Velvet, Iron, Ashes

William Clarke came from a family with vast farming interests in both Tasmania and Victoria. His first wife Mary died in 1871 and in 1873 he married Janet Snodgrass. On the death of his father in 1874 William Clarke's inheritance made him the largest landowner in Victoria. He and his wife lived lavishly, building a grand mansion, Rupertswood, at Sunbury. The Clarke's also gave generously to various charities.

The Kelly armour

The Clarke family connections to the Kelly gang armour come through Superintendent Francis Hare. In 1857 Hare had married Janet Clarke's widowed aunt. In 1870 Hare captured bushranger Harry Power (to whom a young Ned Kelly had been 'apprenticed'). 

Hare led the pursuit of the Kelly gang and was wounded during the Glenrowan siege. He stayed with the Clarke's at Rupertswood to convalesce. After the Glenrowan siege he had claimed a set of Kelly gang armour and gave it to the Clarkes as a gift for their kindness. 

The armour was initially displayed at Ruperswood until William Clarke became uneasy and put it in storage. That armour is currently thought to have belonged to Joe Byrne. The original armour of Ned Kelly is held at our Library.

In another neat connection, when Harry Power was eventually released from Pentridge he worked for a time on one of the Clarke's properties.

In 1892 Hare died at Rupertswood under the care of the Clarkes.

The identification of the Kelly armour has been quite a story in itself. These articles give insight into the research undertaken.

• The True Story of the Kelly Armour La Trobe Journal No 66 Spring 2000
• After Glenrowan: Some Recent Findings on the Provenance of the Kelly Gang Armour  La Trobe Journal No 69 Autumn 2002
• Ned Kelly fact sheet State Library Victoria

Ned Kelly has proved a fascinating if elusive character for film makers.  Some of the major attempts at capturing Ned on celluloid are:

The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)

This film, directed by Charles Tait, lays claim to being the first full-length narrative feature film produced anywhere in the world and is recognised as such by the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The film has not survived in its entirety but fragments have been preserved by the Australian National Film & Sound Archive.

The film’s sympathetic portrayal of the bushrangers drew the ire of authorities who reportedly banned the film in the “Kelly country” of north eastern Victoria. Several years later, in April 1912, the film was banned in Melbourne.

The Glenrowan Affair (1951)

The role of Ned Kelly was played by Bob Chitty, whose previous performances had all been on the football field. Chitty was an Australian Rules hard man who had captained of Carlton's 1945 premiership side.  

The reception for the film in Benalla, where numbers of Kelly descendants attended, was hostile. The reviews were unkind. "Puerile script, deplorable acting and stodgy direction", wrote the Sydney Sun reviewer 

Ned Kelly (1970)

For his 1970 film, notable English director Tony Richardson cast Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger in the lead role, much to the chagrin of locals. The film had a mixed reception. 

• review from the New York Times 8 October 1970, p.62
• our Library holds a range of images from the film shoot.

Ned Kelly (2003)

This version starred Heath Ledger, again reviews were lukewarm.

The True History of the Kelly Gang (2019)

Yet another take on the Kelly story, this time based on the Peter Carey novel. The film features a scene in the domed reading room at our Library