Rise to Notoriety

In 1869 a young Ned Kelly was arrested for assaulting a Chinese pig farmer named Ah Fook. Ah Fook claimed that Ned had robbed him. From then on Ned Kelly was regarded by police as a "juvenile bushranger". The next year, Ned was arrested again ad accused of being an accoplice of bushranger Harry Power. No evidence was ever produced in court and he was released after a month. Historians have debated over this episodeL some see it as evidence of police harassment; and others say that Ned's relatives intimidated the witnesses. In October 1870, Ned was arrested again for assaulting a hawker named Jeremiah McCormack. He was sentenced to three months hard labour. After his release Ned returned home. There he met a man named Isaiah "Wild" Wright who had arrived in the are on a chestnut mare. Wright lent Ned the mare to ride to town. Little did he know that the mare actually belonged to the Mansfield postmaster and that Wright had stolen it. While riding through Greta, Ned was approached by a police constable who, identified the horse as stolen. When he attempted to arrest him, Ned fought back and it quickly turned into a fight. Ned had humiliated him by overpowering the constable and riding him like a horse. Shortly after Ned was arrested he was stuck many times by the constable. The now 16 year old Ned Kelly was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Shortly after Red Kelly's (father of Ned Kelly) death, Ned's mother had married a Californian man named George King. He, Ned and Dan (Ned's brother) became involved in a cattle rustling operation.