The Jerilderie Letter

by Ned Kelly

Written in 1878, the Jerilderie letter is Ned Kelly's own account of his family's persecution and the events that led to his becoming one of the most famous outlaws in history. It is the reverbative document that inspired novelist Peter Carey's reinvention of the Kelly tale.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Australia, 19th Century, Historical, Classics

93 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Ned Kelly was Australia's most famous outlaw. The son of an Irish immigrant family, Kelly's father died in prison and the young Ned found himself in a life of crime from his teenage years, facing police persecution and the challenges of poverty.

At age 17, Kelly was imprisoned for horse stealing and spent three years behind bars. When he emerged, he joined a group of bushrangers in the colony of Victoria, an area rapidly moving from 'lawless frontier' to civilised society. When his mother was imprisoned in 1878 for assaulting a police officer, and his brother was declared an outlaw after shooting an officer, Kelly and his gang began eluding police capture.

For two years, the Kelly gang battled police across country Victoria, becoming legends in their own right. The press and popular culture were divided between those who saw Kelly as the example of the lawlessness of the working classes, and those who saw him as a saviour fighting against the iron fist of capitalism and oppression.

In 1879, Kelly penned his surviving piece of writing, the so-called Jerilderie Letter, in which he set out a manifesto denouncing the police and the Empire, and attempting to put forward his own account of his events.

In June 1880, the Kelly gang - growing bolder - attempted to ambush a police train, but the attempt went sour. The gang engaged in a police shootout at Glenrowan, where all but Kelly were killed. Kelly was taken to the Old Melbourne Gaol, where he was tried and sentenced to death. Thousands of people turned out to support him and demand a reprieve, but Kelly was hanged on 11 November 1880, at age 25. His last words were reported as: "Such is life".

Reviews

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a companion piece to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang. It is the letter referred to in the novel which Ned Kelly wrote and tried in vain to get published so the public would know his side of the story. A justification for his actions if you please. He was one angry young man and not without cause.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love him or loathe him, whether you revere him as a hero or are repulsed by him as a villain and criminal you cannot help but be affected by The Jerilderie Letter. Written by Ned Kelly in his own words, it captures the essence of the times and the atmosphere in which he was living and in which he died. Your loyalties will be tested and you may even question what is right or wrong. Someone told me that it is wrong to think of him as a hero. He was just a criminal and murderer but it is easy reading this to be swept up in the legend. Was he an underdog,harassed by the law or was he just bad? Read this and make up your own mind.

[Josie Seto · Rating 3 out of 5]

He’s a yapper

[Adrian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this did not sway my mind about Ned, who remains in my mind as a robber, murderer and rogue. I was impressed that he knew how to spell 'equilibrium' and use it correctly in a sentence, however.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ned Kelly's Jerilderie letter. How could you not give it five stars? The guy missed his calling as a struggling, starving 19th century author. Instead, he became a struggling, starving career criminal. A low life mongrel, stealing people's stock, standover man, killing troopers and, eventually, plotting (and failing thank goodness) to derail a train loaded with police and press. Which would have made him Australia's worst mass murderer along with Martin Bryant.
But the letter itself is not what garners my five star. The five star is for this excellent Text Classics edition. The historian responsible for the foreword and the few well-placed notes throughout the letter, did a great job of keeping it simple and unobtrusive. He did not make the edition about himself. No over-intellectualising.
Also, this copy of the original Jerilderie Lettee, did not reword or rewrite. Mispellings and the like are included as they are found in the real article.

[David Aiken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost Joycean at times. Author Peter Carey describes it best -

"Somewhere in the middle Sixties, I first came upon the 56-page letter which Kelly attempted to have printed when the gang robbed the bank in Jerilderie in 1879. It is an extraordinary document, the passionate voice of a man who is writing to explain his life, save his life, his reputation … And all the time there is this original voice - uneducated but intelligent, funny and then angry, and with a line of Irish invective that would have made Paul Keating envious. His language came in a great, furious rush that could not but remind you of far more literary Irish writers."

