There is a character in Australian history who is still debated. Some call him a hero, a kind of Robin Hood. Others say he was just a cunning bandit. This man's name was Ned Kelly.

After receiving three years for possession of a stolen mare and being released in 1874, Kelly did honest work in the lumber industry. But this quickly became boring and he and his stepfather began stealing horses.

On April 15, 1877, Kelly had to go on the run again when he and his brother Dan shot and killed a policeman who was trying to arrest them for stealing horses. Their mother, Ellen, had been imprisoned with an infant in her arms for complicity in the crime, and Kelly vowed to avenge her.

The constable, by the way, had violated every job description when he went to arrest the brothers. He was completely drunk when he broke into Kelly's cabin and attacked Kate, Ned's older sister.

Ellen shot the constable in the wrist to protect Kate. Then tried to make peace. Treated the policeman's wounds, fed him, gave him a drink, in full confidence that the conflict was over.

The cop testified that he was attacked by the Kellys and their supporters, and Ned (who probably wasn't even present during the whole incident) shot him three times. After that, he finished the job.

Ned and Dan were hiding out in Wombat Ridge and were soon joined by their buddies Joe Byrne and Steve Hart. The four became known as the Kelly Gang.

To their wrongdoing they found a romantic justification. In their 56-page letter they stated that the Irish Catholics and the poor of Victoria were oppressed by Australian leaders. It was this letter that made Kelly a folk hero. Kelly declared war on the police...

From this point on, the Kelly gang committed two major bank robberies to support themselves and help their supporters and the poor. It is because of these events that Ned is considered Robin Hood.

There was a bounty on Ned and his gang. The police wanted to put these guys in jail at any cost. And the price was high.

A team of four armed policemen was sent to look for them. However, the gang took them by surprise at Stringybark Brook, and three of the policemen were killed, further increasing the £8,000 bounty on Ned's head. Huge money by the standards of the late nineteenth century.

The bandits made their own armor from improvised means, after which their style became recognizable and they wrote in the newspapers of the time.

Three members of the gang had wooden suits of armor and helmets made from plow boards. The boards were donated to them by sympathetic farmers, and a local blacksmith helped make the suits.

But the most effective suit was Ned's. It was made of 6mm thick iron. The armor included a long breast plate, shoulder pads, shields, apron and helmet. The helmet resembled a tin can without a top. It had a long slit for the eyes. The helmet was fastened with leather straps.

Ned Kelly's armor weighed 44 kilograms, and he was protected from all sides, while the other gang members were protected only from the front.

During the shootout with the police, Ned was hit by several bullets, but none penetrated the armor. Some of the bullets did cause serious bruising, though.

The most colorful part of Ned Kelly's story was the siege of the Glenrowan Hotel. After more bank robberies, the gang took 60 hostages in 1880. It is said that the hostages themselves were feeling great: drinking eating food and playing cards.

Forty-six police officers arrived on the scene. For seven hours they fired on Kelly's gang.

In this battle, Kelly participated in his improvised armor that made him famous. In the early morning hours of June 28, he donned an armored suit and climbed out of hiding, suddenly attacking the enemy with a pistol. He moved calmly, dodging from tree to tree. Bullets, however, flew off his armor. He wounded several officers until they hit him in the legs and groin, forcing Ned Kelly to the floor. The rest of Kelly's accomplices were killed.

Ned was imprisoned in Melbourne jail. There he wrote a long letter to the authorities, drawing attention to discrimination against poor Irish settlers. He was then tried and, despite public protests, sentenced to death.

Ned Kelly was hanged on November 11, 1880, in Melbourne jail. His last words, "Such is life," and the legends of his life have become immortal.