Ned Kelly tourism
Australian bushranger (1854–1880)
Ned Kelly (1854–80) was a Victorian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer born and raised in Beveridge. In a nutshell, Kelly was a poor Irish Catholic who was known for dealing with corrupt British officials at the time, but at a cost of murdering three police officers.
The term "Kelly tourism" describes towns such as Glenrowan and Beveridge which sustain themselves economically "almost entirely through Ned's memory", while "Kellyana" refers to the collecting of Kelly memorabilia, merchandise, and other paraphernalia. The phrase "such is life", Kelly's perhaps apocryphal final words, has become an oft-quoted part of the legend.
Kelly can sometimes be called "The Australian Robin Hood", as he was a political icon and a figure of Irish Catholic and working-class resistance to the establishment and British colonial ties in the Kelly days.
Today, he's still a major part of Australian popular culture, commemorated in different media such as paintings by Sidney Nolan, and in the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Most of what was his remains and remnants can mostly be found on some towns along the Hume Fwy (freeway between Melbourne and the NSW border), including Glenrowan, Beveridge, Benalla and also the state's capital; Melbourne. Major exceptions are Beechworth, Jerilderie, Kyneton and Mansfield.
Kelly's actions still divide Australia up to this very day, as the opinions on what he did largely differs from where you're at, and who you're asking. Criminal, or hero, that's a question left to you to decide.
.jpg.webp)
