Ned Kelly's Last Days Setting the Record Straight on the Death of an Outlaw

by Castles, Alex C.

• ISBN13: 9781741145380
• ISBN10: 1741145384
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-01
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Summary

Piecing together a vast jigsaw of obscure records and unpublished material, this expose follows the final months of one of Australian history's most infamous outlaws. Ned Kellya beloved national iconwas just a bushranger who was to be punished for his crimes, but by 1880 everyone wanted him dead. Although many stories and rumors surround the Kelly myth, few know the details of what really happened in the 137 days between his last stand and the day of his execution. Exposing the blatant cover-ups, corruption, and the press's demand for blood that ultimately led to Kelly's death sentence, this book sets the record straight on the highly questionable judicial processes of the time and sheds new light on the life and death of the most famous bushranger of them all.

Author Biography

Alex C. Castles was one of Australia's leading legal historians, a long-time radio and television broadcaster, a professor of law at the University of Adelaide, and the author or coauthor of eight books on Australian law and history, including The Shark Arm Murders.

Table of Contents

Map of Kelly Country	x
Foreword	xi
Killing Ned	xiii
1 Call to Arms	1	(10)
2 Powers that Be	11	(8)
3 An Uneasy Alliance	19	(6)
4 Wild Animals	25	(7)
5 Stringybark	32	(7)
6 A Long Shadow	39	(10)
7 Benalla Interlude	49	(8)
8 Grisly Diversion	57	(8)
9 Buried Evidence	65	(6)
10 Matters of Faith	71	(9)
11 Words as Weapons	80	(9)
12 Outlaw No More	89	(7)
13 Prosecution Case	96	(10)
14 Family Loyalties	106	(8)
15 Homecoming	114	(7)
16 His Own Worst Enemy	121	(8)
17 Kitchen Court	129	(6)
18 Fallen	135	(6)
19 One for Ned	141	(7)
20 Tough Assignment	148	(6)
21 Preliminary Hearing	154	(7)
22 Lost Cause?	161	(6)
23 Sabbath Confession	167	(4)
24 Fear No Foe	171	(6)
25 Judge...	177	(8)
26 ...and Jury	185	(10)
27 Wages of Sin	195	(6)
28 The Final Battle	201	(6)
29 No Earthly Mercy	207	(8)
30 Last Rites	215	(8)
Afterword	223	(6)
Epilogue	229	(14)
Sources and Bibliography	243	(6)
Acknowledgements	249	(2)
Illustration credits	251	(2)
Index	253