Ned Kelly’s sister, the gun and an unwanted kiss
The incident that forced Ned Kelly on the run was sparked by an amorous constable who was supposed to be arresting Ned’s brother — but had eyes for his sister instead.
The initials “KK” are inscribed on the stock of a pistol found in the wall of a house at Forbes in New South Wales thirteen years ago.
It is an ordinary-looking pistol, certainly nothing fancy, and the sort of gun that was issued to police in the 19th century.
But because the house was where Kate Kelly, the sister of bushranger Ned, lived the last 10 years of her life, it fetched an impressive $72,870 at auction in 2007.
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If it is really the gun that once belonged to the sister of Australia’s armour-plated outlaw, what a story it must have to tell. Kelly’s sibling was, by most accounts, no shrinking violet. She was a staunch supporter of her brother and according to legend is credited with the incident that sent Ned on the run.
She was born Catherine Ada Kelly on July 12, 1863, at Beveridge, Victoria. Kate was the seventh child in the family. Her father, Irish-born John “Red” Kelly, had been transported to Van Diemen’s Land on a conviction of theft in 1841.
Red made some money on the goldfields to establish himself on a farm at Beveridge, breeding cattle and horses. He married the feisty Ellen Quinn, whose family had arrived from Ireland as assisted migrants, also in 1841.
Ellen defied her parents to marry Red. The couple had their first child, Mary Jane, about 1850, but she died in infancy. More children followed: Anne in 1853, Edward (Ned) in 1854, Margaret (Maggie) in 1857, James (Jim) in 1858 and Dan in 1861.
The family prospered at the Beveridge farm for many years. But Red borrowed too much and was forced to sell his property and move. His business ventures failing, and finding himself increasingly harassed by the police as a former convict, he took to drinking. Then in 1865 he served a six-month jail term for stealing a calf.
In 1865, Kate’s younger sister Grace was born and in 1866, Ned stole a horse, giving his brother’s name as an alias to police. Ned was not convicted but it brought him to the notice of authorities.
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Two days after Christmas that year, Kate’s father died. Ellen, left destitute, took out her frustrations on other people and was convicted of assault on at least two occasions.
In 1867, Ellen moved the family to the town of Greta and in 1868 took up a selection at Eleven Mile Creek, between Greta and Glenrowan, where she would be nearer her Quinn family relatives. But the land was poor and once more, they were soon struggling to survive.
Ellen ran a “sly grog” shop from the family home and the Kellys were often suspected of thefts of livestock in the area.
Ned was also earning a reputation — avoiding conviction for assaulting a Chinese man in 1869 and suspected of being an accomplice of bushranger Harry Power in 1870.
By 1870, Kate was looking after another sister, Ellen jr, sired by William Frost.
Ellen sr then married George King in 1874, by which time Kate had ended formal education and was working full time helping her mother raise the family — soon expanded by two: John (Jack) and Alice. Kate’s mother later said: “Dear little Kate! I can see her now bustling about the place, keeping things tidy, helping outside whenever she got the chance; she was always bright and cheerful, just like a sunbeam about the house.”
By then Ned and Jim were both convicted criminals. And hardened by his time inside, Ned continued a life of crime with the aid of his siblings. In 1878 a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Dan Kelly. On April 15, Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick of Benalla police station was dispatched to take charge of the station at Greta and told to arrest Dan on his way. Fitzpatrick stopped off at Lindsay’s, an unlicensed establishment at Winton, for a few drinks along the way.
According to Fitzpatrick’s account, he tried to arrest Dan but claims he was assaulted by family members and shot in the wrist by Ned. After allegedly removing the bullet with his own pen-knife, the constable was released to make his way back to Lindsay’s where the proprietor provided brandy, first aid and a trip back to Benalla.
Fitzpatrick’s account only briefly mentions the presence of Ned’s sister. But Ellen sr told a different story. She claimed that Fitzpatrick — a known womaniser — had come into their home under the influence of alcohol and tried to kiss Kate. “She was a fine, good looking girl, Kate,” Ellen said. “The boys tried to stop him. He was a fool.”
It is unlikely that Ned would have fired at the officer in a small room filled with family members. Fitzpatrick’s wrist was probably injured as the brothers hustled him out of the house. During the stoush he was relieved of his pistol, thought to be the pistol sold at auction in 2007.
But Fitzpatrick’s story, with all its holes and inconsistencies, was what the authorities believed. Warrants were soon issued for family members including Ellen, Ned, Dan, Maggie’s husband William Skillion and Kelly’s neighbour William Williamson, long suspected of being an accomplice in Kelly exploits. Dan and Ned went into hiding while Ellen Kelly, Skillion and Williamson were arrested.
Kate was left looking after the family and providing assistance to her brothers and their gang while they were on the run. In October 1878, Ned and his gang shot dead three policemen at Stringybark Creek. The gang were declared outlaws, making it lawful for any citizen to shoot them dead.
Police kept Kate under surveillance but she often evaded them and managed to keep supply lines open to the gang on their two-year crime spree. On a trip from Melbourne, she helped Maggie avoid being caught with ammunition by deftly offloading it to a sympathiser through a train window.
When Ned made his last stand at Glenrowan on June 28, 1880, Kate and other family members made their way there. Kate, Maggie and Grace were allowed time with their captured brother and later claimed the charred bodies of Dan and gang members Joe Byrne and Steve Hart.
Dan and Steve’s bodies were taken back to Greta where police raided a wake for the men attended by Kate and other family members.
Kate was never called to testify at Ned’s trial but she was in Melbourne throughout it, visiting her brother whenever permitted. She was followed by reporters wherever she went as she raised funds for Ned’s defence and begged influential people to show her brother clemency. She made her last visit to Ned on November 10, 1880. He was hanged on November 11.
Kate could have capitalised on her fame. But oddly enough, when she toured with travelling shows, showing off her shooting and riding skills, she used a pseudonym.
In 1888 she settled down in Forbes to marry William “Brickie” Foster. The couple had six children, three of whom died in infancy. After the birth and death of her last child, Catherine, in 1898, she became depressed and was found drowned in a lake at Forbes.
• This is an edited version of a story first published in 2007
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