JERILDERIE

I was in Jerilderie at the start of October 2010, I had not been there for about 5 years. Here are my comments on the changes I found since that last visit.

There are several fine 'Kelly' attractions to be seen in Jerilderie, the Court House, Willows, Blacksmith, Bank, Pub (Royal Hotel & Travelers Rest), Telegraph station & police stables.

Unfortunately after driving all the way to Jerilderie I found the following:

The Court House is no longer the library & I was unable to gain access (possibly open but I could not be sure)

The Willows, open but much of the Historical Society items have been moved aside to sell trinkets & cups of tea.

The Blacksmith, closed unless you ring the owner & can convince him to open. No photographs allowed nor recording devices of any kind.

The Bank, this is the old bank (bank of New South Wales) which contains the safe which the Kelly Gang robbed and was originally housed across the road at the (Royal Mail Hotel) pub. This building now houses a fantastic collection of antiques and has a beautiful English garden and is well worth a visit.

The two pubs, 1. The Travelers Rest, this is the pub where Ned shouted drinks for all. Now it is a residence and not open to the public. 2. The other pub of note is the Royal Mail Hotel, this pub was part of the building which housed the bank robbed by the gang. The publican will tell you that not only is this pub the same as it was when Ned was there, he also tells people that he has the original safe robbed by the gang. Both statements are untrue.

The Telegraph station is in a bad state of repair, the drought has caused walls to crack etc. The building is considered too dangerous to open.

The Police Stables are as I remember them, in need of some restoration, however at least they are standing still.

I love the town, I feel it has great potential for promoting Ned, perhaps on a par with Beechworth. Unfortunately it is being held back by the people who need it most, the local business attractions.

The council on the other hand has been doing a great job of beautifying the streetscape.

Jerilderie would have to be about the best Kelly town there is.

Ned appears all over the town and a visit is well worth the drive.

Things to see:

The safe Ned robbed.

Museum.

Telegraph station.

Blacksmith.

Site of the printer.

Police stables and many many more buildings.

http://us.sydney.com/town/Jerilderie/Ye_Old_Bank_of_NSW/info.aspx

http://jerilderie.local-e.nsw.gov.au/about/1002/22386.html

http://www.jerilderieletterevent.org/picgallery.htm

Jerilderie hopes Ned Kelly link will help it get out of jail

By Denis Gregory
January 19 2003
The Sun-Herald

A town once held hostage by Ned Kelly has asked the State and Federal governments for more than $1.6 million to promote the
legendary bushranger in a bid to revive its fortunes.

Jerilderie, population 870, is concerned about its future and believes Ned Kelly is the best person to generate economic benefits
from tourism.

Jerilderie Shire general manager Charles Gentner said marketing research showed Don Bradman was number one in the national
icon stakes, with Ned Kelly second and Phar Lap third.

Mr Gentner said: "We want to stop between 10 and 20percent of travellers through here to get them to spend money in the town and
we want to attract overseas visitors as well, so we've chosen Ned to lead a tourism-driven economic recovery.

"It's also an opportunity for drought-stricken farmers to look at other ways to make some money. We believe the extensive research
we've done justifies going down this track, even though Ned Kelly was not everyone's favourite."

In February 1879, Kelly and his gang, brother Dan and friends Joseph Byrne and Stephen Hart, rode into Jerilderie at night, locked
the police officers in their own cells, took their uniforms, rounded up every person in town and held them prisoner.

They robbed the bank before galloping away singing. Four months earlier, Kelly had shot three of four police officers sent to track him
down.

In June 1880, after unsuccessfully trying to derail a train, he and his gang holed up in the Glenrowan Inn where again they had taken
some of the town's residents prisoner.

After a 12-hour gun battle ending with police setting fire to the building, Ned Kelly was wounded and captured and the other three
shot dead.

Ned was hanged in Old Melbourne Gaol on November 11, 1880.

Jerilderie, which boasts that it's the only town in the world that's been totally held up by outlaws, has 16 different sites with connections
to Ned Kelly, including police horse stables, the courthouse, the Royal Hotel and a printing shop where he tried to get his manifesto,
known now as the Jerilderie Letter, published.

Mr Gentner said Jerilderie wanted to employ two economic development officers to implement the plan and to sell a Ned Kelly trail,
produce plaques and brochures and look at other products like effigies of Ned that would bring money to the town.

"We don't want to set up a Disneyland," he said. "We just want to ensure the original buildings that were here in Ned's time are maintained
and can be opened to the public to see, because they're a part of history which is significant in Australia."