Hanging about with Ned Kelly

Last night at about 8.30pm I went to Melbourne City Gaol ( I think some Australians heard us says JAIL and thought that's how you spell it!!) Any way this jail is significant because it was the jail in which Ned Kelly was hung and we decided to go on a night tour! The lonely Planet describes it as follows:

"There are some rather camp candlelight tours (not suitable for the under 12),"

Well it didn't disappoint. We were lead into the dark jail in silence and all stood round a candle and after about five minutes of silence this aussie dude dressed as an executioner comes down the stairs with a white sheet on his face....Well Tommy B being the bench mark for maturity wet himself much to the disdain of the others.

We were then shown round the jail and told all about the life of Ned by an aussie guy who I think was claiming to be Irish. For all of you that dont know here is a condensed history of Ned Kelly:

Notorious bushranger, popular icon and national identity, Ned Kelly was hanged at Melbourne Gaol in 1880. It was the final curtain in one of the most colourful and controversial careers in Australia's history. After shooting a few coppers and probably smoking the odd doobie Ned, his brother Dan and mates Joe Byrne and Steve Hart fled to the bush. After robbing some steel they made the now famous steel jackets to protect them from the chasing police.

Police surrounded the hotel and at 3am opened fire. When the smoke had cleared, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart lay dead. Incredibly, Kelly escaped to the bush, only to reappear at sunrise out of the early morning mist to rescue his brother. This time, the police aimed low, where Kelly was vulnerable, taking out his legs in a volley of bullets. At last, Ned Kelly had been captured.

Kelly was taken to Melbourne and sentenced to hang. On 11 November 1880, Kelly, aged 25, mounted the gallows inside the Old Melbourne Gaol.

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