Screen Australia: Ned Kelly Uncovered

PREMIERES THURSDAY 9 JULY AT 8.30PM ON ABC1

Join Tony Robinson on an archaeological dig unearthing details of Ned Kelly’s infamous last gun battle in 1880. Ned Kelly Uncovered follows the first ever excavation of the Glenrowan Inn site where the iconic Australian bushranger and his gang holed up for a showdown with police. The dramatic siege – which lasted over 24 hours – ended with Ned Kelly’s capture and the death of gang members Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart. Nearly 130 years later, can a team of archaeologists and historians reveal new insights into Ned Kelly’s final moments of freedom?

More than a century after the Kelly Gang rode the ranges of Victoria and NSW, holding up towns and stealing thousands of pounds, opinion remains passionately divided between those who love Kelly as a persecuted champion of the poor and those who dismiss him as a cold-blooded killer and thief.

Will the dig site shed new light on the motivations of a man cast into legend by history? Or have souvenir hunters destroyed any chance historians have of uncovering the truth?

With expert commentary from Kelly experts Ian Jones and Alex McDermott, this one-hour documentary follows a seven-week dig led by archaeologist Adam Ford.

As the archaeologists unearth a host of artefacts including cartridges and bullets, the team conducts tests with fascinating results. Meanwhile, the historians strip back the myth, piecing together the clues to give a detailed new look at an iconic Australian, literally from the ground up.

A Screen Australia National Documentary Program produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Produced by Renegade Films. Developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria.

Click to see production stills