5A

5A’s opinion on Ned Kelly: Is he a hero or villain?

As part of our Term One Inquiry topics, we learnt about the Australian iconic figure Ned Kelly through research and our visit to the Beechworth camp. He has a complicated legacy, and whether he is a hero and a villain is still very debatable amongst the Australians. At the end of our Inquiry learning, 68% of us think that Ned is a villain, 19% think that he is hero and 13% are undecided. 

We think Ned Kelly is a villain because…

• “He chose a villain path and wasn’t being a role model like a hero should.” - Prayag
• “He was a bushranger who escaped from the police. He was also a robber who robbed banks, stole from the rich.” - Krishna
• “Ned Kelly isn’t a hero, because didn’t protect innocent people like a hero would. He also made lots of bad choices like killing and stealing.” - Zaiden
• “He killed 3 police officers, tried to derail a train and robbed many banks with eh Kelly gang.” – Sharanya
• “He murdered people, stole from the rich and bribe the poor.” – Japnoor
• “Even though he saved a boy from drowning, Ned Kelly didn’t stand up for the people and wasn’t kind.” – Agastya
• “He robbed!” – Priyanka
• “He killed three policemen and robbed from the rich” – Tenuja
• “He stole cattle for extra money and bribe the poor with the stolen money”. – Kivain 
• “He is a murderer and very aggressive.” – Hasan
• “He insulted a Chinese man.” – Diniru 
• “He could have been less aggressive and kept his peace contract, instead he rebelled (the corrupted) in a bad way.” – Evelyn 
• “He is an outlaw who killed 3 policemen and gave money only to bribe people.” – Sineysha
• “Instead of becoming a farmer, he chose the negative side and became a bushranger.” – Chloe 
• “His reckless actions hurt many people.” – Isha 
• “He was a person who robbed others and spent his life escaping from the police.” – Ashley 
• “He robbed banks and sole from the rich. He also killed police officers.” – Farhan 
• “He saw a drowning boy in the creek and caught him. The boy was saved!” – Jiro 
• “He killed the police, robbed banks and kidnapped people.” – Aidan 
• “He killed more people than actually saving them.” – Cooper 
• “He killed 3 police officers and lied, he was also very aggressive.” – Aadhavan 

We think Ned Kelly is a hero because…

• “Even though he stole from the rich and killed several people, he risked it all for his life, fighting the corrupted police and saved a young boy from drowning.” – Jahnavi
• “He stood up to the corrupted police and 32,000 people tried to save his life.” – Aneel 
• “He sacrificed his life for the poor by robbing the rich. Without him, the poor people would have suffered. The police didn’t understand and they were on the rich side no matter what.” – Anuki 
• “He stood up to the corruption and got the government to change its laws.” – Hansen 
• “He faced trauma but never gave up; he defended his family; he changed democracy in Australia forever.” – Grayson 

• “He wanted things right and fair, the police were rude to the poor and only cared for the rich and wealthy people.” – Eesa 

   

We can’t decide because…

• “He did good and bad things such as, he stole for the poor and he killed police, but they were corrupted.” – Deana
• “I think he is both a villain and a hero because he stole from the rich, but he gave to the poor. So, the rich people would think he is a villain, but the poor would think he is a hero.” – Krisha
• “He is neither a hero nor a villain because he fought for the poor, exposed corruption and murdered police.” – Dhakshanan
• “He helped the poor, but he killed 3 policemen.” – Mark 

We also learnt cartoon drawing at the Beechworth Camp, and we drew some Ned Kellys.