THE NED KELLY TRAIL

Head to the Vic High Country for a journey filled with bushrangers, breweries and small town charm

WORDS BY FRED WRIGHT, PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRED WRIGHT AND JOHN HABERFIELD

In search of the real Ned Kelly, we began our journey in Beechworth, Victoria and wound our way through to Glenrowan and finally Benalla. I’d heard from many travellers that these beaut towns were filled with amazing examples of our Australian culture, history and spirit. Not only will you discover the tragic tale of our most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly, you’ll also find many fascinating boutiques, breweries and artists along the way.

BEECHWORTH

Beechworth is a vibrant and welcoming town in north east Victoria, approximately three hours from Melbourne. It’s also a time capsule for Ned Kelly buffs and in its wide main streets you’ll discover designer shops, a brewery, beaut cafes and hotels. Splendid buildings and museums are echoes of the past in what is now perhaps one of Australia’s best preserved gold towns. The legacy of pioneers is beautifully conserved in heritage streetscapes and historic buildings.

To this day, opinions remain sharply divided as to whether Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly, an Australian bushranger of Irish descent, is a folk hero or simply a thief and killer. There’s one undeniable fact, however, and it’s that Ned’s story and short life have proven to be as popular as ever and that his detractors are long gone and forgotten. I guess you could say that Ned really had the last laugh.

It has been said that “what makes Ned a legend is not that everyone sees him the same, it’s that everyone sees him”.

Before we set out to find Ned, I decided to explore Beechworth and see what else this vibrant town could show me – I wasn’t disappointed. The first attraction I happened upon was the Beechworth Honey Discovery. Here you’ll discover the importance of honey bees and the link between honey bee pollination and the foods we eat.

They have a ‘Bee Inspired’ menu, a bee garden, a working honeybee colony and its all ‘Bee Rated’. They also have a ‘Waggle Walk’, a self-guided tour where you learn all about a year in the life of a beekeeper – this walk is named after the ‘waggle’ movements made by a bee when collecting pollen from flowers. Even the beautiful wooden tables reflect the honey bees who pollinated the trees that the timber came from.

After the Beechworth Honey Discovery, it was off to find Ned. We began our second day in Beechworth by spending a pleasant time in Burke Museum, checking out the Ned Kelly Vault. It was here that we learnt about life in Ned’s time and how he came up with the idea of home-made armour. On display you’ll find Ned Kelly’s original death mask, his gun – named Betty, his Brother Dan Kelly’s pistol and the original table from the verandah of the Glenrowan Inn – the site of Ned Kelly’s last stand.

To complete our Ned Kelly experience, we headed over to the nearby courthouse, where the Ned Kelly trial took place and enjoyed a spirited account of Ned’s appearance here after the Glenrowan siege. This was a moving experience and included tales of Ned’s human side.

Aside from being home to Australia’s most comprehensive Ned Kelly artefacts and history, Beechworth also have a fantastic array of inviting boutiques and food purveyors. We stopped into one store, Beechworth Designer Gifts, and chatted to the owner Judy about all the fantastic items she sold, such as metal garden ornaments, pottery, cooler bags, cosmetic bags, and greeting cards. It turns out Beechworth Designer Gifts is a family affair and after our chat with Judy, her son took us to their home and showed us how he creates the steel cut-out garden ornaments with a laser. Simply amazing! Judy’s creations are tailor made for caravanners and RVers and don’t forget her outstanding pottery display.

‘SPLAToons’, a quaint cartoon shop, was just off the main street and it was here that the resident cartoonist and owner, Adrian, drew my caricature under the bannerhead ‘Wanted – Dead or Alive’. The cartoon only took a few minutes but this guy’s a real professional and you’ll love his work. He also draws caricatures on wine and beer bottles. You can even watch on a computer screen as his work of art takes shape.

We discovered a shop called ‘Arte Alchemy’ with creations by the artist H.Fish. He kindly invited us to his home studio near the caravan park in Beechworth. His collection of paintings was impressive, unusual and provocative – just what we were looking for. After making a caravan out of copper wire in under a minute he invited us to see his latest sign writing project on a 1953 Don Caravan. It was great to see an amazing artist at work.

Before leaving town, we checked out few of the free camps and the nearest and best to Beechworth was Pioneer Bridges on the Ovens River at Everton. Murray cod, when in season, are regularly caught here. There’s a small sandy beach, tall shady trees, room for big rigs and a long drop toilet. We highly recommend a stay here.

GLENROWAN

Soon it was off to Glenrowan. Even though Glenrowan is only half an hour away from Beechworth, we decided to have a little pit stop to check out Amulet Wines and Beechworth Cider, located on the same property. You could easily spend time here for the views alone, but the Italian styled wines and sparkling, as well as delicious cider were also a draw card. I was pleased to find that they make smaller 330ml bottles, ideal for the RV and just right for a glass each at your favourite spot.

Upon arrival at Glenrowan, the place where Ned and his gang made their final stand, we found Kates Cottage, a gift store and museum named after Ned Kelly’s sister. Inside you’ll find an authentic replica of the Kelly Homestead, an interpretive display and arresting black and white photographs of the Glenrowan Inn, burning down around the Gang.

Spend some time here to explore the array of information, armour and learn more of the Kelly Story. It’s fabulous! An animated theatre nearby was a change of pace and most engaging with life like figures telling the story of what led to Ned’s final days. It’s a powerful display and puts you right into the scenes as they unfolded.

For a taste of something different, we headed over to the Black Dog Brewery, just out of Glenrowan, and what a find this was is! Located at Taminick Cellars Winery, the brewer for Black Dog and the winemaker for Taminick Cellars are the same person – James Booth. James is the fourth generation of Booth winemakers that have owned and operated Taminick cellars since 1904. He kindly told us the story of Macca, the beloved Booth family winery dog, whose cheeky poses are immortalised on most of the branding for the brewery. Their range of handcrafted beers is excellent, we particularly loved ‘Dead Dog Stout’ and ‘The Leader of the Pack IPA’. Benalla was to be the final town on our Ned Kelly trail and didn’t disappoint.

BENALLA

Benalla is regarded as the Ned Kelly’s hometown and offers many attractions for Kelly enthusiast. Entering the town, you’ll drive through a long tree-lined main street to reach the information centre which also houses the Benalla Museum, home to Ned Kelly’s most prized possession, his green sash. Given to him when he was 11 years old for saving the life of a boy who was drowning, this story was turned into a popular children’s book and outlines the duality of the Ned Kelly story. The sash is excellently preserved and you can still see the bloodstains from the siege at Glenrowan where Ned was proudly wearing it.

Aside from the Ned Kelly Museum, I was drawn to another museum called The Benalla Migrant Camp Photographic Exhibition. Here you’ll find photos and records of almost 60,000 migrants who immigrated here after WWII. Looking at the photos lining the walls, learning about the people who came here and the ways in which they earnt the money necessary to pay for their passage and keep in Australia was absorbing. Times today have certainly changed, but it’s important that the stories and memories remain.

FINAL WORDS

The Ned Kelly trail is somewhere special in Australia, set in the beautiful high country of NE Victoria, it will surely resonate with all who travel there and explore and experience an important part of our history. Of course the Kelly family were immigrants, like so many others to this now multicultural land and their contributions to our Australian way of life have been enormous and helped to make us the country we are today. Let’s hope these museums and historic tours are preserved for generations to come, so many more can learn of their struggles and achievements. The Vic High Country is one of the best caravanning regions, you’ll find so many fascinating towns and hamlets, full of great attractions and beaut places to stay – you’ll never want to leave.