On the trail of Ned Kelly

The towering statue of Ned Kelly in Glenrowan. Picture / Visions of Victoria

Ned Kelly has been immortalised on film, celebrated in song and captured on canvas.

In Australia he is an icon, entrenched in the psyche, a true legend, and one which has spread across the Tasman to New Zealand.

Whether you consider him larrikin or criminal, victim or hero, you can now explore the many pieces of the puzzle which makes up the notorious bushranger by following the Ned Kelly Touring Route in southeastern Australia.

The touring route guides the traveller around the various Kelly sites in Melbourne, northeast Victoria and southern New South Wales with the aid of storyboards, maps and even a new audio guide.

This allows you to get a feel for what really happened at places like the Old Melbourne Gaol and the towns of Avenel, Euroa, Stringybark Creek, Glenrowan, Beechworth, Benalla and Jerilderie, which figure large in the Kelly legend.

Along the way you can also enjoy a sampling of Australia's undervalued but delightful small country towns and a countryside which often looks very different to what we see in New Zealand.

If you want to go back to the very beginning there is even a storyboard on the site of the Kelly family home in Moyglass, County Tipperary, Ireland, where Kelly's father Red lived before being transported to Australia in 1841.

But a more realistic starting point is the Victorian State Library in Melbourne, which displays Kelly's personal testament, the famous Jerilderie Letter, dictated by the outlaw himself to Joe Byrne in February, 1879.

It is the only document providing a direct link to the Kelly Gang and the events with which they were associated.

The 8000-word letter has been described as Kelly's manifesto.

It passionately articulates his pleas of innocence and desire for justice for both his family and the poor Irish of Victoria's northeast.

Donated to the State Library in 2000, the Jerilderie Letter brings the famous outlaw's distinctive voice to life, and offers readers an insight into the man behind the legend.

At the Old Melbourne Gaol, where Kelly was executed on November 11, 1880 at the age of 25, you can see the holding cell where he lived after being condemned, the gallows scene and the suit of armour worn during his final battle with the police at Glenrowan.

From the goal where the Kelly saga ended so sadly, it's a huge jump - though only 120km by road - to the town of Avenel where the 11-year-old Kelly was hailed as a hero after he rescued another boy from drowning.

The boy's parents presented Kelly with a green silk sash which - in an ironic link - he wore at the Glenrowan shoot-out.

Today it is displayed at the Benalla Costume and Pioneer Museum, not far from the Avenel Hotel whose owners are descendants of the boy's family.

Euroa, a 35km drive away, takes us from the young hero to the notorious bushranger.

It was where the Kelly gang staged a daring raid and robbed the National Bank of £200 on December 10, 1880.

Police set up their headquarters in Euroa for the Kelly Gang manhunt.

Other memorabilia and the story about the gang's plans are displayed at the Farmers Arms Hotel Museum, also in Euroa.

Benalla, a 45km drive from Euroa, was the main town closest to Kelly's home and central to Kelly's bush-ranging days.

Artist Sidney Nolan's tapestry, Glenrowan, which depicts the siege, is displayed at the Benalla Art Gallery, along with other Kelly-related works.

Kelly gang member Joe Byrne is buried at Benalla and the Kelly family appeared on various charges at the courthouse there.

Glenrowan, 20km on, is where the Kelly Gang bailed up the townsfolk in the Ann Jones Inn as part of their grand plan to create a Republic of Northeast Victoria, on June 28, 1880.

The Australian Government has recognised the national heritage significance of the Glenrowan Heritage Precinct, the site of Kelly's last stand, by including it in the National Heritage List.

The 8ha Glenrowan siege site played a defining role in both the story and the myth of Ned Kelly.

It is where the Kelly Gang, after being hunted for nearly two years, confronted the police. Three gang members were killed that day and Kelly was wounded and captured. Five months later he was hanged.

If you feel like taking a break from touring and history, have a drink at Baileys of Glenrowan Winery at Taminick Rd, where Kelly once worked.

After that go on to the historic town of Beechworth which is also connected to the Kelly legend.

All four members of the gang spent some time in its jail.

Kelly was there for two years and appeared in the courthouse on August 6, 1880, on a murder charge.

The courthouse is one of several 19th century buildings that make up the Beechworth Historic and Cultural precinct.

A Ned Kelly walking tour, which departs daily at 10.30am from the Beechworth Visitors Centre, takes you past many of Kelly's haunts.

The last historic site is at Powers Lookout in the King Valley, 85km from Beechworth, where another notorious bushranger, Harry Power, took Kelly on as an apprentice bushranger.

Power hid himself in the ranges at the head of the King Valley and his camp was located near a hollow tree. He made holes in the tree to give a complete view of the valley.

The highest spot above the campsite is now a popular viewing point known as Powers Lookout, which has magnificent views of the valley, surrounding vineyards and tobacco farms.

Then it's on to Tolmie and Stringybark Creek, 41km from the lookout, where in late 1878 the police hunt for the Kelly Gang intensified.

Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan, Scanlon and McIntyre rode out from Mansfield and on October 25 camped at Stringybark Creek, not far from the Kelly camp.

The following day the Kelly Gang ambushed the police camp.

Kennedy, Lonigan and Scanlon were killed in the gunfight while Constable McIntyre escaped on Kennedy's horse.

On November 1, the Kelly Gang and their accomplices were outlawed as a result of the massacre, which meant they could be shot on sight.

The three policemen killed at Stringybark Creek were buried at Mansfield cemetery, and there is an impressive marble monument in the main street.

The proclamation declaring the gang members to be outlaws was made from the steps of the Mansfield Courthouse on November 15, 1878. The courthouse is still used today.

Glenrowan last year celebrated the 125th anniversary of the famous siege.

Kelly featured in one of the world's first feature films, the Story of the Kelly Gang, which was made in 1906.

Over the years many other films have followed. Kelly has been depicted by Heath Ledger, Mick Jagger, Yahoo Serious and John Jarrett.

Fiction writers who have immortalised the bushranger include Robert Drewe, Jean Bedford and Peter Carey, who won a Booker Prize for his 2001 novel The True History of the Kelly Gang.

He has also been celebrated in song by musicians such as Jon English, John Williamson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Midnight Oil and Redgum.

You can't help feeling Ned Kelly would have a smile on his face today if he knew how much his legend had lived on.