MY BIO

DAVE. (Researcher, fossicker & historian)

My bio & thoughts about this site.

The story of the Kelly Gang is one of the richest and most fascinating parts of Australian history. Yet the saga in general is full of contradictions, as speculation and arguments abound all the way from Ned Kelly's cradle to his grave! Each person who has ever put pen to paper (or stroked a key) perceives the same part of our history in a different way or from a different angle and this is not unique to the Kelly story.
I will do my best to present what I believe is the truth and have a bit of fun along the way.
Apart from my words, I shall be presenting contemporary newspaper accounts, police reports, eyewitness statements and the like. Where applicable I have included text from various modern authors, however I keep this to a minimum since it is always better to get the full facts from the original sources.
I will be constantly adding to this site as unlike my previous efforts this one will cover it all.

My connection in history with the Kelly story is a simple one. My Great-Great-Grandfather, Peter McCaskill, (Carbost Isle of Skye) owned the first pub in Numurkah. (pic to left is the pub after an addition and new owner) He was the founder of that town and my Grandmother told me that her mother had said that the Kelly Gang visited the hotel and that they were well known and respected there. What would any of them have thought of all this fuss so many years down the track? My background on the internet in regards to the Kelly story prior to this site were the Ned Kelly websites Ironoutlaw, Bailup & Glenrowan1880. I contributed freelance articles to sites for many years. Prior to the previously mentioned sites I operated a site titled 'BAILUP- Kelly Gang Errors' hosted free by About.com. I covered errors in the Kelly story including, books, film, newspapers, merchandising, use of Ned's image and much more. It was a very popular site and a precursor to what was to follow. In more recent times I wrote the historical text for a Kelly book on the analysis of the handwriting of Ned Kelly & Joe Byrne.

In the pre-internet days, I spent many years in an attempt to build up a solid foundation of Kelly Gang knowledge by haunting the State Archives (doing hours upon hours of research) and by amassing a personal library chockfull of books on Australian history with an emphasis on the Kelly story. Even now, I am still learning new things everyday! I hope that some of you will learn some new things right along with me. If this site has been of help to any of you, especially young students, please feel free to let me know.

I hope all who stop by here enjoy their visit.

Dave.

' Russ gut NJC '