He was an outlaw who wore a suit of armour, rode a horse, and challenged the law and its enforcers. Today, Ned Kelly is Australia's greatest mythological character. Icon of the Australian imagination. But who was the man behind the mask? Was he a merciless killer who unforgivably chose to take up arms against society, or a national hero who was the embodiment of the Australian spirit.
To answer this question, one must first take a journey into the legend that is Ned Kelly.
Ned was born at Beveridge, Victoria, in December 1854. It was during his school years that he risked his life to save…