J. J. Kenneally

Early life and career Born in Gaffneys Creek, Victoria, he was the youngest of the Kenneallys of Goomalibee, Benalla, Victoria who were originally from Ireland; his older brother Matthew (1857–1937) was born there. James studied at McCristal's College in Benalla and became a schoolteacher, later an auctioneer

Political career He was active in the union movement, and started Tasmania's Timber Worker's Union. He was one of the original members of the country's Labour Party (ALP). He ran for the House of Representatives seat for Mernda, Victoria in the 1906 and 1910 elections. He won 41% of the vote in the latter election, but lost to Robert Harper of the Commonwealth Liberal Party, who was less than 4 points ahead. He then served as a federal organiser for woodworkers via his position as general secretary of the Sawmill and Woodworkers Association of Tasmania then formed his own party.

The Inner History of the Kelly Gang Content For his 1929 book, Kenneally put together police statements made under oath at the time of the Kelly break-out and the events leading up to it, with the findings of the 1881 Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Victorian Police. Many of the policemen involved in the saga were subsequently demoted and pensioned off or, in the case of Constable Fitzpatrick, the constable whose initial charges against members of the Kelly family ignited the war between the Kellys and the police, dismissed. He also interviewed Tom Lloyd, a Kelly cousin ) for example. He also incorporated fresh statements from others like William Williamson, whom with Kelly's mother and infant sister, was wrongfully arrested after the Fitzgerald incident ). It ends with reviews by Ned's sole surviving brother, Jim, then-aged 70,

Copyright infringements The book was plagiarised twice by J.M.S. Davies in 1930, the year after its publication, in serialised accounts of the Kelly Gang for Adelaide's Register News-Pictorial and for the Melbourne Herald. Kenneally had writs from the Supreme Court issued against both papers' publishers, and the latter were forced to pay him compensation. The Herald again managed to ignore Kenneally's copyright four years later in its publication of Roy Bridges' centenary history of Victoria and was again forced to pay Kenneally for breach of copyright.

Book's legacy The book is now viewed as "a major contribution" to the understanding of Ned Kelly and early editions are prized by collectors.

Sidney Nolan, one of Australia's most iconic painters, used the book as inspiration for his famous 1946–47 Ned Kelly series. The series of 27 paintings including The Trial, at the National Gallery of Australia, feature the now-iconic figure of Kelly as his black iron helmet.

The book appears prominently in the bonus features section "Ned Kelly in Popular Culture" of the DVD for 2003 Ned Kelly film starring Heath Ledger. The title of Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winning novel, True History of the Kelly Gang (2000), references Kenneally's 1929 title.

Personal life and family He married Emelie Winifred Deegan of Castlemaine, Victoria on 21 January 1903, sister of Poet and author, Thomas Patrick Deegan, in the resort town of St Kilda, a Melbourne suburb. They had three sons and two daughters.

Science writer Christine Kenneally is a great-granddaughter, and wrote a piece about the search for Ned Kelly's skull for the New York Times in 2011, continuing the favoured family pastime.

Books Kenneally, J.J., Report of Evidence Tendered to the Royal Commission on the Constitution of the Commonwealth: Suggesting Amendments to the Commonwealth Constitution Recommended by the Australian Labor Party. Melbourne: Labor Call Print, 1928. Inner History of the Kelly Gang. Dandenong, Victoria: The Kelly Gang Publishing Company, 1929. The Authentic Story of the Kelly Gang in Pictures. Cheltenham, Victoria: Standard Newspapers, 1955.