Royal Commission's report- summary
In addition to doing away with the Glenmore station, the commissioners complain of the strength of many police stations in the district being unnecessarily reduced, of capable and experienced sub-officers being removed from important stations, and replaced by others wholly incompetent to cope with the general lawlessness which is said to have prevailed for years throughout the district. For many years previous to the outbreak scarcely a day passed without reports being received by the police of cattle having been stolen, and only in comparatively few instances were they recovered. The incident however, which more immediately produced the outbreak was the action of Constable Fitzpatrick, who on the 15th April, 1878 attempted to arrest Dan Kelly for horse-stealing. The circumstances connected with that incident are well known, but mention is made in the report of the fact that the warrant against Dan Kelly on this occasion was issued merely on suspicion of horsetealing, he and his cousin, Jack Lloyd, appearing to answer the description given of two men seen driving the stolen horses through the township of Chiltern. Jack Lloyd was subsequently arrested, but the case broke down, and he was discharged; but owing to the resistance offered to Dan Kelly's arrest, and the assault made upon Fitzpatrick, the Kellys took to the bush.
In June, 1878, Superintendent Sadleir was appointed to the charge of the North-eastern district. Urged by the police authorities in Melbourne , he took action in August of that year to arrest Ned and Dan Kelly, who were said to have been seen in the Strathbogie Ranges . Two parties of police were organised, the one to start from Mansfield and work across the ranges in the direction of the flat country towards Holland 's Creek, and the other from Greta, by which the locality in which the Kellys were said to be secreted would be thoroughly scoured. Of the facts connected with the despatch of those search parties and the murder of Kennedy and two of his companions by the Kellys, the public have been fully informed, and only a general reference is made to them in the report of the commission. The first intention of the murderers, after the Wombat tragedy, was to escape into New South Wales , as they were distinctly traced from the scene of the outrage on to Greta, and thence towards Wangaratta in the direction of the Murray . The river was found at the time to be so swollen as to be impassable, and the gang were consequently compelled to retrace their steps, and to seek refuge in the Warby Ranges .
The commissioners consider that the action of the police authorities immediately after the murders demonstrated an utter unpreparedness for so grave an emergency. In the North-Eastern district, comprising 11,000 square miles, there were found only about 50 mounted troopers, who were only armed with the simple regulation revolver, and a few Spencer rifles, scattered here and there amongst the police stations. The men were not only badly armed, but were indifferently mounted, many of them were bad horsemen, others were unacquainted with bush life, scarcely any of them knew the country, and the majority were ignorant of the use of the more modern description of rifle. The Government of the day seconded the efforts of the police they passed the Felons Apprehension Act two nights after the murders at the Wombat, and gave Captain Standish carte blanche for any expenditure he might think necessary in order to capture or destroy the gang. Mr Nicolson, assistant commissioner, was despatched to the scene of operations, and at once formed search parties of police with which to follow the outlaws upon the first intimation of their whereabouts.
Two days after the murders a Pentridge prisoner named Williamson, who was implicated in the assault upon Constable Fitzpatrick, gave valuable information to the police. In one communication he described the haunts of the Kellys, their probable whereabouts, and attached a rough sketch or plan of the spot where would be found a log where provisions for the outlaws would be concealed. In a second communication he informed the authorities that the Kellys were very likely to stick up the Seymour bank. Serious fault has been found by the commission with Messrs Nicolson and Sadleir, who were working conjointly at this stage of the pursuit, for not having taken proper steps to utilise the information conveyed by the prisoner Williamson. The log, as described, was found when searched for, and Mrs Skillion, the sister of the outlaws, was reported to be nightly engaged in conveying provisions to the gang, but no steps were taken to intercept her, and further, no adequate measures were adopted to prevent the outlaws from sticking up one of the banks in the North-Eastern district, although rumours of an intended raid were at that time in general circulation.
Not only was the township of Euroa left comparatively without police protection, but on the very evening of the robbery Messrs Nicolson and Sadleir both left head-quarters at Benalla, and proceeded to Albury upon a very unimportant mission, although warned by the information conveyed by Mr Wyatt, PM, of the deliberate cutting of the telegraph wires at Faithful Creek station, and of other suspicious circumstances pointing to the Kellys being in the neighbourhood. The intimation of the robbery of the Euroa bank only reached Mr Nicolson at midnight , when he was at Albury. He returned to Benalla by special train, and telegraphed instructions to the various police stations throughout the district, with a view to co-operation in the pursuit of the outlaws. He reached Faithful Creek on the following morning about half past 8am, and immediately took up the tracks of the outlaws with what available men he had at his command. Those were followed some distance, but were soon lost, and the whole party was obliged to return to quarters completely exhausted.
, .1. , .2. , .3. , .4. , .5. ,