So, I was driving home today from Roma after the 50th Anniversary of ‘Easter in the Country’ Festival. If you haven’t been, put it on your Bucket List as it’s a fun weekend, showcasing country life. Love it. As I was driving, I followed a caravan, which seemed like forever (outback roads with no overtaking lanes for kilometres), I noticed on the back of the caravan there was a bumper sticker of a helmeted Ned Kelly with his last three words, as he faced the gallows at Pentridge Prison…..such is life.
As I followed, bumper sticker caravan for way too long, it got me thinking.
Aussie’s kind of love Ned Kelly. In light of the rest of this blog, full disclosure, I have been to Glenrowan, the Victorian town, where Ned Kelly’s last stand happened. I toured the town, took a pic under the huge statue of Ned Kelly and went through all the history.
Here’s the thing though, this week in the news, Dezi Freeman, who fatally shot two policeman and injured a third, in Porepunkah, in August 2025, was killed in a police shootout, this week (early April 2026). The nation was horrified at the time of the police shootings, as they were, when two Queensland police officers were ambushed and killed (plus a neighbour), at Wieambilla, in December 2022. Aussies, and rightly so, don’t like or support in anyway, the killing of police as they do their duty. They have families, lives, hopes and dreams and they go to work, expecting to come home to their loved ones. But four in the last few years, haven’t.
Now let’s talk about Ned Kelly. A bushranger, which is historical speak for an armed robber. Ironically, he felt persecuted by the police and authorities. Which both the shooters in Porepunkah and Wieambila felt. He formed a gang (which the Wieambila shooter did) and ultimately shot and killed three policemen. He was caught in Glenrowen, taken to Pentridge Prison, where just before he was hanged, he said the three words….’Such is Life’. Which is now a celebrated quote, bumper sticker and dare I say, ill informed, alcohol encouraged, tattoo.
Here’s the thing. Why do Australians detest Dezi Freeman yet celebrate Ned Kelly? Let’s imagine a scenario where in 150 years time, stickers of Dezi Freeman’s face adorn our personal space capsules, with his last words. Could we ever believe that would happen? Of course we can’t. It would be absurd to suggest such a thing. But here we are, 150 years after cop killer Kelly was hung for his crimes, we celebrate him like an Aussie hero, not the degradant cop killer he was. He was a thief and a murderer and now we hail him as a revered hero. Why?
Both Ned Kelly and Dezi Freeman are the same….Low life cop killers that have now been extinguished and should fade into oblivion.
Sorry Glenrowan, your time as a tourist spot is over.
Anyway, that’s what I think.
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