Dan Kelly

Early life Dan Kelly's father, John Kelly (known as "Red"), married an Irish woman, Ellen Quinn, in Melbourne in 1850.

On 15 April 1878, Constable Fitzpatrick went to the Kelly's house to arrest Dan Kelly for stealing horses. Dan had been seen in Chiltern riding a stolen horse. He had also built a small still for making alcohol. Kennedy and Scanlan went searching for the Kellys, while Lonigan and McIntyre remained at the camp. The bushrangers, wearing homemade armour, would then capture any of the policemen that were alive after the crash. Dan also organised some sporting games including long jump and hop, step and jump. Ned Kelly let Thomas Curnow, the school master, go home to his wife. Dan told his brother not to trust Curnow, and to keep him at the hotel. Byrne died after being shot in the groin. Ned Kelly went back to the hotel but he could not find Dan or Steve Hart who were hiding in a back room. He again left and tried to find his horse. Ned Kelly was shot in the legs as he searched outside for his brother. Ned Kelly's armour was sent to Melbourne to be used at his trial. Joe Byrne's armour was sent to the police depot in Richmond. At the end of 1880, all the pieces were in Melbourne. One set of armour was given to Sir William Clarke. and the police have Dan and Steve's armour, which can be seen at the Victoria Police Museum in Melbourne.

In 2012, it was reported that a gun which may have been Dan Kelly's and used at Glenrowan was to be sold at auction. It was sold to a private bidder for AUD $122,000.

After Glenrowan

There was no autopsy held on Dan or Steve, and there have been many stories about what might have happened. The arrangement of their bodies in the hotel suggests they may have killed themselves. This was the story that was used in the first Kelly film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, in 1906, and in the 2003 film Ned Kelly.

Despite his body being identified by police and a priest before being burnt, there have also been stories that both Dan and Steve survived the fire. There is little evidence to support these claims. One man, James Ryan, claimed he was Dan Kelly. In 1934 he went on stage at the Brisbane Exhibition and told stories about the Kelly Gang. He died on 29 July 1948, after being struck by a train. The Ipswich City Council have put a memorial on his grave. In 2001, scientists took a small piece of bone from the grave of Charles Devine Tindall at Toowoomba, Queensland, to see if they could find DNA to prove he was Dan Kelly. Devine, who had burn scars on his body, told his family he was really Dan. He said he had hidden under the floor of the Glenrowan hotel and escaped after the fire. In October 1902, a Melbourne newspaper printed W. B. Melville's story that Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were living in South Africa, where the men allegedly fought in the Boer War.

Another man, Jim Davis from Darra (a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland), said in 1938 that he was Dan Kelly. He claimed that he, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne had escaped from the hotel. He also said he was born at the Eureka Stockade in 1854, which makes him too old to have really been Dan.

Cultural references

The story of Dan and Ned Kelly has been told many times. There have been more books written about the Kelly Gang than any other event in Australian history.

Both Kellys have been portrayed many times on stage and screen. The very first feature-length film in the world, made in 1906, was The Story of the Kelly Gang. In the 2019 film True History of the Kelly Gang, the part of Dan Kelly was played by Earl Cave, with Ned Kelly played by George MacKay. In the 2003 film Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger as Ned Kelly, the part of Dan Kelly was played by Irish actor Laurence Kinlan. Allen Bickford portrayed Dan Kelly in the 1970 film Ned Kelly, with Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly.