fashioned knees-up when the famous Ned Kelly Weekend returns from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August.
In its sixth year, this major event for regional Victoria, and Australia’s most significant annual celebration of the Kelly legend, looks set to spark plenty of debate with this year’s program taking a close look at the role of the police in the Kelly drama.
One hundred and twenty nine years may have passed since Australia’s most notorious bushranger was committed for trial in Beechworth’s Courthouse and hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol, but the line remains clearly drawn between those whose sympathies lie with the Kelly clan, and those who believe the police version of events has been hijacked by those on the opposite side of the fence.
A Courthouse talk by the respected author, historian and retired Superintendent of the Victoria Police, Dr Robert Haldane, is sure to be controversial. Dr Haldane is expected to reveal previously unknown material from the Victoria Police Museum which will shed new light on the role of the police in the hunt for the Kelly Gang (More on that soon!).
Dr Haldane’s exhaustive research has also unearthed little known details about the make-up of both the police force and policing methods of the times in which the fates of Ned Kelly and some of the lesser-known characters of the story, in particular, police officers Michael Kennedy, Michael Scanlan and Thomas Lonigan were so tragically sealed.
A Saturday evening Q & A at Beechworth’s Old Priory, Behind the Armour, will offer a great opportunity to hear both sides of the argument. Moderated by ABC Radio’s Gaye Pattison, the panel lineup will include Dr Haldane, the noted Kelly historian, Alex McDermott and author, Kelvyn Gill, whose biography Edward Kelly: The Times of his Life, 1820 – 1893 is currently due for release.
Passionate debates aside, the Ned Kelly Weekend program also offers some rollicking good music and fun including the sensational opening night event at the Nicholas Hotel featuring one of Australia’s best Celtic bands, Braemar.
Full program details or bookings via Beechworth Visitor Information Centre - www.beechworthonline.com.au or phone 1300 366 321
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