This short film by year 5 & 6 students Hamish, Lockie, Rory & Owen from Beechworth Primary School explores an interesting story around Ned Kelly's armour.
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TRANSCRIPT
MATTHEW: The Mystery of the Kelly Gang Armour Revealed. We're opening with the infamous Kelly Gang and their amazing armour.
Ned Kelly had a long history in Beechworth because he lived here and was in jail here.
A member of the Kelly Gang was Joe Byrne. He was friends with a lot of Chinese miners, and we believe that Joe got the idea for the Kelly Gang's armor from this Japanese suit of armour.
-What do you know about the link between this suit of armour and the Kelly Gang Armour?
-Good question, Hamish Apparently, Joe Byrne, who was one of the Kelly Gang, who was a big friend of the Chinese that used to live in Beechworth, came to a parade in 1873 in Beechworth. And he saw someone wearing that suit of armour, that one there. And he probably was so inspired that he went and said to Ned, boy, have I got an idea for you. And the idea was what?
-This suit of armour.
-The suit of armour.
-At the Beechworth Parade of 1873, a Chinese miner was wearing a Japanese suit of armour.
MATTHEW: So that is the story of how the Kelly Gang got the idea of their armour.