What were reportedly the last words of Ned Kelly when he was hanged on 11 November 1880 at the Melbourne Gaol?
Ned Kelly words were famously reported to have been, "Such is life". Historian Geoffrey Serle called Kelly and his gang "the last expression of the lawless frontier in what was becoming a highly organised and educated society, the last protest of the mighty bush now tethered with iron rails to Melbourne and the world". In the century after his death, Kelly became a cultural icon, inspiring countless works in the arts, and is the subject of more biographies than any other Australian. Kelly continues to cause division in his homeland: some celebrate him as Australia's equivalent of Robin Hood, while others regard
Ned Kelly beard among men in Western countries in the mid 19th-century, and was worn by many Australian bushrangers, including Ned Kelly, who was hanged in Melbourne in 1880 after he and his gang killed policemen. The day before his execution at Old Melbourne Gaol, Kelly posed for a photographic portrait by Charles Nettleton, which has since become a recognisable image to generations of Australians. The Australian National Dictionary Centre cites this photograph as the inspiration for the term Ned Kelly beard. The term was shortlisted in the Australian National Dictionary Centre's 2014 word of the year competition, but lost to shirtfront, an