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Ned Kelly's Last Days: Setting the Record Straight on the Death of an Outlaw
Piecing together a vast jigsaw of obscure records and unpublished material, this exposé follows the final months of one of Australian history's most infamous outlaws. Ned Kelly—a beloved national icon—was just a bushranger who was to be punished for his crimes, but by 1880 everyone wanted him dead. Although many stories and rumors surround the Kelly myth, few know the details of what really happened in the 137 days between his last stand and the day of his execution. Exposing the blatant cover-ups, corruption, and the press's demand for blood that ultimately led to Kelly's death sentence, this book sets the record straight on the highly questionable judicial processes of the time and sheds new light on the life and death of the most famous bushranger of them all.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2005
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March 8, 2021When there is so much about this subject that’s fictionalised and sensationalised, it was refreshing to find some clarity around Ned Kelly and his family.
November 16, 2016
Most accounts of Ned Kelly's life – be they factual or fictional – focus on his outlawry, ending with the Siege of Glenrowan, when Kelly himself was captured and the other members of the Kelly Gang killed. Kelly, of course, survived long enough to be tried, found guilty and executed. It is this time period that legal historian Alex C. Castles chooses to focus on in Ned Kelly's Last Days.
Ned Kelly's Last Days is a superb read, focusing on a time in Kelly's life that has underrepresented in accounts and discussions of his life. Castles manages the fine balance between creating an entertaining, engaging text whilst still producing an informative, reliable work. Castles' specialised knowledge of the legal world adds this a great deal of authority to this book, adding weight to claims that might be discounted if put forward by other writers.
The core of the book is the overwhelming evidence of the pressure and desire to ensure that Kelly would be killed. We see a case where the government, police, press and legal system of colonial Victoria worked together to doggedly to ensure that Kelly's death would be a foregone conclusion – even if it meant ignoring the law and stripping Kelly of his rights, keeping him isolated from his family and legal counsel. The afterward by Dr. John Williams in particular is interesting to read in light of the current counter-terrorism legislation the Australian federal government has introduced.
It's worthwhile noting that this book will not give you a history of Kelly's life and outlawry. I don't believe the book has been written with assumption that the reader already knows everything about Kelly, but such knowledge will allow the reader to gain deeper appreciation of the events and personalities at play, as well as facilitating a greater understanding of Castles' work.
Castles himself seems neutral in his opinion of Kelly, neither for or against him, with most of his criticism levelled at the forces at work that were obsessed with ensuring Kelly's death. This is refreshing to see – an author without an axe to grind in the pro/anti Kelly debate.
That is not to say that Ned Kelly's Last Days is a perfect work. There are some elements that seem almost fanciful, such as the emphasis on Kelly's rumoured, sweetheart, Kate Lloyd (these rumours appear to be unsubstantiated). There is the curious omission of the fact that the key witness's testimony did not match his earlier sworn statement. Other readers with a more encyclopaedic of Kelly history than I might be able to pick more inaccuracies within the text.
Some of this might be explained by the fact that Castles died with the manuscript unfinished and it was completed posthumously by his daughter and collaborator, Jennifer Castles. While it is stated that the manuscript was "all but complete" at Castles' passing, it possible that Castles may have revised his manuscript before publication. I was also a little disheartened to hear that Castles' attempts to find someone to decode a few pages written in Pittman shorthand had fallen through with his death.
Ned Kelly's Last Days may not be a perfect read, but it is a deeply worthwhile one for anyone interested in Kelly. It sheds light on a time of his life that has largely passed unnoticed and unchallenged, and it is well-written and authoritative – at least, as far as the legal side is concerned. It makes clear that an injustice was done and raises the question of what if. What if the law had been allowed to prevail and what if Kelly had been given a fair trial? Would Kelly ultimately have survived?
Ned Kelly's Last Days is a superb read, focusing on a time in Kelly's life that has underrepresented in accounts and discussions of his life. Castles manages the fine balance between creating an entertaining, engaging text whilst still producing an informative, reliable work. Castles' specialised knowledge of the legal world adds this a great deal of authority to this book, adding weight to claims that might be discounted if put forward by other writers.
The core of the book is the overwhelming evidence of the pressure and desire to ensure that Kelly would be killed. We see a case where the government, police, press and legal system of colonial Victoria worked together to doggedly to ensure that Kelly's death would be a foregone conclusion – even if it meant ignoring the law and stripping Kelly of his rights, keeping him isolated from his family and legal counsel. The afterward by Dr. John Williams in particular is interesting to read in light of the current counter-terrorism legislation the Australian federal government has introduced.
It's worthwhile noting that this book will not give you a history of Kelly's life and outlawry. I don't believe the book has been written with assumption that the reader already knows everything about Kelly, but such knowledge will allow the reader to gain deeper appreciation of the events and personalities at play, as well as facilitating a greater understanding of Castles' work.
Castles himself seems neutral in his opinion of Kelly, neither for or against him, with most of his criticism levelled at the forces at work that were obsessed with ensuring Kelly's death. This is refreshing to see – an author without an axe to grind in the pro/anti Kelly debate.
That is not to say that Ned Kelly's Last Days is a perfect work. There are some elements that seem almost fanciful, such as the emphasis on Kelly's rumoured, sweetheart, Kate Lloyd (these rumours appear to be unsubstantiated). There is the curious omission of the fact that the key witness's testimony did not match his earlier sworn statement. Other readers with a more encyclopaedic of Kelly history than I might be able to pick more inaccuracies within the text.
Some of this might be explained by the fact that Castles died with the manuscript unfinished and it was completed posthumously by his daughter and collaborator, Jennifer Castles. While it is stated that the manuscript was "all but complete" at Castles' passing, it possible that Castles may have revised his manuscript before publication. I was also a little disheartened to hear that Castles' attempts to find someone to decode a few pages written in Pittman shorthand had fallen through with his death.
Ned Kelly's Last Days may not be a perfect read, but it is a deeply worthwhile one for anyone interested in Kelly. It sheds light on a time of his life that has largely passed unnoticed and unchallenged, and it is well-written and authoritative – at least, as far as the legal side is concerned. It makes clear that an injustice was done and raises the question of what if. What if the law had been allowed to prevail and what if Kelly had been given a fair trial? Would Kelly ultimately have survived?
November 27, 2022
I read a few Ned Kelly books to prep for a class I'm assisting in teaching and this was by far the most comprehensive, unbiased, and easiest to read. I do still think it's important to read numerous sources because of the convoluted nature of the Ned Kelly story, but this one should surely be in the pile.
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