Ned Kelly: Bushranger Trail from Greta to Glenrowan

The story starts in the Greta district of north-east Victoria, once home to the family of bushranger Ned Kelly and to Aaron Sherritt. Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, who joined the Kellys, were members of the Greta Mob. The district is also where the story ends: Dan Kelly and Hart were buried by their families in unmarked graves in Greta Cemetery, and Ned Kelly was finally laid to rest there too, near his mother in consecrated ground.

Location precision: The sources place the Kelly family in the Greta district without naming one house; the pin marks Greta West.

Visitor guidance: Greta Cemetery and the Greta West area are reached by local roads from Glenrowan.

In October 1878 Sergeant Michael Kennedy and constables Michael Scanlan, Thomas Lonigan and Thomas McIntyre camped overnight at an abandoned mining site at Stringybark Creek, 36 km north of Mansfield. The gang's hideout was only 2.5 km away. The gang bailed up McIntyre and Lonigan at the camp, and McIntyre, still unarmed, later escaped on Kennedy's horse. Kennedy's body was found two days later. The three murdered policemen were buried at Mansfield, and Ned, Dan, Byrne and Hart were made outlaws.

Location precision: The camp stood at an abandoned mining site in the Toombullup forest; the pin marks the creek, not the exact clearing.

Visitor guidance: The creek is in the Toombullup forest, 36 km north of Mansfield.

The gang crossed the Murray River between Mulwala and Tocumwal into New South Wales, then bailed up the Jerilderie police barracks and locked up the two constables. Ned and Byrne put on police uniforms and robbed the Bank of New South Wales of £2,141 in cash and valuables, and Ned also burnt deeds, mortgages and securities. He had brought a long letter to Jerilderie, intending to have it published as a pamphlet for public distribution.

Location precision: The sources do not give the bank's exact site; the pin marks the Royal Mail Hotel in Jerilderie as a general guide.

Visitor guidance: Jerilderie is a small town in southern New South Wales.

Glenrowan is where it ended. The outlaws gathered sixty-two hostages in the Glenrowan Inn. Ned Kelly, clad in armour and armed with three handguns, rose and attacked the police from their rear; it ended when Steele brought him down with two shotgun blasts to his unprotected legs. By the afternoon of 28 June some 600 spectators had gathered, and at 2:50 pm police set the hotel alight. The bodies of Byrne, Dan and Hart were found inside. Today visitors can walk the famous Kelly siege sites in the town.

Location precision: The sources do not locate the inn's site precisely; the pin marks Gladstone Street in Glenrowan township.

Visitor guidance: A popular rest stop for Hume Freeway travellers; the siege sites are in the township.

Beechworth was already part of the Kelly story: Ned had once been confined in HM Prison Beechworth, and twenty-one suspected Kelly Gang supporters, relatives and sympathisers were later held there without trial. Ned's committal hearing took place at the historic Beechworth Courthouse from 6 to 11 August 1880, and he was committed for trial on charges of murdering Lonigan and Scanlan. The trial was then transferred to Melbourne. The old court house now has Ned Kelly-themed displays.

Location precision: The hearing was in the historic Beechworth Courthouse; the pin marks the Ford Street area of the town.

Visitor guidance: The old court house in Beechworth has Kelly-themed displays; check opening hours.

After his capture Kelly was taken to Melbourne Gaol and recovered in the hospital wing. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and thousands turned out at protests in Melbourne demanding a reprieve. He was hanged at 10 am on 11 November 1880. The gaol is now a museum, reopened in 1972, and it still holds Ned Kelly's death mask, pistol and a replica of his suit of armour.

Visitor guidance: A museum on Russell Street in central Melbourne; check opening hours and tours.