Greta
Contents
Location
located to the east of Glenrowan on the road from Winton to Moyhu
Beginings
Greta could have been named after a river in Yorkshire. The town area was reserved in about 1853 and one of the first business in town was a coach horse changing station. Soon after a number of selections were made available. They ranged from 31 to 90 acres and sold for between £1 and £2 per acre.
With the discovery of gold Greta developed with blacksmiths, hotels, schools, shops a police station. Greta was on the old Sydney road and on the route to Beechworth (via Everton) and the Buckland River in the north and Melbourne (via Winton) in the south.
The first pub in the area was set up in Greta in1844. Later the Goldseekers Hotel and Victoria were built. O'Brien's Victoria was an impressive brick building. Later it was run by Martin Moroney, James Farrell, and others.
The first police station was established in 1865.
There was a race meeting at Greta in 1865 (Argus8/10/72) (Ensign4/10/1872)
Photograph
Map
Importance of Greta
Home town for Ned Kelly and his family and area of the 'Greta Mob'. The Kelly Home was off the Winton road
Many of the important people in the story of the KellyGang are buried in the Greta Cemetery
What was Greta like in the late 1870s
Before the railway went through Glenrowan, Greta was a town on the main route for carriers between Melbourne and Beechworth. The old Sydney road came through Greta from Winton
It was always a bad district; it was a focus of crime.(RC3237)
An inquest was held Mr O'Brien's Newmarket Hotel (Argus18/12/73)
The Greta area was heavily timbered country. (RC8345)
Facilities in Greta in the late 1870s
Population Hotel Victoria (O'Brien), See the Jerilderie Letter.(Ensign17/1/1873)
The Goldseekers Schools At Greta, Greta South and Hansonville (most closed by 1870s) Police station see below (Argus30/8/70)
Const Strahan. (Argus27/1/79)
(Argus13/1/82) There was a daily mail service from Greta to Glenrowan
Cohen and Barnett, Lewis, Thornpson, Jewitt
Post Office People who lived in area
| Banks (Argus18/12/73)
Barnett John, 13 Mile Ck Barnett Thomas, 13 Mile Ck,See the Jerilderie Letter Barnett William (Ensign17/1/1873) |
Ellen Kelly | Montgomery pc
Michael and Daniel Nolan |
| Bryan Michael selector 1876
Carmichael, Alex selector 1876 Cody John selector |
Kate Kelly | O'Brien John and Bridget
O'Brien, Laurence (Argus6/10/74) O'Brien Patrick selector 1876 (behind on payment 1876) |
| Cohen See the Jerilderie Letter
Considine pc Delaney John |
Ned Kelly | Perkins
Peterson See also the Jerilderie Letter |
| John Alexander Duff pc (1871)
Francis Antonia selector |
[[!!FIXME ../../documents/Newspapers/79_04_17_Argus.html|!!MISSING]] | Rule
Sinclair William |
| Flood pc
Bengamin Franklin selector 1876 |
King George | Skillion Maggie |
| Graff Robert selector 1876
Graham pc |
King John | Staton William John & Sarah |
| Higgins William Sylvester selector 1876
Rowland Hughes farmer(bankrupt 1876) |
King William - police thought I was member of gang (JJK)
Lewis See the Jerilderie Letter Lloyd Tom Jnr |
Tanner John Henry selector 1876
(behind on payment 1876) Thompson See the Jerilderie Letter |
| Jefferson, storekeeper(Argus)(OMA) | McAuliffe [[!!FIXME ../../documents/Newspapers/79_04_17_Argus.html|!!MISSING]] | Walkling Henry selector 1874
Watson John selector 1876 |
| Kearney Michael selector 1876
Jewitt See the Jerilderie Letter |
McDougall, Mary | Walking Henry selector 1876
Williams william selector 1876 |
| Anne Kelly | McElroy, John
M'Donald William (Argus18/12/73) McMillen John selector 1876 |
Williamson William
Winnell William selector 1876 |
Links to the KellyGang
Rule, the sawmiller that Ned Kelly worked for lived in Greta
The Greta Mob included Ned and Dan Kelly, George King, John O'Brien, Tom and John Lloyd and most of the other young blokes around the town.
