[Editor: A poem regarding Ned Kelly. Believed to have been written during the Second World War, when Australia was at war with the Japanese (1941-1945); possibly composed around the time of the battle of Milne Bay (August-September 1942).]
Ned Kelly was a Gentleman
Ned Kelly was a gentleman
Many hardships did he endure.
He battled to deprive the rich
Then gave it to the poor.
But his mode of distribution
Was not acceptable to all,
Though backed by certain gunmen
Known as Gilbert and Ben Hall.
I think it was a pity
They hanged him from a rope.
They made Australian history
But they shattered Kelly’s hope.
If they sent him into Parliament
His prospects would be bright.
He’d function for the masses
If not for the elite.
And perhaps now in Australia
We’d have millions trained with him,
All laughing with a vengeance
At the little yellow men.
If Ned and the guerillas
Were with us here today
The Japs would not be prowling around
New Guinea and Milne Bay.
Since Ned went over the Border
There has been many a change,
Yet we may adopt his tactics
Around the Owen Stanley Range.
Poor Ned, he was a gentleman
But never understood.
We want men of such mettle now
To stem the yellow flood!
[Editor: Origin unknown.]
The Institute of Australian Culture
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