Show Notes
Ned Kelly: outback legend, or cowardly criminal? You decide! In this kind-of-a-bonus-but-not-really episode, we tackle an Aussie icon, none other than Edward Kelly, better known as Ned, and his gang of rambunctious friends. Some people (Ellen) believe that Ned was a hero, a legend, and a man of the people. Sure he stole a few horses and killed a few cops, but what else are you gonna do in the outback in the late 1800s? Some others (Jess) believe that Ned Kelly was a bad man, actually, and we shouldn’t really worship a guy who stole horses, robbed banks, captured hostages, tried to blow up a train, and yeah, okay, murdered a few people. Whichever side of the Kelly Divide you’re on, there’s no arguing that Ned Kelly is one of the most interesting and infamous people in Australian history. In Part One we’re gonna get a little high school English and discuss the socio-historic context of the Kelly gang before diving right in to Ned and co’s many and varied exploits.
Ned Kelly and his gang lightly terrorised the north east of Victoria for many years, stealing and selling horses, thumbing their noses at the la and the upper-class ‘squattocracy’ they believed were oppressing the poor working class. The Kelly gang were legends – bushrangers, outlaws, the Australian answer to Robin Hood. But ol’ Ned and his pals were also murderers. Ned was a legend in his own corner of the globe, but it wasn’t until the gang bailed up and shot a group of policeman that were out searching for Ned that they became outlawed. The highest bounty in Australian history were placed on their heads, and Ned was determined to get revenge on – in his opinion – the corrupt Victorian police. From this act, their legend would grow, from the north east of Victoria in the late 19th century, to the absolute phenomena that the Kellys continue to be in 21st century Australia. That little corner of Victoria where Ned and pals kicked around will forever be known as Kelly Country. Ned Kelly has come to exemplify so much of what some believe it means to be Australian. But debates continue to this day: was Ned Kelly truly an outback legend, or was he just a horse thief turned murderer that deserved to answer for the crimes he committed? We won’t be able to answer that question in this ep, but we will cover the first half of Ned’s brilliant career, spanning up to the murders at Stringbark Creek. You’ll have to wait for Part 2 to hear the rest.
Our main source this week was Peter Fitzsimmons’ Ned Kelly, which is a great book not only because of the wealth of information in provides but also because, at a whopping 826 pages, you can use it as a door stop or perhaps a brick once you’ve finished reading it. Cop it here https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ned-kelly-9780857988140 To read a biography of Ned’s short but busy life, go here http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kelly-edward-ned-3933 A very interactive and fun website about Ol Ned can be found here https://www.ironoutlaw.com/ If you’re not a fan of Ned Kelly you can have your worldview supported by reading this salty Herald Sun article https://www.heraldsun.com.au/rendezview/ned-kelly-was-a-failed-terrorist-not-a-folk-hero/news-story/5b80433f048c89e6836898b255f44fb0 Should we start a book club? Get in contact with us on the socials! We promise the books we chose will be less than 800 pages. If you like what we do please consider... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Murder in the Land of Oz
As the final installment of our First Nation's themed season, we are talking about January 26th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are back after a (what turned into a much bigger than intended) break!
Whoops we covered another cult. Coming for ya, Jo Thornely. Chantelle McDougall, her six-year-old daughter Leela, her partner Simon Kadwill, and their housemate Tony Popic went missing in July of 2007. Simon was the leader of an internet-based doomsday cult, who believed that through death, a chosen few would ascend to a new plane of reality and usher in the new Aquarian age of existence. So you know, normal stuff. They told friends and family they were moving to Brazil, but their was no activity on their passports. Their disappearance left police stumped. Had they committed group suicide, or had they gone even further into isolation and completely segregated themselves from society? Our main sources this week were the coronial inquest completed in 2017. You know we love an inquest document! https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/Felton,%20G;%20McDougall,%20C%20J%20and%20L;%20Popic,%20A%20K%20%20finding.pdf News articles about the case can be found here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-06/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-begins-into-missing-family/9205656 and here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/cult-leader-simon-kadwell-inquest-hears-police-failed-to-investigate-report-of-dead-flesh-smell/news-story/b828be6ad139699e509c94ce62bc5292 The website for Simon’s “work” can be accessed via the Wayback Machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071103141354/http://www.thenewcall.org/book_sdp.htm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/murder-in-the-land-of-oz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Okay, yes, every show and their dog (or podcast cat) have covered this case. But we just had to jump on the bandwagon. You may be familiar with the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard from the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest, or the hit TV show now on Hulu The Act, or just generally from having an internet connection at any point in time over the past four years. The internet is obsessed with this case, and for good reason – the horrific murder of Dee Dee Blanchard shocked the world, not because of the brutality of the crime – but because of the scale of the abuse that Dee Dee afflicted on Gypsy, her daughter, who she had raised to believe was sick with a whole medical textbook of illnesses. Once Dee Dee was dead, the truth came out – nothing was wrong with Gypsy. She was a victim of Munchausen by Proxy, and was horribly abused by the person who was meant to care for her most. EPISODE NOTES: Friends and neighbours looked at Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as a perfect mother-daughter pair. Dee Dee was dedicated to her sick daughter, and Gypsy was in turn loving and devoted to her mother. When Dee Dee was murdered in 2015, people were horrified. Who was going to take care of poor Gypsy now? But as the truth came out, and Gypsy – along with her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn – was charged with her death, people were horrified to discover that Dee Dee was not what she seemed – and neither was Gypsy. Gypsy had every disease under the sun, from cancer to muscular dystrophy. She was confined to a wheelchair, had tubes all over her body, and had no hair and barely any teeth. She never properly attended school and was in and out of hospital constantly. But none of her ailments were real. Dee Dee was forcing Gypsy to be sick, lying to her about her real age, and physically and mentally abusing her to keep up the sickness routine, so that Dee Dee could keep reaping the benefits of having a sick child. While Gypsy and Nicholas Godejohn were both ultimately convicted of Dee Dee’s murder, many people believe that Gypsy acted in self-defence, and did what she had to do to escape from one of the most horrific situations of abuse conceivable. Read Michelle Dean's incredible longform article on the case here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michelledean/dee-dee-wanted-her-daughter-to-be-sick-gypsy-wanted-her-mom More info about the case can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322839/who-nick-godejohn-new-details-gypsy-roses-boyfriend-man-murdered-dee-dee-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR0c95is1g2caWJ1wSQX9CobuA8rK30l_Z5BDjfW4AAdf-CpbE2IlcVH7kA Information about the case and also Munchausen by Proxy can be found here https://www.yourtango.com/2019322870/what-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-story-gypsy-rose-blanchard?fbclid=IwAR28fu87X_aWdA9iOnfoLHevQ_bfIyiMeabBSbHo-T2YajOWh8ey3vd7YKI For some info on Hulu's stunning new show The Act (this is not a sponsored episode but also – sponsor us, Hulu?) head here https://www.marieclaire.com.au/the-act-tv?fbclid=IwAR2Ohe3PFiupYeS2rfTO3Ux9LoluGAiYbzWQMNMiQJz8RCg5iwvChcyUMHM