The Complete Inner History of the KellyGang and their Pursuers (69)

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CHAPTER XVIII

continued

Constable Dwyer rushed up and kicked the captured bushranger while he was held down.  Steele was about to shoot him with his revolver, when Constable Bracken prevented him.  Steele seemed thirsting for blood—someone’s blood.  One of the police thought Ned Kelly was a ghost; some thought it was the devil.  They were all in a state of great excitement, and Ned Kelly was taken to the railway station and examined by Dr John Nicholson.  t was now known that Joe Byrne was dead.  There were only Dan Kelly and Steve Hart left.  As the day wore on the fifty policemen continued to fire at the hotel.

Dr John Nicholson, of Benalla, made history by suggesting to Supt Sadleir that the latter should wire to Melbourne for a field gun (cannon) in order to make sure that these youthful warriors should not outwit the police and escape.

Supt. Sadleir sent a wire to headquarters in Melbourne for a cannon to be sent up to blow up the hotel. It was also known to the police that Martin Cherry was lying dangerously wounded in the detached back room of the hotel.

Wire sent to Supt. Sadleir to police headquarters, Melbourne:—

“Glenrowan, June 28, 1880.

Weatherboard, brick chimney, slab kitchen.  The difficulty we feel is that our shots have no effect on the corner, and there are so many windows that we should be under fire all the day.  We must get the gun (cannon) before night or rush the place.”

The cannon had reached Seymour when the hotel was burnt down, and, on this information being received, it was returned to Melbourne.

The odds of 25 police to one youth was not considered sufficient.  The valour of 50 policemen to two youths, one nineteen years of age and the other 20 years old, would be equalised it the 50 policemen also had a cannon with which they could stand off and blow the two bushrangers and Martin Cherry, a wounded civilian, to pieces.  The police now had Ned Kelly’s armour and helmet, and could have used it on a constable to enter the house.  But the police seemed to be short of one important part of the necessary equipment—courage.

Affidavit of John Nicholson, Doctor of Medicine, and legally qualified to practise in Victoria

I, John Nicholson, Doctor of Medicine, and legally qualified to practise in Victoria, make oath and say as follows:—

I reside in Benalla.  I was called early on Monday morning, 28 June, 1880, by Superintendent Hare, who said that he had been shot by the Kellys, and wanted me to go on to Glenrowan, where the police had them surrounded in a house.  I wanted him to wait a minute or two until I put on some clothing and I would dress his wound.  He would not wait, but said he would go on, and I was to follow him over the bridge.  Lewis, Inspector of Schools, was with him.  I shortly afterwards went to the post office, which is about three quarters of a mile from my residence.  I met Mr Sadleir, who told me Mr Hare was at the post office, and he said he would wait a quarter of an hour for me, and I was to go with him to Glenrowan.

I then went and saw Mr Hare, who was lying on some mail bags in the post office.  I ascertained that he had been wounded in the left wrist by a bullet, which had passed obliquely in and out at the upper side of the joint, shattering the extremities of the bone, more especially of the radius.  There were no injuries to the arteries, but a good deal of venous haemorrhage in consequence of a ligature which had been imprudently tied around the wrist above the wound.  I temporarily dressed the wound, during which he fainted.  He did not complain of being faint when I first saw him at my residence.  Seeing that the wound, although serious, was not dangerous to life, I made all haste to the railway station and accompanied Mr Sadleir and party to Glenrowan.  Mr Sadleir asked me what I thought of Mr Hare’s wound, and I told him that it would be a question whether amputation of hand would not be the best course to adopt, as the wound was of such a nature that recovery would be very protracted and might endanger life.

We arrived at Glenrowan before daylight, but the moon was shining.  The men, under Mr Sadleir’s instructions, then immediately spread, having first ascertained from Senior Constable Kelly where the guard was weakest.  A party headed by Mr Sadleir went up the line in front of the house, and were immediately fired at.  Three shots were fired in one volley at first, and immediately afterwards a volley of four.  The fire was sharply replied to by Mr Sadleir’s party, and also from other quarters where the police were stationed.  I did not see anyone come outside, and thought the return fire was at random.  The firing on the part of the police was renewed at intervals and replied to from the house, but never more than a volley or two after this.  Mr Marsden, of Wangaratta, Mr Rawlins, several gentlemen, reporters for the press, some railway officials and myself were on the platform watching the proceedings, sometimes exposed to the fire from the house, in our eagerness to get a clear view of everything.  Things remained in this state for about an hour, when a woman with a child in her arms (Mrs Reardon) left the house and came towards the station, crying and bewailing all the time.  She was met by some of the police and taken to one of the railway carriages.

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This document gives you the text of this book about the KellyGang. The text has been retyped from a 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. JJ Kenneally was one of the first authors to tell this story from the KellyGang's point of view