Ned Kelly: Australia's Most Famous Rebellion

Ned Kelly: Australia's most famous rebel
By Anthony Main
To be described as "game as Ned Kelly" in Australia is to be known as someone who is both bold and principled. But how did an outlaw bushranger who robbed banks and killed police come to be a popular icon and a symbol of rebellion?
The truth is Kelly was never just an ordinary crim. While he was despised by the establishment, his affinity with the poor and his stand against police harassment, saw him revered by huge swathes of the population.
Edward 'Ned' Kelly was born in 1854 to a family of Irish decent in the colony of Victoria during the gold rush. This was a period of rapid expansion and while a few people managed to strike it rich, most struggled to make ends meet. Things were

At the same time the gang robbed several banks and alongside using the money stolen to survive they distributed cash to poor farmers who were in need. Often after a heist Kelly would also burn the bank deeds that registered the debts of small farmers in the fireplace at the local pub! It is for these reasons that Kelly is sometimes referred to as "Australia's Robin Hood".
Frustrated that the gang was developing a social base, the state introduced more new laws and rounded up anyone suspected of supporting the gang. All up 21 suspected supporters were locked up without charge at Beechworth Gaol. Many of Kelly's relatives were also punished by being banned from owning small pockets of land and making a living.
In 1879 Kelly drafted a long document known as the Jerilderie Letter. Written in Jerilderie, a town in New South Wales where the gang carried out a robbery, the colourful letter objects to the harassment of his family and rails against the police and the wealthy landowners. The letter called for an end to English rule over Ireland and significantly also proposed distributing wealth away from the rich land owners for the betterment of poor selector

The huge police presence forced them to retreat back into the pub but a nine hour battle ensued. Frustrated, the police eventually burnt the pub down killing Joe Byrne, Steve Hart and Dan Kelly. Ned Kelly managed to escape but was captured after another shoot out the next day.
Some argue that by the time of the Glenrowan siege Kelly and his supporters were actually on the verge of a more generalised armed uprising. According to some Kelly had a vision for a small farmer republic in the north east of Victoria that would have laid the basis for a more egalitarian way of life. While his intentions are somewhat unclear it's possible that he saw the Glenrowan events as a type of trigger for a broader rebellion of the poor and oppressed.
Upon capture Ned Kelly was put on trial and found guilty of murder. At this stage he was still only 25 years old. Kelly was sentenced to death by hanging and was executed at the Melbourne Gaol on the 11th of November 1880. He was killed despite widespread public opposition which included a mass petition, protests and an 8000 strong public meeting in