RELICS

Could the above relic be the actual tool used to lift the rails at Glenrowan?
A special type of bar was used to lift the rails and broke during the process.
Naturally it would have been discarded, this broken piece was found at the exact spot where the
rails were torn up and the bar used. I cannot be sure if it is the right tool or not, however you
wonder what such an item was doing in this place. The land has changed somewhat so perhaps
it has only recently been uncovered. It is cast iron and about the same age as the original nail.
(note: it appears that two of these have been found)

From June 28 1880 on there were people hunting for souvenirs at Glenrowan that were in any way associated with the doings of the Kelly gang.

It seems that every person present at Glenrowan wanted to take a piece of history home. A policeman named McHugh was no exception. This enterprising officer found one of Ned's revolvers covered in blood. He wrote to his superiors asking to keep the pistol which was unserviceable. He offered to pay any associated costs and said that this was his only 'memento' of the affray. His request was duly denied. A constable named Gascoigne was not so honest, he hid Ned's shoulder-cap and managed to keep it. Young Tom Cameron kept a few relics and commented that he knew
how to get hold of more including the rings Joe Byrne wore.

When Glenrowan was visited 30 years after the siege comments were made that you could still see what had occurred in 1880 and possibly find an original bullet! Since that time people have searched for various relics. At the recent Kelly exhibitions held at the Old Melbourne Gaol and later South Bank, much of what was on display was relics collected over the years. The Government holds (and has lost) many relics pertaining to the siege, such as Ned's boot (only recently rediscovered), his revolving rifle, and one of Ned's armour shoulder caps (which was left sitting in storage for many years).

It is amazing to note that a couple of years ago whilst searching for Ned's shoulder cap, I found it languishing in a Government storage facility in Moreland incorrectly marked as a section of Steve's armour. Eventually this important part of our history would find its way back to go with Ned's suit of armour and soon after the Government purchased the other shoulder cap from a private seller.

Kelly artefacts, especially those collected at Glenrowan are highly desirable indeed. Unfortunately, checking the provenance of such items is very difficult. On E-bay I noticed someone trying to sell dirt taken from the siege site at Glenrowan. The asking price was $100! When I quizzed the seller he informed me that this soil was in fact collected in the 1920's! No one bought his dirt. (what value would this make soil found during the official dig?) A Martini-Henry bullet 'said to be' from Glenrowan was also sold via E-bay for $60. The history on that item was pretty convincing, well done to the lucky person who bought that.

The scarf that Thomas Curnow used to signal and save the police train was cut into sections for souvenirs after the siege. Such sections have since turned up in places such as The Old Melbourne Gaol, Ned the Exhibition and displayed on the documentary 'Outlawed'. (see image)

In 1997 a small pistol was found near the railway station at Glenrowan and purported to have been dropped by the police in 1880 (see full story). The interesting thing about this pistol was its pristine condition, despite so many years under soil and despite many years of relic hunters combing the area.

A boot cut from Ned's injured foot at Glenrowan was placed on display at the Old Melbourne Gaol.

In early 2006 a Martini Henry round was found during part of the revitalisation works. It was found by a qualified archaeologist who was on standby during the dig.
He also found melted glass, however this could have been from a later building that also burned down.

Approval is pending on an archaeological dig of the Inn site in 2006.

In his book, 'Saint Ned', Keith Dunstan said the following about 'Ned Kelly's Relics'. "Ned Kelly relics, sometimes, have taken on a sacred quality, almost as if they were splinters of the true cross." "It all began immediately after the last stand at Glenrowan. Melbourne Punch in July 1880 printed a satirical story on the number of items gathered to date:

Article Number

The actual threepenny bit taken from Ned Kelly 14,805

Ned Kelly's spurs (very rare). 170

Ned Kelly's Revolver 7,212

Ned Kelly's Armour, complete suit 18

The outlaw's horses (although they were all

shot at the beginning of the fray) 1,500

Mr Kelly's revolving rifle 700

Ned Kelly's skull cap 73

Bullets picked up in the ruins of the Inn 78,000,000,000

Anything that was left in the rubble of the ruins of the Glenrowan Inn
was swiftly removed.
Bent cutlery and broken crockery was eagerly whisked away.
I wonder where it all is today?