[Bridget Bell]

rip ned kelly you would’ve loved reputation

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book sort of hard to read as the sentences just went on and on. Yes I know they were written by Ned Kelly and he wasn’t “bright” but I think he explained what happened amazing

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not rating the writing of this letter - a very passionate, angry person dictated it to someone with maybe a 5th grade education, so for me it's the content that matters, not the prose.

Copying what I wrote when I posted about this to friends...
Finally finished The Jerilderie Letter - my nonfiction choice for February as part of the 2017 book challenge. It took me a while since not only did I read snippets here and there, but punctuation is almost nonexistent, making it a little more challenging to read. :) It was still engaging, and I found myself simultaneously feeling sympathetic to his cause while also seeing where he could be completely full of self-justified BS. My tentative conclusion would be that neither side was really "right", one side happened to have the law (and possibly higher education) on their side, and Ned Kelly was a bit of a hot head who didn't really do himself any favors. However, it's a small one-sided part of a larger, more complicated situation. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Ned Kelly or history, as it's quite interesting to read something straight from the horse's mouth! (As transcribed by the horse's friend.)

Adding here:
It sounds like he and his entire family (there were a lot of them!) were treated rather unfairly, but some of them also didn't make good choices for how to handle various situations. I enjoyed the intro and footnotes by the editor Alex McDermott, and I felt like there was no added bias there.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you hear his story in his own words, through the Jerilderie Letter, you can't help but feel for Ned Kelly - but you also feel for anyone who innocently suffered at his hands. Ned was filled with outrage and bitterness and wanted to set his world to rights. But he also wanted to lay down the law himself. Today, he'd probably be one of countless, righteous voices world-wide, on the Twitterverse or YouTube, who feel overly entitled to have their say and address current wrongs. As he was an impoverished, strong-willed young man of his times, he had no voice, and was subjected to oppression and injustice because his social 'betters' felt entitled to rule in their own right, never genuinely considering social issues or social justice. Ned's voice still cries down to the present day. Once again, Carole Wilkinson's research, editing and presentation is top quality.

[Anubha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so full of genuine angst and contempt against the lawmen who more often than not acted as the oppressors. Being an outlaw, the rationalizations and justifications given by Ned Kelly for his actions might be questioned by historians but there is a sense of crude but honest dignity apparent in the way he has written his account.

[Kelly Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating piece of Australian history. The Jerilderie Letter opens with an Introduction by Alex McDermott which was well done. A very balanced history and nicely set the context for the letter.

McDermott tells the story of the Kelly gang taking the town of Jerilderie hostage, both to rob the bank and to get Ned's letter published.

"At our own comfortable historical distance," he writes, "the irony of this charade is delicious--bushrangers parading as the forces of law and order sent to apprehend them--yet for Richards and the Devines it must have been a terrifying experience."

The letter itself, which Ned Kelly spoke aloud and one of the Kelly gang transcribed, is hard to follow at times (you have to imagine Ned giving a speech) but you get the overall impression of how he was thinking and feeling at the time.

He was clearly a man who valued loyalty to family and friends and wanted to protect them. He felt strongly that several injustices had occurred and whether he was right or not about that, it certainly seems the line between criminals and officers of the law at the time was fairly thin. Many of the officers appear to have been drunken, addicted to gambling, sexually harassing women, lying and possibly taking bribes.

In the letter, he claims several times that he didn't want to kill anyone and only did so when forced to in self-defense.
"Is there not big fat-necked Unicorns enough paid, to torment and drive me to do thing which I dont wish to do..."

Ned Kelly is a criminal and a murder, but also loved his family, cared about the poor and about injustice. It's easy to see how he became a bit of a legend and a hero to some people at the time.

[Sare W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ned Kelly was born in 1855, became Australia's most famous bushranger, before being arrested and hanged in 1880 after the famous siege at Glenrowan. The Jerilderie Letter is Ned's own words; conveyed during the gang's raid of Jerilderie in Feb 1879 in which they imprisoned the police, took the whole town captive and robbed the bank. Ned wanted to tell his side of the story because it differed vastly from the authorities' version. The letter wasn't published however until 1930, and the original disappeared until it was anonymously donated to the State Library in 2000.

