He was an outlaw who wore armour, rode a horse and defied the law and his guardians. Today Ned Kelly is Australia's greatest mythological character. Icon of the Australian imagination. But who was the man behind the mask? He was a ruthless killer who unforgivably chose to take up arms against society, or a national hero who was the embodiment of the Australian spirit. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To answer this question, one must first take a journey into the legend that is Ned Kelly. Ned was born in Beveridge, Victoria, in December 1854. It was during his school years that he risked his life to save a drowning boy who had been swept from the banks of Hughes Creek and thrown into the raging waters. Ned valued all life and refused to look away when he encountered someone in need. At the age of 12, Ned had to leave school due to the sudden death of his father. The Kelly family moved to Eleven Mile Creek, not far from Benalla and halfway between Greta and Glenrowan, an area that would later become known as Kelly Country. The family, like many others in the area, faced poverty and Ned resorted to stealing and selling livestock. At the age of 14, Ned was first brought before the police court on charges of assaulting a chicken and pig dealer, and secondly for aiding bushranger Harry Power in some of his robberies. Luckily, for Ned, he was found not guilty in both cases. But before the end of that year, he was sentenced to six months' hard labor for assault and indecent behavior, the result of a prank on a family friend. Within three weeks of his release, Ned was arrested again, this time for receiving a stolen document. horse. He had no idea that the horse had been stolen, but he was subjected to three years of hard labor. After his release from prison, Ned returned home a hardened but much more mature man. In his absence he discovered that all but one of his thirty-two horses had been stolen, and for a time his determination to stay out of prison kept him on the right side of the authorities. However, it was not long before Ned's feelings changed and, in collaboration with numerous relatives and associates, he carried out large-scale reprisals against those who he believed were persecuting them. In April 1878, a police officer accused Ned's mother of assaulting him. and Ned of shooting him in the wrist. Whether this statement was true or not, the end result was the arrest of Ned's mother and a reward of one hundred pounds was offered for Ned's capture. From then on Ned and his gang remained in the bush. In October 1878 they came across a police camp at Stringy Bark Creek. Ned believed that the police intended to kill him, so he called on them to surrender. Three of the officers resisted and in the ensuing firefight Kelly shot them dead. Ned's reward rose to two thousand pounds and would later rise to eight thousand pounds, the equivalent today of more than a million dollars. But the Kelly gang had many supporters and for two years he helped them dodge the police. During this time the Kelly gang robbed two banks. The robberies were a major factor in the creation of the legend of Ned Kelly. By defying authority, stealing the cattle of the rich and no longer taking human lives, the gang adapted to the image of brave and daring heroes of the forest. The robberies also give us insight into how Ned saw himself. For each robbery he gave one of his hostages one."