FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 112, 8 November 1930, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FROM " THE POST

THE END OF NED KELLY

In the pages of "The Post" of this period; fifty years ago considerable space vras devoted daily to accounts of the. trial, and'execution of Ned Kelly, the famous bushranger. Most sarcastic waxes "The Post" in one leading article on the'subject. "It is the saddest and most discreditable circumstance in "all the (lark history of "tho Kelly gang that in the city of Melbourne itself, the boasted homo of all refinement aad civilisation, that there should lave been found 6000 persons so lost to all sense o.f right or wrong as openly to declare their sympathy with the infamous murderer and felon, Ned Kelly, now lying under sentence of death. It is possible that mere maudlin sentiment and-a weak shrinking from tho infliction on this bloodthirsty scoundrel of the. capital punishment he has so richly Ses'erVed and more than earned may account for many of the signatures to the precious petition for his reprieve. But this explanation is no more complimentary to the heads of the Melbourne people than the other is.to their hearts. It simply writes them down fools' instea'dof knaves. Possibly both theories may to some extent be correct. "Whatever the true explanation may be of''-ihis astounding popular demonstration ' in'favour of the most atrocious criminal with which Victoria. has ever been cursed, the fact that'such a display of sympathy should have takeu place is. none the less-to be deeply deplored by every honest man. It is a shameful homage offered to crime; a base and degrading hero-worship of which'tho hero is the vilest of criminals, a miserable, maundering, ebullition- of that w-eak, admiration whichcowards feel for brute courago and fools for clever trickery. We deeply legiret that the City of Melbourne, the capital of Australasia, at the very time ■when the attention of the whole world is: directed to her, by means of her brilliantly successful Exhibition, and •when an unprecedented number of strangers are sojourning within her Trails, should have been disgraced and fliseredited .in. the. eyes of the world by this unfortunate incident."

It as with something akin to joy that ♦*The Post" on 11th November, 18S0, JmnoTjnces that that morning the execution of Ned Kelly took place. "The proceedings were carried out in private," we read, "the gaol officials alone being present. There was a large crowdoutside the building, but ©verything passed off quietly." "The Post. castigates the Australian Judge for allowing Kelly to argue after he had been found guilty, rejoicing -that such ■ latitude would not be allowed in a New Zealand trial. liYALL BAY RACES. : "The Lyell Bay Kacing Club" '(Lyell, not Lyall, fifty years ago), "held the. second of its seaside gatherings: yesterday on "the sands,- lining the pleasantly-situated inlet from which it takes its name. The meeting was favoured by splendid-weather, and was fairly patronised both by the public and; local owners of horses, but owing to the lack of good management on the part of the committee it cannot be described as a great success. The various races were started fully an hour and a half after the advertised times, the •■' consequence being - that the last event was inconveniently late, whilst towards the close of the day a good deal of rowdyism was rampant. Individual fistic encounters were frequently indulged in, and in fact to a certain extent occupied the attention of the crowd to the exclusion of the racing. A refreshment booth on the beach 'drove a roaring trade-during the afternoon. "There were no bookmakers present, and sweeps were the only mode of speculation resorted to. A <barney' took place owing to an owner scratch- . ing-his horse for one iaee and afterwards. wanting to start him." The chief race of the day was the 'Lyell s Bay Cup, a handicap of 40 soys; one mile and a quarter." HAPPENINGS IN WELLINGTON. "For the first time since the tramway has been open, three of the long cai'S were run last evening on one tram, • Srawn by a-, single engine. Tho ears • were- all crowded with passengers, but the engine pulled the load with, ease, and the sharp curves at the various street corners were taken without the slightest mishap. No fewer than 4500 passengers in round numbers were carried during the day, and the manager is to be congratulated upon the efficiency of the general ' arrangements.". , . ' . "Now that summer is rapidly coming in, it appears highly necessary that the ■ thick growth of furse which fringes the Wellington, terrace, above Willis street and Lambton quay, should be cleared away at once. In its present state it is almost like a train of gunpowder, -and once ignited by accident or design when' a stiff northerly breeze was blowing, it might carry devastation right through the most crowded portion of the city. We direct the immediate attention of the Corporation bffieers ■ and the City Council to thisv matter." . "To Let, in consequence of removal to larger brick premises,' newly erected in Willis Street, all those buildings known as the-'Evening Post' Office, •together with the shop recently occupied by B. Cohen, tobacconist. _ The premises occupy the very best site in the City of Wellington, have a frontage to Willis Street and Harbour Street, and are adapted for almost any busi■ness." ' • ■-■'•. "The number or passengers wno travelled on the Wellington railways on the Prince of Wales' Birthday is eshiijLtedat about SOOO. One train from Lower Hutt consisted of 39 carnage? and trucks, all crammed to excess with people coming back from witnessing a sham 'fight by the Volunteers. Fifteen ■of the carriages were the long double -oneß. The train was the longest ever ■ made up in Wellington, and reached from, the north end of the new station to within a short distance of the Pipitea.'.Station. It was brought in from ■ the-Butt by one of the single boiler Fairlie' engines without the slightest hitch occurring—a rather extraordinary feat for an engine of this class. .... "We hear that an arrival platform ■is-to be constructed at the Wellington terainufc,. in order to avoid tho crowding and inconvenience which are necessarily caused by trains both arriving at and' departing from the same platform. The arrival platform, wo believe, will be placed almost exactly opposite tho •present departure platform." .''Boosting a "circus, menagerie, museum, ■ and congress of living wonders" which was about to visit Wei-, lineton, "The Post" remarks: "Certain it is that the varied and really handsome pictures illustrative of the feats performed by man and beast, and the living wonders to be seen in the •menagerie and museum, have created a Sfreat deal; of interest and discussion. The-circus performers comprise equestrians, male and female, female gymnasts, aerial bicycle riders, acrobats, ■acting.-horses (including six thoroughbred stallions, said to be worth 50,000 dollars). The menagerie contains ;a "drove •of camels, herd of elephants, mandrils, baboons, 650 feet of crawling RCTpents, and a large number of other ■animate as well as inanimate objects. A novelty -will be an exhibition of the jaeetriel'ighf."