The Complete Inner History of the KellyGang and their Pursuers (90)

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CHAPTER XXII

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“That the constables who formed hut party the night of Aaron Sherritt’s murder, viz., Henry Armstrong, William Duross, Thomas Patrick Dowling and Robert Alexander, were guilty of disobedience of orders and gross cowardice, and that the three latter—Constable Armstrong having resigned—be dismissed from the service.

“That the entries made by Supt Sadleir in the record sheets of Senior Constables Kelly and Johnston cancelled, and the Commission recommend these members of the force to the favourable consideration of the Government for promotion.

“That the Commission approve of the action taken by Constable Bracken when imprisoned by the Kelly gang in Mrs Jones’ hotel at Glenrowan, and recommend him for promotion in the service.

“That in consequence of the reprehensible conduct of Mr Wallace, the State school teacher, during the Kelly pursuit, and his alleged sympathy with the outlaws, together with the unsatisfactory character of his evidence before the Commission, your Commissioners think it very undesirable that Mr Wallace should be retained in any department of the public service. We therefore recommend his immediate dismissal from the Education Department.

“That the conduct of Mr Thos Curnow, State school teacher, in warning the special train from Benalla to Beechworth on the morning of June 28, 1880, whereby a terrible disaster, involving probably the loss of many lives, was averted, deserves the highest praise, and the Commission strongly recommend that his services receive special recognition on the part of the Government.

The Commission desire to record their approval of the conduct of Mr C H Rawlings during the attack upon the outlaws, and consider that his services deserve some consideration at the hands of the Government.

“The Commision desire also to express their approval of the assistance rendered to the police at Glenrowan by the members of the Press present.

“That your Commissioners desire to record their marked appreciation of the courtesy and promptitude displayed by the Queensland Government in forwarding a contingent of native trackers to Victoria to aid in the pursuit of the outlaws. We take this our approval of the services of the blacktrackers as a body, and deeply regret that any misunderstanding amongst the officers in command of operations in the North-Eastern District led to unpleasant complications.

“The Queensland contingent did good service, and your Commissioners trust the Victorian Government will not fail to accord them proper recognition.”

Mr Dixon’s Minority Report

Mr E J Dixon, JP, one of the Royal Commissioners, was not satisfied with the attitude taken up by the majority of the Commission in recommending the removal of Supt. Hare from the police force. He then wrote a minority report, in which he claimed that Supt. Hare should be allowed to return to duty. His advocacy of Supt. Hare’s claim for reinstatement resembled a paraphrase of the official report put in by Supt. Hare after the capture of Ned Kelly at Glenrowan. In that report Supt. Hare lauded himself to the skies to such an extent that its correctness was openly and earnestly challenged by other officers of the police force. Mr Dixon’s minority report so angered Messrs. Francis Longmore, George Wilson Hall, George Randall Fincham, and William Anderson, that they, as the majority of the Commission, replied as follows: -

“Mr Dixon’s protest should be found a mere paraphrase of portions of Supt Hare’s official report, which has been the source of so much mischief, and which we have no hesitation in declaring to be in its essential features a mere tissue of egotism and misrepresentation. There seems every reason to believe that Supt. Hare was throughout in direct collusion with Captain Standish in the petty and dishonourable persecution to which Mr Nicolson was subjected for many years while endeavouring to honestly discharge his duties to the best of his ability.

“Captain Standish described Nicolson’s report as ‘twaddle’; Hare describes them as ‘infernal bosh.’

“Hare’s letter in reply to Nicolson: - ’I would suggest to Mr Nicolson the advisability of his devoting his attention to answering the serious charges preferred by witnesses examined before the Commission against himself, instead of attempting to find fault with my conduct. - Francis Hare, 26/9/81.’

“Comparisons may be odious, but it cannot fail to strike one as singular that, while Supt. Hare felt himself obliged to leave his post and return to Benalla, under the impression that the wound in his wrist would prove fatal, the leader of the outlaws, with a bullet wound lodged in his foot and otherwise wounded in the extremities, was enabled to hold his ground, encumbered, too, by iron armour, until seven o’clock, when, in the effort to rejoin his companions, he fell overpowered by numbers.

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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