In the first few hours following news of the murders, it became obvious that there was a desperate shortage of basic equipment within the police force, such as horses, guns and ammunition.

Compounding these immediate problems was the fact that police were poorly trained to use their firearms. Many had never fired their revolver: the cost of ammunition meant that even practice shooting was forbidden. By contrast, the Kelly brothers were known to be good ‘marksmen’ and the gang had no shortage of weapons at their disposal.