Discover picturesque towns and villages along the Ned Kelly Touring Route, newly built during Kelly’s lifetime on the back of the gold mining boom that brought new settlers in their thousands to inland Victoria and NSW from the 1850s.
Drive through dramatic landscapes in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, once criss-crossed on horseback by Kelly and his three Gang members and pursued by the police and Queensland Native Mounted Police dispatched to bring them in ‘dead or alive’ after the fatal shooting of three of their members – Sergeant Michael Kennedy and Constables Michael Scanlan and Thomas Lonigan – at Stringybark Creek between Benalla and Mansfield in October 1878.
Continue to the vast big-sky plains of the border country of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers to the most northerly point of the route at Jerilderie. This is a town forever linked with the letter, purportedly written by Kelly and transcribed by Gang member Joe Byrne, justifying the actions which ultimately propelled the outlaws to their demise.
Great scenery, evocative landscapes and heritage streetscapes aside, the destinations along the route also offer a multitude of accommodation choices, great places for coffee, art galleries, farmers’ markets, a sophisticated food and drinks scene with buzzing cafes, cellar doors, distilleries and award-winning restaurants showcasing fresh, locally grown produce of all kinds. There are kilometres of off-road cycle and walking trails to explore and peaceful riverbanks and lakesides for picnics or casting a line.
Take a few days (or even better, a few weeks!) to enjoy this lovely pocket of Australia while you learn about the many figures, places and events from all those years ago that left such an indelible mark on our history.
Explore the Ned Kelly Touring Route.