| Australia's
'Wild West' spread from Victoria
up to the Northern Territory.
Fugitives from the law could hide
in the wild, largely unsettled
areas of North Australia where
police presence was scarce.
During the 1800's, as Australia
became settled, the most
charismatic of Australian outlaws
were Ned Kelly and Ben Hall -
mainly because they were seen to
be fighting injustice. Ned
Kelly was captured during the
siege at the Jones' Hotel,
Glenrowan, and it was reported
that the other three gang
members, Joe Byrne, Steve Hart
and Dan Kelly,were also killed.
Dan was Ned Kelly's brother; he
and gang member Steve Hart were
trapped inside the hotel when the
police set fire to the flimsy
wooden building. Dan Kelly
escaped from that inferno with
horrific burns and went on to
live an exciting and adventurous
life. Dan's story is told in a
new book, 'Burnt to a
Cinder, was I?' by Vince
and Carolyn Allen. The book is
causing some controversy but it
is the story which Dan Kelly
told to Vince Allen in the
1940's.
'I
have told this story just as it
was told to me when I met him --
the outlaw never died in that
fire at the hotel in Glenrowan.
Australia, and all those reports
about his charred body being
found are not correct. That body
belonged to someone else.' Vince
Allen, September 2002
|
The
Real Story of Dan Kelly click on the site
links below