A RESEARCHER has unearthed a key player in keeping the infamous Kelly gang at large – and traced his eventual journey to editor and manager of the Kerang Times in James Wallace: The Kelly Gang Sympathiser.
The work brings a new aspect to the well-known Australian saga, adding insight to the gang’s survival, their crimes and Ned Kelly’s iconic armour.
According to author Peter Newman, James Wallace used his position as a respected schoolteacher at Hurdle Creek State School to aid the Kelly gang to remain hidden and advocated for gang member Joe Byrne in the Royal Commission.
Wallace fled Victoria in 1882 after coming under investigation for his connection to the gang and a recommendation that he be dismissed as a schoolteacher, before his return in 1888.
Mr Newman’s book details Wallace’s eventual relocation to Kerang as a disgraced teacher struggling to provide for his family.
“Wallace was a major player, probably of more importance than Dan Kelly and Steve Heart,” Mr Newman said.
“He was a very close friend of Joe Byrne and basically did what he did to keep the gang safe largely out of friendship.
“Wallace’s journey is a twist to what has normally been said about the Kelly story and has introduced a new character who played a central role.
“I’m sure he had a role in the robberies, keeping the gang hidden in the hut behind the school, buying provisions, collecting materials in the making of the armour, and was instrumental in setting up Aaron Sherritt to be murdered for betraying the gang.
“We know what he did from the reports by police of the line of questioning he was exposed to in the investigation, but despite all the info from this he seems to have been virtually ignored by most authors.
“He was removed from the district and transferred to a school in Yea so he could no longer provide assistance to the gang once the investigation connected him to Byrne.
“Once everything had blown over, he ended up as a journalist and managing director of Kerang Times in 1892.”
The only photo Mr Newman could unearth of Wallace was of him posing with staff of the Kerang Shire Council and the rival newspaper’s editor, WJ Davey, which was found in a box in the Kerang Library.
“I didn’t have a single photograph of him, so I made three trips to Kerang until I tracked down the photograph, after I heard whispers that there was one with the council,” Mr Newman said.
“Wallace’s time in Kerang is quite interesting too, he used his platform as editor to make political statements until the paper went bankrupt and he left his wife Barbara and many children for a travelling spiritualist Bertha ‘Bonnie’ Litchfield who was 16 years his junior.
“Kerang Historical Society helped me in my research, particularly the secretary Sandra Wesblade.
“She was impressed because that photo had the names of all the people in the photo and her great-grandfather was in it.”
For Mr Newman, a first-time author and life-long Kelly gang enthusiast, being able to unearth the life of such a critical character in the story has been its own adventure.
“I am really just delighted to have come up with something that was original and identified the role that was played by this guy James Wallace,” he said.
“The book has been getting really good reviews on the online forums and it’s been getting a lot of recognition, and so far no one has come out and said it’s rubbish.
“A lot of the books have a slant either supporting or denouncing the gang, and I’ve been able to straddle both camps by staying neutral, just outlining the facts of his involvement.
“Some of the people in the North East who have read it have contacted me to tell me their stories, including descendants of gang members who have never told their family’s history before.
“There will probably have to be a second edition at some stage.”
James Wallace: The Kelly Gang Sympathiser is available for purchase at Collins Booksellers Swan Hill.
