Joe Byrne

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Joseph Byrne (21 November 1856 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw and member of the Kelly gang, referred to as leader Ned Kelly's second in command. Byrne was born in country Victoria with an Irish Catholic background. He was named after his paternal grandfather, an Irish rebel who was transported as a convict to Australia. Growing up near Chinese mining camps, Byrne became fluent in Cantonese and addicted to opium, and in later years was even mistakenly assumed to be part-Chinese. Through his childhood friend Aaron Sherritt, Byrne became an associate of the Greta Mob, a larrikin gang that counted brothers Ned and Dan Kelly among its members. Byrne, the Kellys and Steve Hart were outlawed in 1878 for the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek. As a result of this and raids on Euroa and Jerilderie, bushranging's largest ever reward was placed on their heads. In 1880, Byrne, believing Sherritt had turned police informer, murdered him as part of a plot to derail a police train and raid Benalla, but the gang was cornered by the police at a hotel in Glenrowan. Despite wearing bulletproof armour in the ensuing shootout, Byrne was fatally shot while making a toast in the hotel bar, his final words being, "Many more years in the bush for the Kelly gang!" Byrne was known for his literary talents, writing out the Jerilderie Letter and other documents on behalf of Ned, and composing bush ballads about the gang. He also had a reputation as a womaniser. On screen he has been portrayed by the likes of Orlando Bloom (Ned Kelly, 2003), Steve Bisley (The Last Outlaw, 1980), and Sean Keenan (True History of the Kelly Gang, 2019).