The Kelly Gang Kids

By Coral Vass & Deb Hudson
Reviewed by Barbara Braxton

School’s out and four rambunctious boys chase each other through the streets of Avenel. a tiny town in Central Victoria, causing havoc as they run through clotheslines, accidentally let Peterson’s sheep out of their paddock, and are oblivious to the chaos they cause at the blacksmith’s where they temporarily seek shelter.  But their escapade is cut short when they get to the old billabong and they spy a young boy in trouble in the water, clearly unable to swim and in danger of drowning.  Without thinking, the eldest, Ned, dives in and saves the boy, and suddenly the town’s rascal becomes the town’s hero, awarded a green silk sash by the boy’s family as thanks…

For many, such a story might make the local nightly news and then be forgotten by those not directly involved, but this one is different – perhaps there is a clue in the title – because it is 1865 and Ned is Ned Kelly who grew up to the THAT Ned Kelly who is such a prominent figure in Australia’s folklore, and the other three are his brother Dan, and his friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, all of whom also have their place in the stories of the infamous Kelly Gang.  And the green sash  is still on display at the Costume and Kelly Museum, retrieved from beneath the famous metal armour worn during his last battle with police at Glenrowan in 1888.

Author Coral Vass has a number of children’s books including Sorry Day and Jørn’s Magnificent Imagination that help young readers understand the people, places and events that have shaped this country and this one is no different.  With its rhyme and rhythm that rollicks along like the four boys themselves, the story brings to life another side of Ned Kelly, one that shows a boy pretty much like so many others of his generation but who did an extraordinary thing, both then and later.  It might spark questions, not only about Kelly himself, but what life was like in those days of no internet, social media, television, organised sport or cultural pursuits, and where attending school wasn’t even compulsory until years later. How would today’s kids entertain themselves?

The illustrations bring the text to life as the boys go on their merry way adding humour and drama as their exuberance leaves a trail of destruction, but through the repetitive refrain of the victims, the reader gets the impression that their antics are not uncommon.

“You rascals! What mess!”
the old Blacksmith said,
chasing behind
and shaking his head. 

But WHIZ out of sight
and swift on their way,
the Kelly Gang kids
skedaddled away.

An entertaining and engaging story that could well send the budding historian down many rabbit holes as they seek to find out more about this larger-than-life character and decide, as in this story, whether he is hero or villain.

For those wanting to know more, they might be able to track down Ned Kelly and the Green Sash by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac from 2014.

MidnightSun, 2024
Coral Vass
Deb Hudson

Reproduced with permission from The Bottom Shelf