AceHistoryDesk – An effort is underway to honour the memory of a police officer who was held hostage by the Kelly Gang before playing a lesser-known but crucial role in the capture of the outlaws.
Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: May.22: 2024: ABC AU History News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/YouMeUs2
Constable Hugh Bracken was stationed at Glenrowan, north-east Victoria, in June 1880 and was kidnapped and held hostage in the Glenrowan Inn during the Kelly Gang’s infamous last stand.
Ned Kelly and his crew had destroyed part of the train line and killed local man Aaron Sherritt, knowing the police would send reinforcements from Melbourne.
They forced the townspeople into the inn at gunpoint then lay in wait for the train to derail, ready to ambush survivors, but the crash never came.
Constable Bracken had managed to escape and warn police, which gave them the chance to call in reinforcements and surround the inn.
Now, two cemetery trusts and the Victoria Police Historical Graves Committee are working to get Constable Bracken’s contributions recognised.
‘Practically begged to rejoin’
The Greta Cemetery Trust’s Noeleen Lloyd is the great-grand-niece of gang member Steve Hart and the great-granddaughter of Thomas Lloyd Junior, an associate of Kelly and his men.
She is also part of a crowdfunding campaign to have Constable Bracken recognised with a plaque and a storyboard at Wallan Cemetery.
The Victoria Police Historical Society, led by Ralph Stavely, has been working with Ms Lloyd and the Wallan Cemetery Trust to piece together Constable Bracken’s story.
Ms Lloyd discovered that Constable Bracken had been on the force twice and signed up for the third time after the Kelly Gang murdered three police officers at Stringybark Creek on October 26, 1878.
“In 1878, he wrote to the Victorian police and practically begged to rejoin, saying that he had all these skills and knowledge, and asked to be a part of the search,” she said.
Constable Bracken’s request was granted and he spent the next two years trying to track the men while they were on the run in the state’s north-east.
That was when he found himself caught in the Glenrowan siege.
A brave defence of justice
Constable Bracken did not just alert his colleagues to the gang’s plans on that fateful June night — he also helped to capture Ned Kelly.
While Dan Kelly and Steve Hart created a diversion, Ned retreated into the bush behind the inn and tried to outflank the police surrounding the building.
He mounted an attack at dawn but was shot in the legs and captured.
According to the Greta Cemetery Trust’s historical account, Bracken was shunned by the police force after the siege for preventing his superior officer from killing Kelly.
“[Bracken] said, ‘If you shoot him, I’ll shoot you,'” Ms Lloyd said.
“He came to his superiors asking to leave Glenrowan because he felt that his life was in danger … not only [from] his comrades, but also the Kelly sympathisers.”
Kelly was convicted of murder and executed in November 1880.
Constable Bracken, who was born in 1840, took his own life in 1900.
History ‘needs to be told’
A memorial to Constable Bracken does not qualify for funding from the Victoria Police Historical Graves Committee because he is not on the honour roll.
The Blue Ribbon Foundation only provides funding to honour the memories of those who died in the line of duty.
But Victoria Police’s veterans and historical organisations are in full support of having Constable Bracken recognised.
“We’re keen to get behind the Historical Society and help them get the funding and recognition that’s deserved for our long-departed veteran members,” Police Veterans Victoria chief executive David McGowan said.
Between the Graves Committee, Greta’s Cemetery Trust and their counterparts in Wallan, the target of $7,500 is well on its way to being met.
“We certainly have enough money to get a memorial plaque there — we’re pushing to get the storyboard there too,” Mrs Lloyd said.
Constable Bracken has no direct living descendants — his only grandchild died in the 1960s and his eldest son, despite surviving the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, was killed days before the armistice was signed in 1918.
The groups are planning to unveil the plaque on the 125th anniversary of Constable Bracken’s death in February next year.
“It’s an incredible story and part of our history that needs to be told,” Ms Lloyd said.
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