Iron Outlaw

The Australian government has announced that it will be providing $30,000 (Australian, around $23,000 US) to provide signs and brochures for the small town of Glenrowan. The purpose of the grant is to keep the memory of Ned Kelly alive.

Who?

Well, if you were Australian, you'd have likely heard of him. He's sort of Oz's equivalent of Jessie James. A legendary outlaw, or bushranger, who stayed on the run from police for two years or so after killing several policement while robbing banks. He and his gang made a last stand in the town of Glenrowan in 1880. Wearing homemade iron armor made out of plowshares.

Federal Heritage Minister Ian Campbell said Wednesday that the money would pay for signs and brochures to mark the small town of Glenrowan, where the bushranger and his gang made their last stand.

"In his day Ned Kelly was more likely to relieve governments of money rather than receive support," Campbell quipped as he announced the funding package.

Kelly, a bank robber who had killed three policemen, evaded capture for nearly two years before he and his gang faced a final showdown with the law in Glenrowan on June 28, 1880.

Three of the four gang members — wearing heavy armour made out of ploughshares — were killed and Kelly was wounded and captured. He was later hanged for the murder of the policemen.

For those who want to spend a bit of time on a diversion from the usual politics and war, here's a really excellent site that is dedicated to Ned of the iron underwear. They have pictures of all four sets of armor and a lot of background and history.

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1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Iron Outlaw Update — Saturday, 30 September , 2006 @ 11:25 am