Ned Kelly was a scoundrel, bushranger, cattle and horse thief, bank robber and cold blooded killer who led the Kelly gang from 1870 until his death by hanging in 1880.
It says something about a nation that reveres a criminal and serious lawbreaker as a national icon, a man idolised for his contempt of authority and the law.
Australians are mostly law abiding citizens, respectful of the authority of government and the courts but somehow this villain and his legend has won their way into the hearts of a very large percentage of everyday ordinary Australians.
Ned Kelly was no ‘Robin Hood’ stealing from the rich to give to the poor. In fact on occasion he would steal from the poor as well, and threaten them with extreme violence if they did not surrender to his demands. He certainly had a great hatred of the police, troopers or traps as they were called, and had no hesitation in shooting them in cold blood, armed or not.
To understand the Australian psyche, study their value system.
