The Argus
5 /11/1878
... part of the KellyGang story
Full text of article
THE PURSUIT OF THE KELLYS
(BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER)
BENALLA, MONDAY AFTERNOON
Scarcely any particulars have reached here by telegraph relative to the men seen at Barnawartha on Wednesday beyond the few lines transmitted to Melbourne last night. The party had five horses, and one of them bore a bell brand—the brand of the pack-horse which was taken out from Mansfield by Sergeant Kennedy. Another horse had the ordinary broad-arrow upon it. Ready co-operation is afforded to the police by the Railway department and the Telegraph-office.
The message received from Superintendent Nicolson, at Chiltern on Sunday, rendered it necessary to despatch some extra men forthwith, and by 11 p.m. a special train was placed at the disposal of Superintendent Sadleir. Six or seven of the men who arrived at 9 p.m. from Mansfield , were sent off by this train, under the command of Sergeant Steele. They had a good rest at Mansfield , after their three days of hard bushwork; and though they and their horses had just come off a forty-mile journey, yet they were prepared to start again, in a little more than an hour. They would get a short rest in the train before they took the road again. From the telegraph office the police authorities received invaluable aid, and the wires are available each night until a late hour. The stationmaster (Mr Sax) appears to do all the work himself, and he deserves to be honourably mentioned for the courtesy he has afforded to the press, and the close attention he has given, long after ordinary closing time, to the transmission of special messages.
To-day a short talk was had with Constable Kelly, a member of the party who came across the ranges, via Mansfield , under Sergeant Steele. Though some of the information received from him may be now a little old, the narrative should nevertheless possess some interest, particularly where it touches on the movements of some suspected friends of the Kellys. The tracks of the party cannot be indicated very closely on the map, on account of the few known landmarks in the region drained by the King River; but the general direction can be shown. If the map be looked at, it will be seen that the King River runs pretty nearly due north from the ranges to Wangaratta, where it enters the Ovens. The best plan, therefore, will be to find Wangaratta, and then trace the river southwards to its source. Greta, the well-known hotbed of the Kellys, Lloyds, and sundry other folks of evil reputation, will be noticed between Moyhu, on the King, and Winton, on the North-Eastern Railway line. The Fifteen-mile Creek can be traced backwards, through Greta, in a direction parallel with the King River. This minor tributary of the Ovens rises near Wombat–hill, and close to the sources of the Holland River, which flows in a north-west direction to Benalla. Stringybark Creek, the scene of the murders, runs into Ryans Creek, which runs into the Holland, but is not shown on any map.
If the King be followed up through Whitfield, a point will be reached where the river divides into two important branches, one of which comes down from the Wombat-hill on the west, and the other from the great dividing range on the south-east. A good deal of land has been taken up by selectors, but they have kept quite close to the river, and above Whitfield the selections simply form a chain along the course of the stream up to the point at which the two branches unite; settlement then abruptly terminates.
Nearly the whole of the upper selections are in the hands of an intelligent body of Chinese, occupied in the cultivation of tobacco, the pea-nut, &c. They appear to thrive, and one of them keeps a small store. The junction of the two branches of the river is an important point, for “Quinns’ Paddock,” a notorious place in Power’s time, lies just above it. This paddock, part of an old pre-emption, stretched across the whole of the river flat from precipice to precipice, and completely blocked the entrance to the ravines in which Power lay concealed. The police when in pursuit of Power had to steal by Quinn’s place in the dead of night in order to escape notice, but they passed it boldly in daylight when they returned with their prisoner. The arms they carried prevented any display of hostility on the part of the Quinns. A police station was subsequently established close to Quinns’ settlement, and two constables were stationed there. The presence of the police proved very disagreeable, and when it was found that they could not be dislodged, even by burning down their stables when they were absent, the Quinns sold out, and their land fell into the hands of a respectable settler. It was not considered necessary to maintain the police station after the Quinns left, and the constables were therefore called in. The department has reason just now to regret that this important outpost was closed. A station is occupied at Hedi, however, 18 miles lower down the river, and two men are kept there.
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