The Ned Kelly Touring Route

It may be more than 140 years since the life of Australia’s most famous bushranger ended on the gallows of the Melbourne Gaol.

But the events of that time continue to both fascinate and divide public opinion. Many people’s lives were impacted and for their families and descendents, these stories are personal and powerful. With each new telling of the story in popular culture, in books, theatre, art, music, cinema, newspapers and magazines, in blogs and historical re-enactments, the lines between fact and fiction have often become blurred.

Taking a journey along the Ned Kelly Touring Route from Melbourne to Jerilderie in southern NSW, via Beveridge, Avenel, Euroa, Benalla, Mansfield, Stringybark Creek, Glenrowan, Chiltern, Eldorado & the Woolshed Valley, and Beechworth, is a great way to explore the story in detail, and to discover the different perspectives of those who were actually there, in the context of the times they lived.

Along the way, visit historically significant sites, join a guided tour of places associated with the Kelly story, view original artefacts and artworks at excellent regional museums and galleries and gain a deeper understanding of why this is still hotly debated and often mythologised in Australian popular culture.

The route not only connects destinations immortalised the events of the “Kelly saga” of the 1860s and 1870s, it also offers a ready-made itinerary for a memorable road trip that takes in a scenic and culturally rich slice of south-eastern Australia.