Published on the 11th November 2014 by ANSTO Staff
In the meticulously researched new book from CSIRO Publishing, Ned Kelly: Under the Microscope, award-winning science communicator, Craig Cormick, brings together the latest scientific techniques and expert analysis to settle questions about Ned Kelly that have remained unsolved for more than a century.
“In the process we address many of the Kelly myths, and settle some long-running debates,” notes Cormick.
“By using cutting edge forensic processes and DNA sampling, the book delivers important new understandings of what really happened to this cult figure of Australian history.The Kelly legend, with its blending of facts and hearsay, is ultimately put to the test.”
Ned Kelly under the microscope
The book guides readers through historical documents and detailed scientific tests which not only revealed where Ned Kelly was buried, but the truth about his controversial story.
The multiple paths of forensic investigation have included matching the injuries on bones to known bullet wounds, through to attempts to gain useful DNA samples from Ned Kelly’s blood-soaked possessions.
There is also metallurgical analysis of the famed gang’s armour, and details of archaeological digs at Pentridge Prison and Glenrowan.
And for all of the questions that are finally answered, one sizeable mystery remains: Where’s Ned’s head?
It turns out the ‘Ned Kelly’ skull displayed at the Old Melbourne Goal for many years - before being stolen in 1978 and returned to authorities in 2009 - does not belong to the famed bushranger. (Nor does it belong to another likely suspect, multiple murderer Frederick Deeming.) Ned Kelly would no doubt be delighted that he was still leading the authorities on a merry chase to this day …
ANSTO’s contribution
More than 30 experts contributed to the book including a team from ANSTO, led by Solid State Physicist Gordon Thorogood. The team set out to study one of the big questions: did the Kelly Gang have help making their armour?
The answer would finally reveal the truth about how they were perceived in society and whether they had the support of the community.
ANSTO has the advantage of a range of sophisticated nuclear techniques as well as highly skilled people to co-ordinate the effort in research projects such as this.
In three days the armour was studied at ANSTO under neutron diffraction, parallel beam X-ray diffraction, optical metallography, and X-ray fluorescence.
Using these techniques, the team set out to determine the temperature that the material had been heated to when it was made. This would reveal whether the armour was created out-of-sight, in a bush forge, or in a blacksmith forge, in the community, where temperatures would have been much higher.
“The whole team at ANSTO felt a great responsibility to the Australian public because it was the first time such experiments were performed on one of the Kelly Gangs’ armour,” says Thorogood.
To find out the truth about the life of Ned Kelly Thorogood says you’ll have to read the book but he can reveal that there is evidence the steel used in the armour would have been readily available during the time of the Kelly Gang. Although results suggest the armour was indeed made away from prying eyes in a bush forge.