He has been described as 'one of the most romantic figures in Australian history' and as 'the father of our national courage'. Yet he was a criminal. He shot and killed policemen. He kept ordinary Australians hostage. He was a thief. Why was he considered a hero and why is he still revered today, more than 100 years after his death? It is a national mystery. He is and was a controversial figure.

His whole family was on the wrong side of the law. His parents were sent to Australia on a convict ship for committing petty crimes. Ned's criminal career began at a young age in country Victoria. In 1874 he was jailed for stealing a horse. Ellen Kelly , his mother, was jailed in 1878 for wounding a policeman.

Also in 1878 Ned and his younger brother Dan were falsely accused of attacking a wounded policeman. Both men fled to the bush where the 'Kelly Gang' was formed. For sixteen months they eluded police, committing robberies to survive. They killed three policemen, robbed a bank in Euroa and held the town of Jerilderie hostage.

In 1880 they took over the Glenrowan hotel and took many of the town's residents hostage. They made armour of thick steel to protect themselves from police bullets. Unfortunately the heavy armour made them clumsy. Ned was eventually captured and his brother Dan died in a fire when the Glenrowan hotel was burnt down.

He was a thief and a killer, so why was Ned Kelly widely loved? People admired his bravery and his defiance of the police. When it was declared that he was to be hung, 60,000 people signed a petition asking that he be spared. He was eventually hung at the Old Melbourne Jail on 11 November, 1880. Today we can still see a life size mask made immediately after his death. It is on display along with other Ned Kelly paraphernalia. He is remembered today in the popular expression, 'as game as Ned Kelly'.