Nabbing Ned Kelly: the extraordinary true story of the men who brought Australia's nortorious outlaw to justice

Historian David Dufty has meticulously trawled through police and other government records to try and discover what really did happen during the two year police hunt for the outlaw, Ned Kelly, and his gang, who operated in central northern Victoria and southern New South Wales. The result of the research is the book, Nabbing Ned Kelly, which unmasks many of the myths surrounding the Kelly Gang and their supporters.

It is true that some members of the Victorian police force in the nineteenth century were incompetent but there were members of the police force who were dedicated to bringing the bush rangers to justice. Unfortunately the gang had many supporters who were prepared to supply false information to the police and / or intimidate anyone who did not support the Kellys.

Stealing horses, bushranging, removing railway tracks to derail a train carrying police, taking hostages, robbing banks and murdering three policemen were some of the activities undertaken by this group. Yet there are many people who still believe and propagate the myths that have grown up about the Kelly Gang and their so called persecution by the police. 

Novels and poems have been written and films and television programs made about Ned Kelly and his followers. Some newspaper reports at the time and subsequent articles over the years have clouded the true story.  Dufty's book takes a critical look at the reign of the Kelly family in the region and systematically provides facts from the police records to unravel the Kelly myths.

Another historian, Grantlee Kieza, has written the book, The Kelly Hunters: the desperate manhunt to bring down Australia's most nortorious outlaw, also published this year, on the same theme.