The letter is long, rambling and infused with rage. His picture of society is authorities abusing their power and the absence of fundamental rule of law. It is also noticeable however that he doesn't take accountability for his own actions which contributed to his circumstances.

The last sentence is the most powerful; a demand and warning to all. One can imagine Ned energetically working up to it, then leaving it hanging in the air to great dramatic effect.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is a document of historical importance it wouldn't be right to rate this on the merits of Ned Kelly's writing or even upon the character of the man. Therefore, my rating is based upon the introduction, illustrations, commentary and postscripts which are invaluable to understand, and to put into context, the motivations of Australia's most notorious bushranger.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Presented is a paraphrased copy of the famous Jerilderie Letter by Australia's most famous bushranger. Short, sharp and sweet this non-fiction text is aimed at primary students and gives the facts in an objective way. Wonderful illustrations accompany the text.

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accessible version of Ned Kelly's famous letter. Perfect for young students learning about Ned Kelly, this letter shows the reader Ned's side of the infamous story.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My middle son rates this book 5/5 as he has LOVED researching and learning about bushrangers and particularly Ned Kelly. So interesting to read about his situation from his point of view!!

[lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

ned kelly sorta went off 😳👊

[Kinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly's letter is poetic, prophetic, visceral and political. Like inhaling lightning.

Just be sure to skip the bootlicking intro which reads like curdled milk.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing perspective on Ned Kelly's life and how he saw himself, without all the propaganda and decrying of being a "cold-blooded murderer"

[georgie_porgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief yet gripping telling of Ned Kelly's lifestory. Succinct, clear backstory and timelines provided by the editor.

[Jaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this is out of print now but it's such a good resource.

[Nixu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
I first heard of the Jerilderie Letter whilst doing some research on Peter Carey's "True History of the Kelly Gang" and I was intrigued. Peter Carey's book is a fictional one based on this letter, written in his style as a fictional biography to an unborn daughter that never existed. Then, deciding that I was going to do my history project on Ned Kelly, I read this to know what his side of the story was.

As someone who is not Australian, someone who hadn't learned anything about Ned Kelly beforehand and with the only access to his history having been the fictional biography by Peter Carey and the 2019 film that was based off of that fictional story (and twisted the history even more), you're given a better painted version of Ned Kelly. Though the book in itself is a great book in my opinion and so is the movie, they're both excellent, Ned Kelly is romanticized to no end and I felt that I fell into the trap of it as well. Reading the Jerilderie Letter, in Ned Kelly's own words (though Joe Byrne wrote it down) was a real eye-opener for me.
I don't believe the writing of it should be rated. Though very grammatically incorrect to the point where it's almost unreadable, you need to take in the context. Joe Byrne had a 5th grade education in a rural setting, of course his literacy wasn't going to be good. So, I find it unfair to rate the writing. You just need some time to unwrap the writing (try reading it aloud if you're having trouble. It helped me understand better).
Whilst reading this, I found myself siding with him but also in parts, I sat there thinking, "Wow, he was full of himself, wasn't he?" In this version, you can read the anger and passion from him dripping off the page but he also boasts about some of the crimes he's committed like his stealing horses. Unlike in Peter Carey's novel, you can pin his flaws better here - Ned was fairly full of himself and his abilities in my opinion and very obviously believed he was right and everyone else that didn't agree was very, very wrong. A very black and white mindset. He was also a very unreliable narrator what with the contradictions of what happened and what didn't and even contradictions in his own tale. Reading his own words was better in that regard than reading the romanticized version because I can see that now.
The other side is that the police had many more advantages than an uneducated bush-ranger ever would. The police had (most likely) much better education and had the advantage of being on the law's side. Many of their actions against Kelly's family and his affiliates could also be considered as unjustified but I do also agree that Kelly could have handled the situation much better. For one, he may have had a bigger chance of staying alive for longer if he hadn't killed the policemen and robbed the banks. Seeing the photos of the Kelly gangs' bodies after they were hanged was upsetting because of how young they were.
I enjoyed reading it and I think that Ned Kelly, if he had had the chance to become more educated and live longer than he did, could have put some writers to shame. He had a very colourful and original voice and that's something I wish I could have seen more of.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crudely eloquent, Ned Kelly's letter certainly detailed how he felt about his plight. It was clear how infuriated he was with the corrupt police force, and clearer still, how justified he was about all his own misdeeds. Ned, bragging about horse and stock stealing? Really? That was a great way to make the public sympathetic towards you, I don't think.