The Greta Mob was seen as a problem (Argus13/12/78) (Argus16/12/78) (Argus30/12/78)
There was a system of horse and cattle stealing carried on uninterruptedly in the Glenmore by men from the Greta district (RC210)
See also (Argus13/5/81)
In about 1871 Const Montgomery came from the Portland district. He had no experience of the Kelly Country. Insp Montfort inspected the station and found that Montgomery's horse was very fat. (RC3221) Others tell the story that the horse was so fat that the constable could not put a saddle on it. Not very helpful in the hunt against the KellyGang. See also (RC3214)
SConst Flood said of his time at Greta, (from 1871) 'the greater portion of the people at Greta were law abiding and honest people, but there were a good number of cattle stealers and horse stealers, and a good number of the criminal class. It was also a resort for persons of the criminal class coming from other places.' (RC12571) see (RC1261) (RC3228)
Const Flood had a run in with Ned Kelly in O'Brien's hotel. (RC12609) (RC15489)
The next officer was Const Considine and then Thom. (RC12614)
Patrick Quinn met Wild Wright at a ploughing match at Greta, and he asked to buy two colts from Quinn,. (RC17691)
Ass Com Nicolson the visiting inspecting superintendent, recommended the removal of Const Thom from Greta (RC197 RC201) He also reported on Const Hays while he was at Greta. Const Thom was replaced by Const Hall. He left Greta after he was assaultded by Patrick Quinn (RC3211).
On the 12th of April Sgt Whelan at Benalla recieved a telegram from Inspector Brook Smith, from Wangaratta, directing that Const Fitzpatrick be sent to Greta station to take charge there in the absence of SConst Strahan, who was going on six days' leave (RC5944)
Const Strahan replaced Const Thom as the policeman at Greta before the Stringy Bark murders. (RC8834)
Const Ryan replaced Const Strahan shortly before the murders. (RC8849)
The Greta police station was abolished just after the murders. (RC1902) (RC8841)
Soon after the murder of the police at Stringy Bark Creek some people thought that Wlliam King might be one of the 4 members of the KellyGang. His name was mentioned in wanted posters (CHC)
Sup Sadleir heard then that the KellyGang were near Greta on 6 and 7/1/1879. (RC2030)
At the time of the Euroa robbery Const Strahan had a police party in Greta watching the area around the Kelly home.
Jack Lloyd and Tom Lloyd were drinking in Mrs O'Brien’s hotel, Greta soon after I was relesed from Gaol.
They had a play fight and Jack fell, hit his head and died. (Argus30/4/79)
Mr Jefferson was present with Maggie Skillion at O'Brien's hotel when Aaron Sherritt handed over Charlie in earlier May 1879. (OMA29/7/79)
Graves believed that the principal time that the KellyGang were out they kept in the immediate neighborhood between Greta and Moyhu. Either at Glenmore Station, or on the Hedi. There were always strange horses whenever he went up, or marks of strange horse in paddocks. It was his impression that they were in the district the whole time. (RC15507) See report of visit to Greta (Kilmore10/6/18780)
Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were burried at Greta (Herald29/6/80)
What happened at Greta after the time of the Kelly Gang
There were a number of fights in the area (Herald3/7/80) (MDTel1/7/80)
A Police station was to be set up at Greta as a result of the Glenrowan Siege. (RC2986) (RC16716)
SConst Kelly was to take up the post but there was a problem. (RC15950)
Const Graham was based at Greta. (RCApp1)
Const Bracken was based at Greta just before the Glenrowan siege (Argus29/6/80)
The police lived in the hotel. There is no other place for them to live, and Insp Montfort did not think they could be more harmlessly situated as regards the hotel, for it is a place where hardly any one goes to. (RCApp1)
Royal Commission
The Royal Commission into the KellyGang outbreak visited Greta in 1881. (Argus16/5/81)
What is happening at Greta today
Most of the buildings have gone and on the surface there is little to see. But the country that the KellyGang rode over is very much still here.
