Stringybark Creek facts for kids
Stringybark Creek is a small creek located in the Wombat Ranges, Victoria, Australia. It is famous because three policemen were killed there on October 26, 1878. The policemen, Sergeant Michael Kennedy, Constable Thomas Lonigan, and Constable Michael Scanlan, were searching the forest for the Kelly brothers. The Kelly brothers were wanted for trying to kill another policeman, Constable Fitzpatrick.
The creek is found in the Toombullup State Forest. It is about 50 kilometers from Benalla and 36 kilometers from Mansfield. This area has been made friendly for visitors. It has picnic spots, camping areas, toilets, and walking paths. A special memorial stone was placed there in 2001. It is close to where an old hut used to be. There is also a tree, called the Police/Kelly Tree, near where two of the policemen (Lonigan and Scanlan) were killed. A farmer carved the names of the three dead policemen into it in the 1930s as a way to remember them. Someone later put a small copy of Ned Kelly's helmet on this tree. This made the families of the policemen very upset. The place where Sergeant Kennedy was killed is about 400 to 500 meters northwest, across Stringybark Creek Road.
What Happened at Stringybark Creek?
A group of three policemen from Mansfield went looking for the Kelly brothers. They thought the Kellys were hiding in the the bush near Mansfield. The police set up their camp at Stringybark Creek on October 25, 1878. They did not know that the Kellys were living in a small hut on Bullock Creek, less than one kilometer away.
The next day, Kennedy and Scanlan went to search the nearby forest. Lonigan and Constable Thomas McIntyre stayed at the campsite. The Kellys heard noises from the police camp and went to see what was happening. Ned Kelly decided to try and capture the policemen. He wanted to take their guns, horses, and food. He called out to the two policemen to give up. McIntyre put his hands up, but Lonigan tried to run and grab his gun. Ned Kelly shot him in the eye.
The bushrangers then waited for Kennedy and Scanlan to come back. When they rode into the camp, McIntyre warned them that the Kelly brothers were there. He told them to give up. Scanlan reached for his rifle and was shot dead right away. Kennedy jumped off his horse. He started shooting at the Kellys and ran into the bush. Ned and Dan Kelly chased him, shooting him twice as they hunted him for over 800 yards. Kennedy then gave up. Kelly walked up to him and shot him again in the chest, killing him. During the earlier shooting at Scanlan and Kennedy, McIntyre managed to get on Kennedy's horse and escape. He reached Mansfield the next day to report what had happened.
After these events, Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne, and Steve Hart were declared outlaws. A large reward was offered for their capture, dead or alive. The three policemen who were killed were taken to Mansfield and buried in the cemetery. A large memorial, paid for by public donations, was built in the main street of Mansfield to honor them.
Stringybark Creek in Songs and Poems
In 1879, a book was printed in Mansfield by G. Wilson Hall. It was called The Kelly Gang, Outlaws of the Wombat Ranges. This book included a song called "Stringybark Creek." Many people believe Joe Byrne wrote this song. It tells the story of what happened at the creek in verse. The first part of the song goes like this: A sergeant and three constables Rode Out from Mansfield town, Near the end of last October For to hunt the Kellys down. So they travelled to the Wombat And they thought it quite a lark, And they camped upon the borders Of a creek called Stringbark.
This song has been recorded many times. The Australian folk-rock band, the Bushwackers, recorded it on their 1979 album called Bushfire. In 1880, a local school teacher's poem was read at the event where the monument for the three murdered policemen was revealed in Mansfield. People thought it was an honest description of the sad events.
Images for kids
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Stringybark Creek
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Dan Kelly's and Steve Hart's armor found after the hotel fire. Ned Kelly's rifle and skull cap are in front.
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The place where the Glenrowan Inn used to be
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Greta Cemetery, where Dan Kelly is buried
