The Melbourne Daily Telegragh (4)
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Sup HARE
Superintendent Hare telegraphs as follows: -“The pilot engine was stopped half a mile from Glenrowan, and we were told that the line had pulled up by the Kellys a mile beyond Glenrowan. Train and pilot went up to Glenrowan station. I jumped out of train, and went to stationmaster’s house. The wife told me everbody in Glenrowan had been taken into the bush by the Kellys . I immediately ordered every man out of the train, and at the same moment Constable Bracken rushed up, saying he had escaped from Jones’s public house, “And for God's sake go quickly, or they will get away.” I then ran away, with two ort three men following me, and I went up towards Jones’s, and when I got within fifty or eighty yards a shot was fired from the house, and struck me in the left wrist (not seriously). I immediately got the house surrounded by all the men I had. I have telegraphed for the men from Wangaratta, and Mr. Sadlier, with all available men, are going up at once. Ned Kelly has three bullet wounds in him. Dr Nicholson does not consider any of them mortal. Police very plucky and game. The armour the gang have on is formed out of ploughshares. Ned Kelly was armed with a breastplate and iron mask and helmet." '
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THE STATIONMASTER's STATEMENT
Mr. John Stanistreet , station-master at Glenrowan, states-"About 3 o'clock on Sunday morning a knock came to my door. I lived at the gatehouse, within one hundred yards of the station, on the Melbourne side. I jumped up, and thinking it was some one wishing to get through the gates in a hurry, I proceeded to dress and after half my clothes on I went to the door. Just as I arrived at the door it was burst in. Previous to that there was some impatient talk outside to get me to open quickly. When the door was burst in I asked, 'Who are you; what is this for?' or 'Who are you?' The answer was, 'I am Ned Kelly .' I then saw a man, clad in an overcoat, who walked in with me to m y bedroom. Mrs. Stanistreet and the children were in bed. There were two girls and one infant. Ned Kelly said to me, 'You have to come with me and take up the rails.' I replied 'Wait, until I dress, and I completed my dress and followed him out of the house on to the railway line. I found seven or eight men standing at the gate looking over the line near Mrs. Jones 's Glenrowan Inn. Ned Kelly , speaking to me, said, 'You direct those men how to raise some of the rails, as we expect a special train very soon.' I objected, saying, 'I know nothing about lifting rails off the line. The only persons that understand it are the repairers; and they live outside and on the line.' Ned Kelly went on alone to Reardon, the plate layer's house, which stands about a quarter of a mile along the line southward. I and the other men were left in charge of Steve Hart . Ned Kelly went on to Reardon’s house. Steve Hart gave me a prod with his gun in the side, and said, 'You get the tools out that are necessary to raise those-rails.' I replied, 'I have not the key of the chest;' He said, 'We’ll break the lock.' And he got one of the men to do so. They took all the tools out of the chest, which lay in a back shed tool house between the station and the crossing Soon afterwards Ned and two of the repairers, Reardon and Sullivan arrived. Ned accompanied by these two men, proceeded down the line towards Wangaratta. We stood with Hart in in the cold at the hut for about two hours. At last Ned Kelly and the repairers returned. Ned inquired about the signalling on the line – how I stopped trains with the signal-lights. I told him white is right, red wrong, and green generally ‘come along.’ He then said, 'There is a special train coming; and you will give no signal.' Then speaking to Hart he said, 'Watch his countenance, and if he gives any signal, shoot him.' He marched us into my house and left us under the charge of Steve Hart . Subsequently other persons were made prisoners, and lodged in my house to the number of about seventeen altogether. There were the Reardon family, the Ryan family, Tom Cameron , son of the gatekeeper on the other line and others whom I do not remember. We were locked up all day on Sunday, but we were allowed out under surveillance. The women were allowed to go to Jones’s hotel about dark. All the men but myself and family went to the hotel soon afterwards. Steve Hart remained with us all night. During the night Dan Kelly relieved Hart, and he was afterwards relieved by Byrne. Just before the special train arrived this morning I was ordered to the hotel by Hart, who was on and off duty throughout the night, to follow him to Jones's, and not signal the train. I went into the back kitchen, and found there Mrs. Jones and daughter, about fourteen, and two younger children. There was also a man there named Neil M’Kean . By this time the train had arrived, and firing was going on furiously, and we all took shelter about the chimney. The house is a mere shell of a structure. The gang disappeared from me when the firing commenced. A bullet passed right through the kitchen, and grazed the temple of Jane Jones , aged fourteen, daughter of the landlord. She exclaimed, 'I am shot,' and as she turned to me I saw her head bleeding, and told her it was nothing serious. Poor Mrs Jones commenced to cry bitterly, I left the kitchen, and went into the back-yard and passed the gang there. They were standing together at the kitchen chimney. I cannot say whether there were three or four of them. One of them said, 'If you go out you'll be shot.' I walked straight to my house. Firing was going on, but I was uninjured. Of course, I was challenged as I passed through. I omitted to state that on Sunday night Steve Hart demanded my revolver from me, and I had to give it up.” '
ROBERT GIBBON's STATEMENT
Robert Gibbons , a farmer, living at Glenrowan, said: I came to the railway station at Glenrowan at about 8 o'clock on Sunday night, with Mr Reynolds ’s brother, for his little boy, who was at the Sunday school, and whose long absence puzzled us. We knocked at the door when Mrs. Stanistreet told us that “ Mr. Hart ” was inside, and that they had been stuck up since 3 o'clock that morning. We followed Mrs Stanistreet into the room, when we saw Steve Hart leaning against the fire place with his rifle unslung. Mrs S told Steve Hart who we were, when he told us to remain there, and he put his firearms down. We had stayed about two hours, when Ned Kelly came and Hart then ordered us all to come outside. Ned Kelly told us that we would all have to go down to the police barracks with him. He kept us waiting however, about two hours, and went in search of Mr Bracken . When he returned in about an hour Mr Bracken was with him, and Byrne remained outside with us. He told Mr Reynold’s brother and myself that we would have to go Jones’s, and on going up there he ordered us all into the sitting room. This was about 10 o’clock on Sunday night. Ned and Dan Kelly were walking about the house quite jolly, and Byrne was in charge of the back door, the front door having been locked , the key of which Byrne kept. They continued walking about and drinking, and making themselves quite jolly, till about 3 on Monday morning, when Ned Kelly came into the room where we were and told us that we were not to whisper a word of anything that was said there or say anything about him, and if he heard of anyone having done so, he would shoot him. He went to the door of the room and said, 'Here she comes,' and with that the gang went out into the back, as if to hold a consultation, and returned in a few minutes, and said that the first man who left the room would be shot. After giving these directions I saw two of the gang, I could not say which, mount their horses and ride away. They came back in about ten minutes time. When they came back I saw Dan go into a small room at the back of where we were, with another member of the gang, and in a few minutes they came out with their armour on, and their firearms. When they came out, the other two then went in and did the same. The police then arrived, and commenced to fire on the place. There were about forty people in the place at this time, comprising men women, and children. The women and children commenced to scream and shriek, and Mrs Jones ’s girl was shot in the side of the head, and the eldest boy in the side. Directly the firing commenced we all laid down on the floor, because the bullets rattled on the side of the house, and sometimes came through it. We remained in this position till about 10 o’clock , when we all rose and came out, holding up our hands. We were induced to take these steps from hearing the police calling to us to come out. We thought; the police were giving their last warning, and so we all rushed out. We left Dan Kelly and Hart and Byrne in the back room. Some of the people said that Byrne was lying dead in one of the back rooms. '
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