Justice in Kelly Country: Laws and Outlaws in 19th Century Australia
Ned Kelly is Australia’s most famous outlaw. A mix of frontier bandit, murderer, and gang leader, Kelly has gone down in Australian lore as an anti-establishment hero. Dr. Lachlan Strahan tells the story of his great-great-grandfather, Anthony Strahan, who was one of the Australian policemen who helped hunt down Ned Kelly. Listen to this fascinating story about the famous Ned Kelly, hero worship in Australian history, but also about the men tasked to uphold the law. Episode 569.
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Buzzkill Bookshelf
Lachlan Strahan, Justice in Kelly Country: The Story of the Cop Who Hunted Australia’s Most Notorious Bushrangers
Partway through the Jerilderie Letter, Ned Kelly accused Senior Constable Anthony Strahan of threatening him: ‘ he would shoot me … like a dog’ . Those few fateful words have echoed through Australian history and been the cause of much bloodshed and violence. They ushered in a national myth: the legend of the Kelly Gang. For two days after Anthony reputedly made his threat, Ned and his gang shot dead three police in an event now known as the Stringybark Creek killings. Ned’ s reason for opening fire? He thought one cop was Anthony.
Lachlan Strahan, Anthony’s great-great-grandson, grew up believing Ned Kelly was a heroic outlaw and Anthony the ruthless cop who pursued him. Yet as Lachlan began to explore his ancestor’s life, he discovered an alternative story. Drawing on letters, police reports and newspapers, Lachlan pieces together the life of Anthony Strahan – a tempestuous Irish immigrant who embodied the thin blue line in the bush for 35 years. Bent on justice, he hunted some of the period’s most infamous bushrangers, petty criminals and cattle-stealers. Yet his years-long pursuit of Ned Kelly was never publicly acknowledged, and after his death, the Kelly legend grew to distort his legacy. Did Anthony utter those incendiary words about Ned? Whose version of history do we believe? This is a tale about justice and retribution, morality and vengeance. It is about making a life against the odds in a wild frontier society. It is also a story of inheritance: of the words passed from father to son, and the myths we choose to preserve.