The recent dig at Glenrowan is said to have found 11,000 artefacts, how many
of these belong to the actual siege is anybody's guess at this stage, stay tuned.
If you wish to see a couple of items found at Glenrowan during the dig see my
page on the Changing Face of Victoria.

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The Sun (Sydney) 'Cookson.'

THE MAN WHO SHOT NED KELLY
STILL HAS THE BLOOD-STAINED CART-
RIDGE BAG. (Sgt Steele)

".....strange to say I haven't any relics of
the battle-none, that is, except one. Let's
see-where is it? Ah! I know." And diving
into a room at the rear he reappeared with
a dark looking object that presently turned
out to be a leather bag, with a strap to carry
it across the shoulders............................
On the front flap was a large dark stain.
"That, said the Sgt, "is Ned Kelly's
cartridge bag. That is the one he was wear-
ing at Glenrowan...................................
And that stain is his blood."

NOTE: This bag is currently (2010) on show at the Victoria Police Museum.

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Tuesday, August 22, 1882.

The Ovens and Murray Advertiser

RELICS OF THE KELLY OUTLAWS.-

Among some of the relics which have been preserved
of the Kelly gang after their destruction at Glenrowan are Ned Kelly's compass and bridle. These are in the possession of one of the constables who took an active part in searching for the gang, and
also at the fight at the hotel, says the "Telegraph." The compass is a brass and without any ornamentation, and is convenient to carry in the bush. This instrument, said Kelly, on one occasion guided him through almost unknown forests, by which means he so often evaded the police.
The bridle is of the ordinary description for riding purposes, and was taken from his favourite mare at Glenrowan. The same constable has the four hoofs of Dan Kelly's horse that was accidentally shot at Glenrowan.
The most interesting thing in connection with these is that the shoes were fastened on by the chief of the outlaws, and the rough manner in which the work has been done fully illustrates the fact that the workman was unskilled in the art. It is singular to relate that the hoofs of this noble animal, so faithful to its master, carried the outlaw over
hundreds of miles, across plains and over mountains, from dangers, and ultimately to destruction, now ornament the chimney-piece of one who was a school companion of the outlaws, joined in their boyish sports and revelries, but who, was their greatest enemy in subsequent years, and who fired the first shot at Glenrowan. It is stated that these relics
may at no distant date find a resting place beyond the seas in Mr Barnum's show in America.

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Melbourne Punch July 8th 1880

The bushranger Byrne, late of the lawless Kelly gang,
must at some time or other have stuck up and
despoiled a wholesale boot warehouse for since the
Glenrowan fight there are sufficient "identical boots
taken from the feet of the bushranger Byrne" in
existence to stock a small boot-shop.

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The Rochester Express July 8 1880

STRAY BUBBLES

Blow by Phona.

Since the Kelly annihilation I have
been queried by persons legion as to who
secured the most important relics of the
"last scene of all." Ever anxious to
oblige my friends - ahem - I have made
enquiries and have found that a large
share of the plunder has fallen to the
Press. The spoil has been thus divided..
- M.------, of the Argus, Ned Kelly's
boots (which he has lent to the proprietor
of the wax-works); M 'W-----,of the
Age, Ned's spur and a black eye (the
only reporter who had a firearm, but
which would give no report); B----,
of the Age, a leaf pierced with buckshot
and saturated with blood; M-----, of
the Herald, obtained most of the booty--
Byrne's ring, six leaves, one cwt. of
bullets, and other curios; P----- and
B------, also of the Argus, were not
antiquarians, and brought back only a
report from Kellyform??; A-------, of the
Telegraph, however, has the most interest-
ing, viz., Ned's revolver, which he picked
up immediately after the outlaws fall.