Wanted by Robert M. Utley

Author:Robert M. Utley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2015-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

The Larrikin Years

Until a home could be found in Greta, Ellen moved the family into a rundown shanty that served as a makeshift hotel, where her aunts lived. Early in 1868, Red’s brother James showed up. He had served three years for cattle stealing and on this night was drunk. His antics roused the family, and Ellen drove him out with a stick and a gin bottle broken over his head. He retaliated by setting fire to the building, which burned to the ground. Convicted of arson, Uncle Jimmy began serving fifteen years at hard labor. Neighbors collected money to aid the homeless Kellys. Ellen took the younger children to Wangaratta and moved into a small house, leaving Ned and the older children to stay with the Lloyds in Greta. In Wangaratta, Ellen washed clothing during the day and made dresses at night. Within six months, hard work had earned enough money for Ellen to stake out a selection of land near Greta. It consisted of eighty-eight acres and a hut, which the family occupied. Thus Ellen Kelly graduated into the ranks of the Selectors and, like most, never rose much above poverty.

Meantime, in addition to helping his mother improve the selection, Ned joined the ranks of the local “larrikins,” a term that described the younger generation that had been born in Australia. In song and verse, “The Wild Colonial Boy” symbolized the youthful larrikins who came of age in the 1870s. Larrikins regarded as heroes the “bushrangers” whose era was now drawing to a close, men who, folklore had it, robbed the rich and gave to the poor. Australia and its constituent colonies owed fealty to Queen Victoria, her laws, her colonial rulers and institutions, and her police and courts. Larrikins detested the royal presence and displayed their contempt through antisocial behavior—indulging in horse, cattle, and sheep theft, drinking grog to excess, affecting special dress that dramatized their “flashness”—so unruly and troublesome that they drew police harassment and passed time in police custody, the courts, and the gaols. Larrikins were indeed “Wild Colonial Boys.”

Come along my hearties,

We’ll roam the mountains high,

Together we will plunder,

Together we will ride.

We’ll scar o’er the valleys,

And gallop o’er the plains,

And scorn to live in safety

Bowed down by iron chains.

For the larrikins, the Victoria Police Force symbolized the “iron chains.” And for the police, the larrikins symbolized the behavior of the Wild Colonial Boy. As a consequence, the police constantly harassed the larrikins and their families, intimidated them, and arrested them on the slightest charge, sometimes fabricated.

In addition, Ned had collected a herd of horses and a flock of sheep—whether or not honestly is not apparent. He mastered horse-manship and grew immensely fond of a horse’s back between his legs. He also learned the art of sheepshearing. As a lad of fourteen, he had acquired skills usually associated with adulthood—horse breaker, log splitter, fencer, stonemason, and carpenter.

Instead of putting these skills to productive work, however, Ned passed the time riding with the fledgling Greta Mob of larrikins.

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