jones Glenrowan Inn site, and a few days later I
received a call from Shivaun and she instructed me to be on site at
09.30 sharp for Thursday week (15-May-2008) to assist with the dig as
volunteer.

The night before I was to start my volunteer duties was a long,
sleepless night. I tossed and turned with excitement, even though
being on the siege site would be nothing to new to me. I have had the
pleasure to have met the owner some 15 months back and he was kind
enough to share with me his knowledge and discoveries of the site,
however nothing was to compare for what was in store for me.

My journey into the N/E began under a clear sky, led by the northerly
star Altair of the constellation Aquila, which brought me back to
Glenrowan some 128 years after the battle between the Kellys and the
Victorian police. Much has changed in the years since the Last Stand,
however the truth still stands locked in time.

The morning I arrived on site was chilly and a range of excitement
overtook my emotions, I paced up and down the perimeter keenly taking
in as much as I could. The site was bare except for some old brick
type foundation...I was thinking outloud could this be the Jones Inn
site? Post holes surrounding the area made it evidently so. Every
where I looked I jumped to conclusions. The cellar WOW! could this be
the cellar? NO!! the bricks that made up the cellar are of modern
times, it is so much more clear now looking at the area before me,
that no cellar could have been on the site pre 1880s, there are just
no tell-tale signs to suggest this. As the sun was rising, I began to
take video footage. I started with the replica Glenrowan Inn sign and
zoomed in towards the centre of the Inn site and slowly took footage
of the newly exposed area. Before long Adam Ford appeared and I took
this opportunity to introduce myself to him, within moments we were
discussing the site, and he was pointing out various locations as to
where artifacts have been found.

At this stage, being 7.30am, the rest of the crew slowly started to
report for work, and whilst the crew were being briefed, I was
inducted and sent off to work with a bucket and shovel in hand. I was
placed only feet away from the Glenrowan Inn sign, my job was to
shovel up loose dirt (modern dirt) that Phil was scratching away with
a pick. Nothing of great interest was found here except for broken
glass of various types and some very old rusted metal of some
description. Finally this job was done and I anxiously moved onto the
next.

Again with shovel in hand I began to remove top soil and unawares I
began to expose a drain made from bricks. Within moments I unearthed
an OLD RUSTED NAIL, my adrenaline was pumping, with another nail
unearthed, then another! My excitement was clearly obvious to all.
Moments went by and nothing, then, suddenly I hit a hard surface, I
cautiously started moving dirt away with my hand and slowy exposed a
hard object which at first I could not ID, then suddenly I realised it
to be a squeezy toy bunny perhaps dating back to the 1950s. I
scratched away a little more and another toy appeared, a little
soldier car. Throughout this drain system I continued to unearth
nails, broken glass, rusted pieces of metal, and a medicine bottle
with a little piece of the lip missing, brilliantly preserved I might
add.

By that time it was morning tea, that gave me an opportunity to see
artifacts that were unearthed by others. The morning so far produced
a heap of broken glass, nails and pieces of twisted metal, but one
artifact was the highlight of the morning, an 1876 penny. With a
little bit of care and cleaning the penny should return to its former
glory, if only it could talk.

As the morning lead to afternoon we continued to unearth broken glass
and nails, regardless of what I unearthed it still excited me, its a
part of the Inn and a part of history.

By 1pm lunch was called and I decided to duck into Kate's Cottage and
chat with Rod about all things Kelly, I just can't help myself, I just
can't get enough of Ned. 1.45pm I returned back to the Inn and with a
new area to be worked, I teamed up with Sonia, who explained that we
were to scratch 5 cm's (depth) of topsoil in the attempt to locate
post holes, I worked an area measuring approx, 4 feet (width) and 5
meter's long, and within the first 30 cms of scratching the surface,
nails and bits of glass are exposed then suddenly an object got my
attention, Ohhh, what's this? I picked up the object, it was heavy, IT
WAS LEAD, IT WAS A BLOODY BULLET. Everyone was focused on me, the
camera man made his way towards me and I eagerly explained that it may
be a lead projectile, Sonia alerted Adam Ford and within seconds Adam
confirmed it to be a lead projectile, my emotions were running high
with the thought that could this be a bullet that may have hit its
target? Could this bullet have been aimed at one of the boys as they
appeared or exited the Inn from the rear?

Within a short space of time another lead projectile was unearthed by
Sonia, only meters away from the first projectile, WOW! the excitement
was so intense amongst the crew. As the film crew and John documented
the finds we continued on with our dig, then suddenly a soft calm
voice said a martini rifle bullet had been found some 4 meters to the
left of me, these three projectiles are almost in a perfect line,
suggesting to me that whoever fired the two weapons were close to each
other.......if only we could turn back time or these artifacts could
talk. The empty Martini cartridge was, surprisingly, in good
condition.

The dig continued in good spirits with all of us hard at work,
scratching away hoping to unearth more artifacts. As I scratched away
I wandered off in deep thought on that terrible night in June 1880 as
the police and the boys were firing away and the hostages were
screaming for their lives, I heard the screams, felt the fear, smelt
the gunsmoke, I could see one of the boys being shot at as I knelt
down beside the spot where I unearthed the projectile. The screams
were so real and so close to home, the more glass I unearthed the more
gunshots I heard, I can't help but wonder is this the very same glass
that shattered when the police fired upon the Inn? Or perhaps a
fragment of the glass I picked up could had been from a bottle that
Joe or Dan could had been drinking from?..............128 years later
I have come as close as I can to be to the Kellys.

As the day drew to an end another interesting piece was unearthed,
still not sure of the timeline but a magazine chamber with one bullet
still attached to it. Keeping the two intact is surface rust.
Interesting find regardless of the timeline. Some 30 minutes before
the end of the day I called out to Sonia, making her aware of a odd
patch of ground, Sonia couldn't comment on the surface as it needed
more dirt shifted, it appeared as though it may be a large post hole,
but the colour suggested otherwise! Perhaps its 20th century. I had
run out of time as it was the end of another dig.

An amazing day was had by all involved, there was time for fun, work
and a lesson on how to read different ground levels from modern to
1880s. I learnt much on the day, met some interesting people, and
I'll cherish this day for many reasons.

We have heard the stories, read the books, and listened to people
claiming to be descended from Dan & Steve, telling us all they had
survived the fire of the Glenrowan Inn which was set alight by
Constable Johnston, but it was incredible finally seeing firsthand
ground zero as it is today. There is not a chance in the world that
the boys survived the inferno, as much as I would like to believe it,
NO, I can not. I ask you to take time to read the Royal Commission, do
a little bit of research on the statements of the police and
witnesses, they give vital clues and answers. Consider the fact the
Inn was totally surrounded, shall I go on? Consider the fact that
there was no escape and definately no cellar at the Glenrowan Inn in
the period that Mrs. Jones owned the establishment.
I could go on and on, but will leave you to discover the facts for
yourself and come to your own conclusions.

For the Boys,

Joe Dipisa.

The article above was edited by Sharon Hollingsworth. (thank you Sharon)

Thank you very much for this article Joe and for those awesome photos! Dave.