Ned Kelly has been in the news again here, with news that his skeleton (minus the skull) has finally been found. Australia has tended to glorify great losses and disasters, and the underdog, whether they were successful or not. Consider Gallipoli – nothing less than a military disaster – but enormously significant for its stories of heroic sacrifice and mateship. Simpson and his donkey is another one. And of course Ned Kelly is another. A bushranger who lived a tough life, doing his best to make ends meet.
Opinions are strong and rife about the legacy of Ned Kelly. As Steve Grace sings, ‘some say he was a good man, some say he was a bad man, some say he was just fighting to be free.’ Whatever our thoughts about the man, some things need to be called for what they are. Ned Kelly’s crimes can never be excused. They can be understood but never excused. However nor can the circumstances of his time. His was an incredibly hard life. From reliable reports of the time, he was not given a fair trial and should never have been allowed to hang.
Another thing we need to get straight is our tendency, even amongst some Christians, to glorify Ned Kelly as an Aussie hero because of his rebellion against injustice. And in so doing so we tend to overlook his crimes. There is indeed a Christlikeness about his standing up for what he believed in, for taking a stand. But the path of violence is always the path of death. That’s another reason why I love Jesus. In contrast to Ned Kelly, Jesus took the path of least resistance and in the process exposed the weakness of violence.
Whatever we think of Ned Kelly, I reckon the following lyrics ask some pretty good questions when considering his place in Australian folklore.
‘Edward Kelly’ by Steve Grace
There was a man born in this land on 1855
Edward Kelly was his name
Raised by a poor man, and hated by the law man
‘Til they laid him in his grave
Brought up in the hard times on a farm in Victoria
He learned to fight for all that he believed
And with his brother Daniel, Steven Hart and Joseph Burns
They lived and died with rebel dignity.
Some say he was a good man, some say he was a bad man. Some say he was just fighting to be free
Were those who judged him of his crime
As guilty when you draw the line between the chains of hell and liberty.
And sometimes I wonder why, Edward Kelly
Sometimes I see you riding with the boys
And sometimes I wonder why, Edward Kelly had to die
Is the justice done when the jury makes its choice
Some say he was a good man, some say he was a bad man. Some say he was just fighting to be free
Were those who judged him of his crime
As guilty when you draw the line between the chains of hell and liberty.
And sometimes I wonder why, Edward Kelly
Sometimes I see you riding with the boys
And sometimes I wonder why, Edward Kelly had to die
Is the justice done when the jury makes its choice
Is the justice done when the jury makes its choice
Is the justice done when the jury makes its choice
Is the justice done, is the justice done
