19. Ned Kelly wore armor for his final confrontation with the police
To some Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is a folk hero, a sort of latter-day Robin Hood of the outback. To others he is a vile murderer and outlaw. According to some sources no other Australian has been the subject of more biographies, and he has been played in films by Mick Jagger and Heath Ledger, among others, usually presented as a heroic figure of resistance by the working class. Much of the legend surrounding Kelly as a freedom fighter rather than a mere criminal is based on a letter he wrote in which he laid out the path which led him to criminal behavior, a document of self-justification which placed the blame for his crimes on the abuse of power which his family suffered under the government and police.
Kelly and his gang faced the police in his final gun battle clad in armor of their own devise, made from the steel of plows which they had stolen. The armor, which proved effective against police bullets, did not protect the outlaw’s legs and arms and during the shootout Kelly was hit multiple times, wounded in his extremities four times, and with an additional two bullet wounds in his groin. Despite severe shock from pain and loss of blood, Kelly survived his wounds. He was tried for multiple crimes, including several murders and bank robberies, for which he was convicted and hanged, finally accepting death which he had often eluded during the reign of criminal behavior which is still known in Australia as the Kelly Outbreak.
