Editing Ned Kelly (section)

==Family background and early life==
[[File:Kelly House at Beveridge.jpg|thumb|left|Kelly's boyhood home, built by his father in [[Beveridge, Victoria|Beveridge]] in 1859]]
Kelly's father, John Kelly (nicknamed "Red"), was born in 1820 at Clonbrogan near Moyglas, [[County Tipperary]], Ireland.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=284}} Aged 21, he was found guilty of stealing two pigs{{sfn|Molony|2001|pp=6–7}} and was [[penal transportation|transported]] on the [[convicts in Australia|convict]] ship ''Prince Regent'' to [[Hobart|Hobart Town]], [[Van Diemen's Land]] (modern-day [[Tasmania]]), arriving on 2 January 1842. Granted his [[certificate of freedom]] in January 1848, Red moved to the [[Port Phillip District]] (modern-day [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]) and was employed as a carpenter by farmer James Quinn at [[Wallan, Victoria|Wallan Wallan]].{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=284}}

On 18 November 1850, at [[St Francis Church, Melbourne|St Francis Church]], [[Melbourne]], Red married Ellen Quinn, his employer's 18-year-old daughter, who was born in [[County Antrim]], Ireland and migrated as a child with her parents to the Port Phillip District.{{sfn|Jones|2010}} In the wake of the 1851 [[Victorian gold rush]], the couple turned to mining and earned enough money to buy a small [[freehold (law)|freehold]] in [[Beveridge, Victoria|Beveridge]], north of Melbourne.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|pp=284–85}}

Edward ("Ned") Kelly was their third child.<ref name="TA2">{{Cite news|last=Aubrey|first=Thomas|date=11 July 1953|title=The Real Story of Ned Kelly|page=9|work=The Mirror|location=Perth|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75734010|url-status=live|access-date=16 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710031430/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75734010|archive-date=10 July 2020|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> His exact birth date is unknown, but was probably in December 1854.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=261}}{{efn|name=dob}} Kelly was possibly baptised by Augustinian priest [[Charles O'Hea]], who also administered his last rites before his execution.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=378}} His parents had seven other children: Mary Jane (born 1851, died 6 months later), Annie (1853&ndash;1872), Margaret (1857&ndash;1896), James ("Jim", 1859&ndash;1946), [[Dan Kelly (bushranger)|Daniel]] ("Dan", 1861&ndash;1880), [[Kate Kelly (sister of Ned Kelly)|Catherine]] ("Kate", 1863&ndash;1898) and Grace (1865&ndash;1940).{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|pp=262–63}}

[[File:Ned Kelly green sash.jpg|thumb|According to oral tradition, a young Kelly was awarded this green sash after saving another boy from drowning in a creek. Kelly wore it under [[armour of the Kelly gang|his armour]] during [[#Last stand and capture|his last stand]] at [[Glenrowan, Victoria|Glenrowan]]. It remains stained with his blood. (Benalla Museum)]]
The Kellys struggled on inferior farmland at Beveridge and Red began drinking heavily.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=286}} In 1864 the family moved to [[Avenel, Victoria|Avenel]], near [[Seymour, Victoria|Seymour]], where Kelly obtained basic schooling and became familiar with [[The bush#The Australian bush|the bush]].{{sfn|Jones|2010|p=2016}} According to oral tradition, he risked his life at Avenel by saving another boy from drowning in a creek,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=Larry|date=11 December 2004|title=Ned was a champ with a soft spot under his armour|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Ned-was-a-champ-with-a-soft-spot-under-his-armour/2004/12/10/1102625538990.html|url-status=live|access-date=16 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924194201/http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Ned-was-a-champ-with-a-soft-spot-under-his-armour/2004/12/10/1102625538990.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> for which the boy's family gifted him a green sash. It is said this was the same sash worn by Kelly during his last stand in 1880.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rennie|first1=Ann|last2=Szego|first2=Julie|date=1 August 2001|title=Ned Kelly saved our drowning dad ... the softer side of old bucket head|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/16/1032054751911.html|url-status=live|access-date=16 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006002528/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/16/1032054751911.html|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

In 1865, Red was convicted of receiving a stolen hide and, unable to pay the £25 fine, sentenced to six months' hard labour. In December 1866, Red was fined for being drunk and disorderly. Badly affected by alcoholism, he died later that month at Avenel, two days after Christmas. Ned signed his death certificate.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=286}}

The following year, the Kellys moved to [[Greta, Victoria|Greta]] in north-eastern Victoria, near the Quinns and their relatives by marriage, the Lloyds. Several members were implicated in livestock theft, drawing police attention to the clan. In 1868, Kelly's uncle Jim Kelly was convicted of arson after setting fire to the rented premises where the Kellys and some of the Lloyds were staying. Jim was sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to fifteen years of hard labour.{{Sfn|Corfield|2003|p=264}} The family soon [[Selection (Australian history)|leased a small farm]] of {{Cvt|88|acre|m2}} at Eleven Mile Creek near Greta. The Kelly selection proved ill-suited for farming, and Ellen supplemented her income by offering accommodation to travellers and [[Sly-grog shop|selling sly-grog]].{{sfn|Jones|1995|pp=26–31}}