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Bushrangers: Ned Kelly and Australian identity

University of Tasmania, Bruce.Tranter{at}utas.edu.au

Jed Donoghue

University of Tasmania

Be they highwaymen, bandits or bushrangers, outlaws are mythical figures celebrated across a variety of cultures. Australians' knowledge of colonial outlaws is examined by asking a national sample of adults if they could name four `bushrangers'. A large majority identified Ned Kelly and a substantial proportion Ben Hall, although less than a quarter could name four bushrangers and one in five were unable to name any bushrangers at all. Australian-born, middle-class, middle-aged, politically informed people who live in Queensland or NSW were the most knowledgeable, with the educational achievement findings suggesting that bushrangers occupy the realm of `middle-brow' taste. Ned Kelly is confirmed as Australia's best-known colonial figure and folk hero. Immortalized in Sidney Nolan's paintings and mythologized in various cultural milieux, Kelly has transcended bushranging to symbolize a romantic and rebellious aspect of Australian identity.

Key Words: Australia • bushrangers • national identity • Ned Kelly • outlaws

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 44, No. 4, 373-390 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783308097127


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