The Influence of Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang : Repositioning the Ned Kelly Narrative in Australian Popular Culture

GROWING UP IN AUSTRALIA DURING THE NINETEEN-SEVENTIES, I became aware of the legendary bushranger Ned Kelly at an early age; stories of his exploits were taught in primary school, and children often emulated Kelly and his gang in the school playground. The story of Ned Kelly is an integral part of the Australian childhood. Long before learning other national narratives, such as the stories of the explorers Burke and Wills, the cricket-player Sir Donald Bradman, or the slaughter at Gallipoli during the First World War, we learned about Ned Kelly. However, while the Kelly narrative held a prominent position in educational and social discourse, it did not occupy the dominant position in popular culture that it has attained in recent years. Ned Kelly is currently a dominant figure in the Australian national consciousness, largely due to the commercial and critical success of Peter Carey's novel True History of the Kelly Gang, which repositioned the Kelly narrative firmly at the center of Australian popular culture and created a commercial and cultural environment conducive to the production of further revisions of the narrative. Before arguing for the significance of True History of the Kelly Gang and its impact on Australian popular culture, however, it is necessary to provide a brief history of Ned Kelly and the mythology that has developed around him.