One of the earliest theatrical recreations of the Ned Kelly story aquired

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Berkelouw Books has acquired one of the earliest theatrical recreations of the story of Ned Kelly, Australia’s most famous folk hero.

Valued at $3000 (AUD) the play entitled The Kelly Gang or The Career of Ned Kelly the Iron Clad Bushranger of Australia was performed in 1908 only 28 years after Ned Kelly was hanged for murder at the Old Melbourne Gaol.

“It is one of the earliest, if not in fact, the earliest theatrical recreation of the Ned Kelly story in any written form” said Leo Berkelouw owner of Berkelouw Books.

The play was written by James Bell in 1907 and the original manuscript is written entirely in longhand in an exercise book comprising a cast of characters and scene plots on 102 single sided pages.

Included with the manuscript is the promotional broadsheet advertising the play.

It was performed at the Colonnade Hall in Annandale on Tuesday February 25, 1908, with Mr Bruce Errington as Ned Kelly and Miss Florence Athorn as Kate Kelly. 

The Kelly Gang shows the historic language, incidents of the adventures of Australia’s legendary crime family and is in four acts: The Murder of Kennedy, Bail Up With Your Hands, The Murder of Aaron Sherritt and The Death of Ned Kelly. 

There are nine separate roll parts for each of the following characters: Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly (Ned's brother), Steve Hart, Constable Fitzpatrick, Kate Kelly, Mr Brown (the bank manager), Constable Bracken, Scanlon, and Maloney again in the same hand writing.

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