Tests planned after farmer hands in 'Ned Kelly' skull

Published on Friday 13 November 2009 21:23

AN AUSTRALIAN farmer claims to have handed in the long-lost skull of Australia's most notorious outlaw, Ned Kelly, to the authorities after it went missing more than 30 years ago.

Forensic tests will be carried out on the skull which, if it proves to be Kelly's, will end one of Australia's greatest mysteries.

The skull was stolen in 1978 from Old Melbourne Gaol.

Farmer Tom Baxter delivered the skull to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine on Tuesday – the 129th anniversary of Ned Kelly's death.

He admits having the skull "for decades" but refuses to say how he came to have it.

Mr Baxter said he has handed it over now after the discovery last year of a grave believed to contain Kelly's headless skeleton. He said he hopes Ned Kelly's full remains can now be given a proper burial.

Victoria state Attorney-General Rob Hulls has promised "exhaustive tests" will be conducted to find out whether the skull is authentic.

He said: "We now have a unique opportunity, using a combination of historical research and modern technology, to test whether the remains are actually those of Ned Kelly.

"To some he was a revered Aussie icon. To others he was nothing but a cold-blooded killer. Whatever people's views, he is a dominant part of the historic fabric of this nation."

DNA tests, forensic dental checks and state-of-the-art 3D scans will all be used to help authenticate the skull, which could take up to a year to process.

Forensic investigators will start by comparing it with historic photographs. They must then establish whether the skull is that of a male, the age at death and when the person died.

Mr Baxter, believed to be from a remote West Australian town, has been in negotiations to hand over the skull for months.

He said: "It seemed like an appropriate time that the skull be reunited with the bones.

Even somebody like Ned Kelly deserves to be buried."

Mr Baxter said: "Hopefully what will happen is that the family will request the remains, including the skull, that have been identified and they will deal with the issue of a burial service."

Asked how he came to be in possession of the skull, he said: "

I don't consider it an act of theft and I haven't admitted to being the person who took it."

A Kelly family descendant has previously offered to provide DNA samples for genetic tests.

Born Edward Kelly to Irish Catholic parents in Beveridge, Victoria, in 1854 or 1855, Kelly was a bush-worker in his teens, breaking in horses, mustering cattle and maintaining fences. He was soon involved in cattle rustling, horse stealing, assault and bank robbery.

A reward offered for him and his brother Dan, for the attempted murder of a policeman, was later increased to 1,000 for each of the Kelly Gang members for the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek.

The gang made their last stand in 1880 in Glenrowan, Victoria, where they took 60 hostages in a hotel. In a battle with police, Dan and two other gang members were killed. Ned was wounded and arrested.

He was convicted of the murder of one of the three policemen and hanged in Melbourne.