Meet the people of the KellyGang story
Kate Byrne was Joe Byrne's eldest sister and Aaron Sherritt's girl friend at one time.
Our home was near the road, on the left bank of Reedy Creek, opposite Sebastopol and at the mouth of London or Byrne's Gully, a deep gully that ran up towards Aaron Sherritt's selection and Beechworth.
I was born in 1859 and after I left school at about 14 I got a job working with James and Margaret Feely at the Black Springs Hotel near Beechworth. I came home on weekends and when I could.(IJones The Friendship )
I had known Aaron a one of Joe's school friends and our mothers were good friends. As I grew up I became very fond of Aaron and we were often seen together
My brother Joe Byrne had been riding with the with Ned Kelly for some time prior to this event and I later found out that he had been at Mrs Kelly's place on the afternoon when the constable came to arrest Dan Kelly. I suppose that is the reason that he went off into the hills with Ned.
During all this time I used to meet Aaron Sherritt from time to time. He would occasionally come to the see me at the Black Springs, but mostly he would wait until I was home on my breaks. In the mean time I heard about the notorious KellyGang and the mysterious others who rode with Ned and Dan Kelly. Things got really interesting when the boys were accused of the Mansfield Murders and made their way home on occasions. Mum got some money from Joe after the Euroa robbery but we were never rich. She spent the money on the other children.
Before the KellyGang was really formed Aaron gave me a bay filly. Soon after this in December 1877 my brother Paddy swapped my horse with a Chinaman for another horse called Charlie.
After the Jerilderie robbery in February 1879 Sup Hare and Det Ward were seen creeped around my mother's home. Soon after that the good Sup organised a search party to watch my mother's home. When mum discovered this party she also linked Aaron Sherritt with the police and confronted him with it when he came down to visit me one night. He denied any involvement with the police. He even gave me a penny whistle as a present but that did not impress mum. She stopped me from seeing Aaron. He had been thinking of asking to marry me (RC13174) see also (RC13444)
In an attempt to get back at mum Aaron decided to take my horse back. He took my horse Charlie and this led to a real split between our families. My mother went and up to see Mr and Mrs Sherritt and told them about Aaron and his spying for the police and everything. She then went over to see Aaron and accused him of keeping police horses. (See also RC14528)
This was about the end of my engagement to Aaron Sherritt (FH)
My mother had Aaron Sherritt brought before the court over Charlie (OMA29/7/79)
Jack Barry, of Hedi told James Wallace. Barry said that if he was Byrne, he would ride into Beechworth and shoot Ward at the first opportunity. Apparently Ward had seduced me. Wallace asked Barry how he knew. He said he knew all about it, that the information had come through my brother Joe himself, and that he got to know it indirectly."
This is the sort of protection we recieved from the Authorities. (RC14669)
privacy policy
16-aug-10
Catherine Byrne, aged 35, sister of John Byrne, one of the Kelly gang shot at Glenrowan, was sentenced by the Carlton Bench yesterday to six months' impnsonment for vagrancy on 26/10/1891 (Argus27/10/91)
Soon after this I was confined to the the Kenmore asylum in Goulburn were I died many years later. Did any members of my family get up to that city where my parents were married and see me? they lived near Albury