It is difficult to actually rate this. I have read over other reviews and seen the 1 stars given for complete lack of punctuational or syntactical attention. Well duh people. It was transcribed from the mouth of Ned by Joe Byrne, whose highest education was grade 5.....in a country school. Has anyone been to Woolshed where he was educated? It's not much different from the time Joe Byrne was alive. It has farms and a Waterfall, I highly doubt his school years were fraught with literary revelations.

There were also digs at Kelly's reasonings for their outlaw. Yeah, but, the publication of the letter was not to sway the readers opinion of him and the gang, (not for us in the future anyways) it is merely a phenomenal historical document and it's a privilege to be able to read. Considering it was hidden from the public view for 51 years, I think It says something about Parliaments fear of it's influence if it were to be read by a sympathetic eye. The debate of whether he were a hero or a villain is another discussion entirely and shouldn't be considered when reading the letter.

Regardless, points for some marvelously outrageous slurs and insults, they were truly imaginative young men, and yes, points lost for lack of punctuation. It did make it an interesting, yet rather frustrating read. But points for keeping that lack of punctuation in. Why would you want to read an altered historical document I asks ya? Huh? HUH?!

[Clare Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read this actual publication, but I have read the Jeriderie letter where Ned 'sets the record straight.' His writing style showed a sense of humour and a way with words. He was charming, in fact, and you could easily believe the stories of conspiracy and injustice set upon his family that he told.

Whatever he was, from what I have read written by ned and about Ned, is that he was not a wanton murderer or one-dimensional lunatic. In fact his moves showed bravado but also cool strategy.

I would love to have a chat with Ned one day, and get it from the horses mouth, so to speak.

What is most disgusting, are the published images of Ned and his young mates after they were hung. In death, you see just how young they were; and how immature Australian white culture and law was also.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this alongside Peter Carey's 'True History of the Kelly Gang', which was written as an impersonation of Ned Kelly and attempted to recreate the style seen in the Jerilderie letter. It was very interesting to see the real, raw, unfiltered words of Kelly in contrast to the fictionalised version, particularly seeing that Carey has decided to make him much more sympathetic and sane.

The guy was just a straight-up asshole, bully and self-important thug. There's millions of them around. All the mythic hero stuff got added on to his story by other people, like Carey, so it's good that he left his own words to set the record straight.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 'Jerilderie Letter' after watching an old video of Paul Kelly's 'Our Sunshine', a musical ode to Ned Kelly. The video had excerpts of the letter running across the screen and I was quite intrigued by the vivid descriptions of wrongdoing and wrath that the letter contained. Fortunately, I had a copy on my shelves purchased as part of the Text Classics series. This edition contains a helpful introduction that places the letter in its historical context and informative footnotes appear regularly throughout. There are also a number of photographs of the main characters. All in all this is a worthwhile way to spend a half an hour.

[Erik Graff · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was brought back from Australia by a friend and given me as a gift. Until reading it "Ned Kelly" only associated vaguely with a folk song I may have heard, but since reading it I believe I may once have seen some movie reference--if not an entire film--to the infamous 19th century Australian outlaw.

While the introduction is informative, the Kelly text itself is almost unreadable, Kelly not heeding rules of syntax or punctuation any more than he heeded the law.

[Valerie F · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is an incoherent yet interesting perspective on Ned Kelly's psyche and rationalization for his criminal activity.

[Michael Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the essential australian books - it says a lot about the time then, but also now. kellys at times ungrammatical phrasing only adds to the meanings to be derived. he (or they) was a great writer. i am reading it for the fourth time.