Rare Kelly artefacts to go on show in Beechworth

A hand-drawn map of the site of the Stringybark Creek ambush by the sole surviving police officer and Ned Kelly’s bloodstained cartridge bag recovered in the aftermath of the Glenrowan siege are two of the precious Victoria Police Museum objects to be displayed in Beechworth during this year’s Ned Kelly Weekend from 6 to 8 August.

The artefacts, several of which have been on public display for the first time, are part of the Museum’s fascinating Ambushed exhibition which has enjoyed a successful run in Melbourne since January.


The Beechworth exhibition, which will be mounted in the Sub Treasury Building of the Historic & Cultural Precinct, is a coup for this year’s Ned Kelly Weekend, with the first display of the Ambushed objects outside Melbourne.


Event organisers, the Beechworth Historical Re-enactment Group (BHRG) are pleased to have secured the exhibition as it offers another perspective on the Kelly saga: “We are very mindful of providing a balanced program of events that tell the Kelly story from all sides,” says BHRG president, Adam Wynne-Jenkins.

One hundred and thirty years after his trial and hanging in Melbourne, Australia’s most notorious bushranger still provokes passionate debate. Acknowledging this wide spectrum of opinion in the Australian community, the BHRG have this year made a concerted effort to examine events from a range of different perspectives.

“The 2010 program also features an exhibition of all four suits of armour worn by the Kelly Gang, as well as talks about Ned’s life and family and a theatrical staging of The Jerilderie Letter,” Adam Wynne-Jenkins said. “The Ambushed exhibition offers a police perspective on events of the time, a re-reading of the first Kerferd Oration provides a community perspective and a talk focusing on judge Sir Redmond Barry who sentenced Ned Kelly to hang, completes the story from all sides.”

This year is the seventh Ned Kelly Weekend, marking the 130th anniversary of the committal hearing of Ned Kelly in the Beechworth Courthouse in August 1880.

Tickets for many events are selling fast so Ned Kelly Weekend enthusiasts are urged to book quickly to avoid missing out. Full program details and bookings at www.beechworthonline.com.au