LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
Tears of joy are raining in Northern Victoria today as a small town has learnt their luck has just about come good.
The 302 residents of the rural Victorian town of Glettleford have realised their cattle farming town is a glowing tourist beacon after historical records have proven that Ned Kelly once stopped there for a wee.
Born in December of 1954, Ned Kelly was an Australian bushranger who you already know about as he is the subject of more biographies than any Australian ever, with the Australian film industry mostly getting started just to tell his story.
As anyone who has ever travelled to North Victoria will tell you, Ned has made more money for the region dead than he ever did by burning mortgage statements during bank robberies with towns such as Glenrowan, Euroa and Beechworth all claiming to be the jewel in the Ned Kelly crown.
Now Glettleford is ready to throw their repurposed plough mouldboard in the ring after heritage listing the remains of a building they are certain Ned once relieved himself on.
“Neddy is taking us all to the bank again!” stated one cattle farmer who would have fired a few shots at Kelly if he’d tried to take one of his horses back in the day.
“It’s Nedmania time!” Town shops have also got involved by simply adding the word ‘Ned’s’ before their business name, giving birth to new businesses such as Ned’s Takeaway, Ned’s Upholstery and Ned’s Family Funeral Directors.
“You can feel his spirit out here,” said one young tourist who respects Kelly so much he has bushrangers’ last words tattooed on his chest.
“He’s the only bloke who hates the police state more than I do.” Glettleford Mayor Ralph Shelton states there is a plan to turn the site of the infamous urination into a Ned Kelly museum featuring the green silk sash he wore in his final shoot out, bringing the national Kelly museum count to five and the total of green sashes to 12.
“Whether or not you agree or disagree with what he did, we all have an opinion on Ned,” stated Mayor Shelton.
“And the way we see him today is a way that local businesses can now lure tourists in and Joyce can finally sell some more of those watercolours.”
