Ned Kelly: hero or criminal?

Ned Kelly: Hero or Criminal?
Dedicated to Jack

By Ein Shin
September 22, 2022

Consider this question that will take you to controversy: is the famous Australian bushranger and outlaw, Ned Kelly, a hero who fights for rights or a heinous criminal who is just insane? The court of popular opinion believes that Ned Kelly is a hero, due to his many acts of rebellion against corrupt police in Victoria during the post gold rush period. Do you agree that Ned Kelly is a hero?

Kelly’s motivation to become a bushranger began when his mother was framed by the police authorities in a corrupt and self serving way. Shortly after, Constable Fitzpatrick was wounded by Ned Kelly while attempting to arrest his brother, Dan, for horse stealing. The only person to escape unscathed was Ned Kelly, who vowed to avenge her mother thus setting the stage for history’s most notorious bushranger.

Clearly, Ned Kelly was a hero before his untimely death. Committing acts of crime to ensure the livelihood of his family, Ned Kelly could be seen as a devoted family man. He also served his wider community. Ned Kelly was a powerful force of history, penetrating the hearts of both people of his era and the people who read about him in history books. He was a true fighter against corrupt regimes and an early human rights advocate. Kelly says that he had to kill policemen just for self-defence. Therefore, Ned Kelly epitomizes Robin Hood in the late 1800s.

Seemingly enough, Ned Kelly seems more like a hero than a criminal. However, this is not true. You see, when he started his duties as a bushranger, he, with a few of some recruits(commonly known as the Kelly gang), ventured daily out to rob banks. When he was on these “duties”, he was occasionally met with gunfire from the police. Thus, he was given the title “Thug and Criminal” by the police. Eventually, Kelly was caught by the police who had figured out the next whereabouts of his location. When he was caught, he was tried and hanged in Melbourne, Gaol: a punishment given to the worst criminals indeed.

Ned Kelly was renounced as a hero by many people ever since he died, but he also was technically a criminal who robbed banks. To this day, the questions in terms of Ned Kelly have always ended up in debate and confusion. So is he an insane criminal no particular than others or is he a hero who sought a new world of peace and justice?