Ned Kelly bushranger and Australian folk hero

Sydney Nolan’s  ‘Ned Kelly’ 1946

The skeleton of Ned Kelly will finally be returned to his descendants 132 years after he was executed.
Last year, scientists identified Ned Kelly’s skeleton after it was found in a mass grave outside a now-closed prison.
The decision ends the family’s long quest to find and properly bury the remains of a man many Australians now consider a folk hero.

Ned Kelly is the only bushranger known to have left a detailed written justification of his actions, and his 'manifesto' is regarded by many as an early call for a republican Australia.  The 56-page document he tried to have published at Jerilderie -New South Wales, in February 1879 appears to be the final working of one that was first circulated at Euroa in December 1878.

It reflects the voice of a man who feels he has been deeply wronged. He admits to crimes but claims he was forced into them by a corrupt police force. He demands that squatters share their property with the poor.

Copies of the document were made by the police and by publican John Hanlon. John Hanlon's transcription of the Jerilderie letter was later purchased by the National Museum of Australia .