The Argus at KellyGang 2/8/1880 (2)

From KellyGang
Jump to: navigation, search
(full text transcription)

see previous

Mrs Skillion and Tom Lloyd, thinking that he was sure to be taken before the Melbourne Police Court on Monday, went down to Melbourne on Friday night, and the news that Kelly is now in Beechworth will probably take them by surprise.  At half-past 8 o’clock on Sunday morning Kelly was handed over to the custody of Sergeant Steele by the governor of the gaol, and Steele, accompanied by Constables McIntyre, Bracken, and Faulkner, took him in a cab to Newmarket railway station.  The prisoner was very quiet all the way to the station, but when waiting on the platform there for a special train he became rather noisy.  Three boys passing close to the station on racehorses were hailed by him.  He shouted out that they ought to give their horses to him, and he would train them properly.  It was evident that he desired to attract attention to himself, but the boys, after having a barney with him, passed on without doing him the honour of recognising who he was.  The police then opened up a casual conversation with him about his gang, and one remarked that he was the only man in it.  Ned replied that Byrne and Hart were plucky, trustworthy fellows.  Sergeant Steele here interjected that Hart was a mere boy, and that none of them were so good shots as they had thought themselves to be. 

The prisoner thereupon flared up, rose from his seat, and offered to fight Sergeant Steele there and then.  He was in the act of pulling of his coat when one of the constables―Mathieson, I think―interfered and pacified him.  A special train for his conveyance to Beechworth started from Spencer-street railway station at half-past 9 o’clock.  It consisted only of an engine, carriage, and guard’s van.  Not a soul knew at the station what the mission of this train was.  The only persons who left the station in it were Mr Labertouche (secretary for railways), Mr Anderson (the traffic manager), and three policemen, Constables Moore, Docharty, and Mathieson.  Sergeant Steele’s party and the prisoner were picked up of course at Newmarket, and the train went bowling along with out stopping at any station, except Seymour and Benalla.  The prisoner, it should be stated, was taken into the guard’s van, where seats had been provided in the form of platform chairs.  His right leg being still unable to bear him, he sat most of the time; occasionally, however, he desired to look out at the window, and was allowed to do so. 

When passing Donnybrook he pointed out the spot where he first drew breath; and when he came in sight of the Strathbogie Ranges, he exclaimed, “There they are; shall I ever be there again?” He gazed intently at Glenrowan, said that a good man (Byrne) had fallen there, and pointed out the tree where he himself fell.  There were no spectators at any of the intermediate stations except Wangaratta, and there only a very few were found on the platform.  During the journey Kelly argued that he was illegally in custody, as he had never seen any warrant, and that he could never be hanged.  Pointing to Constable Bracken, he said, “There is a man I did not have heart to shoot;” and the time passed in conversation of that kind.  The train arrived at Beechworth at half-past 3 o’clock. 

Superintendent Sadleir now took charge, and saw Kelly safely lodged in gaol.  Somehow it leaked out here that Kelly was coming, and about 100 awaited his arrival at the railway station.  This crowd pressed forward on the guard’s van, but troopers were there who kept them back.  Kelly had to be lifted out of the van, and carried to a cab which was in attendance.  Just as he was near the cab, a trooper came within his reach, and he gave the horse a kick on its leg.  Having been deposited in the cab, he was driven at once to the local gaol, and was safely lodged there.  With regard to the Glenrowan affair, Kelly now states that when the special train pulled up he went down to the schoolhouse to shoot Curnow, and not finding him returned to assist his mates, but that he never re-entered Jones’s Hotel.  This, however, is untrue, as it is well-known that he was wounded in front of the hotel, and passed through it before escaping, and it just illustrates how untrustworthy his statements are.

continued

.1., .2. , .3. ,


 ! The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original.

We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged.

We also apologise for any typographical errors.