Peter Dunne meets Kelly Gang at Jerilderie
Peter Augustus Dunne is especially remembered for his encounter with the infamous Kelly Gang bushrangers.
According to family legend Peter Dunne was a hero who stood up to Ned Kelly when the Kelly Gang held up the town of Jerilderie in New South Wales.
Patrick Langton Dunne of Sandy Bay, Tasmania, is a descendant of Edmund Charles Dunne, brother of Peter Augustus Dunne, and he reports that the brothers were both appointed to Deniliquin between 1 January 1879 and 8 September 1881. The young Edmund as a "probationer" while the older Peter was a "line repairer".
According to the newspaper extracts below, Peter went to Jerilderie " ...... temporarily to take charge of this Post Office, during the Kelly scare in February 1879" and he showed " ... fearless conduct in restoring telegraph communications by repairing the wires which the Kellys had destroyed when they stuck up the town, which they forbade him to do, with threats taking his life if he disregarded their injunction."
the old telegraph office at Jerilderie NSW. Photograph taken in approx. 1975
by Adelaide Endacott (nee Dunne), grand-daughter of P.A.Dunne.
An article written by Harold J. King in the journal Stamp Collecting, dated 4 April 1968, (National Archives of Australia, series C3629, item 373) is titled The General and the Outlaw and commences with the story of General Sir John Monash, who lived in Jerilderie from the age of nine years. The article proceeds to relate the tale of the Kelly Gang raid in Jerilderie.
... Apparently Jefferson, the postmaster, had been in trouble with the bushranger at some time, so he was instructed to go to Deniliquin, "as it would perhaps not be safe for him to remain in Jerilderie". The Kelly gang hold-up began on February 9th. The telegraph wires on either side of the town were chopped down. Ned Kelly himself paid several visits to the post office "to see how things were going". It was temporarily under the control of Mr P.A. Dunn, who was ordered not to attempt any repairs. By Monday, February 10th, the town was in the hands of the gang, with many hostages being held, and the Bank of New South Wales the poorer by over £2000.
The author of the above account proceeds to acknowledge that "the present postmaster is Mr T. J. Barnett, appointed on March 28th, 1957, to whom much credit is given for assistance with this compilation."
The only official document which has been located is an internal Telegraphs memorandum dated 14 February 1879 (National Archives of Australia, series C3629, item 373) which states:
As it would not perhaps be safe for the Post and telegraph Master at Jerilderie, Mr H. Jefferson, to remain at that place at present, I beg to recommend for the Post Master General's approval that a temporary exchange be effected between him and Mr P.A. Dunne, the line repairer at Deniliquin; Mr Dunne can perform the Postal duties satisfactorily, and I would recommend also that his expenses be allowed him during his stay at Jerilderie."
The memorandum is duly signed, initialled and noted by various officials between the 14th and 18th February. At face value, it implies that Peter Dunne did not go to Jerilderie until sometime after the date of the memorandum but, if read carefully, it refers to appointment to the position of Post and Telegraph Master and does not preclude Peter Dunne already being in Jerilderie. Indeed, it could be that he was selected for the position because he was already in the town. It is also interesting to note that the official memorandum refers to Peter Dunne being able to perform the required duties, suggesting that he had demonstrated competence beyond those of a line repairer.
The official staff at Jerilderie consisted of Mr Jefferson and his assistant named Rankin. If line repairs were being undertaken or anticipated, the nearest centre with a line repairer was probably Deniliquin and this may explain Peter Dunne's presence in Jeriliderie prior to the Kelly Gang's arrival. It is also unclear why the assistant would not have acted in Jefferson's position in a temporary absence. It remains entirely plausible that Peter Dunne was in Jerilderie at the time of the Kelly Gang's raid and that he acquitted himself so well, particularly in standing up to the bushrangers, that he was the obvious choice to operate the office when the stressed Mr Jefferson was temporarily relieved of his post.
Among newspaper clippings kept by his widow in a cherished family religious book (and now in the possession of their great great grand-daughter Margaret Kelly in Melbourne, Victoria, are the following. Unfortunately Adelaide Dunne did not record the source of the clippings and incomplete records of many 19th century newspapers have not permitted the sources to be identified :
newspaper article, title and date unknown :
A telegram to the Daily Telegraph from Jerilderie states that Mr Dunne, Telegraph and Postmaster, who is leaving the district was presented with a testimonial on Tuesday night at the Royal Mail Hotel, in recognition of zeal as a public officer, and his fearless conduct in restoring telegraph communications by repairing the wires which the Kellys had destroyed when they stuck up the town, which they forbade him to do, with threats taking his life if he disregarded their injunction. During the proceedings, Wild Wright, and a half-dozen of his companions paraded the .. street, defiantly shouting "Hurrah for the Kellys!" and otherwise creating much disturbance. Our police have been reinforced by two constables sent from Urana."
another newspaper article (possibly newspaper in Jerilderie NSW) date unknown :
The testimonial for presentation to Mr P.A. Dunne is exceedingly handsome. It consists of a parchment scroll, on which is inscribed an illuminated address, enclosed between gilded columns, capped with classic vases encircled with garlands. At the top is a happily executed representation of telegraphic instruments, the whole being surrounded with a floral wreath, including the rose, thistle and shamrock. The text of the address is as follows : - Dear sir, During your short stay there as Acting Post and Telegraph Station master, you have commanded the respect and goodwill of the inhabitants of Jerilderie and surrounding district, and on the eve of your departure from amongst us, we cannot allow you to leave without expressing our sincere regards and good wishes for your future welfare. Hoping your uniform courtesy and strict attention to duties will son receive the promotions they deserve, We are, dear sir, yours respectfully. (Here follow the signatures). The work displays merit of a high order and reflects the highest credit on the artist to whome it was intrusted, Mr Geach, of Deniliquin.
While the identities of the two newspapers from which the clippings were extracted have not been identified, the first of the two above refers to its source and that source has been located. In the late 1870s, the main means of communication over distances was via telegraph messages. Most news came via the telegraph. When a new newspaper was established in Sydney it was named "The Sydney Daily Telegraph". The first issue of this newspaper was dated Tuesday 1 July 1879 and the newspaper, now known as "The Daily Telegraph", is one of two daily newspapers still published in Sydney at the beginning of 21st century. The following items were extracted from issues in the newspaper's first week of publication. Copies of the newspaper are accessible in microfilm form at the State Library of New South Wales.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday July 2, 1879, p3.
masthead of The Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday July 4, 1879
The Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday July 4, 1879, p2.
Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang may not have been pleased that Peter Dunne had repaired the telegraph lines despite their threats, and was being publicly acclaimed for his actions. Perhaps the Kelly gang had a score to settle. And perhaps Wild Wright was leader of the gang's welcoming committee.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph, Saturday July 5, 1879, p2.
Readers may be aware that the existence of Ned Kelly's Jerilderie letter was suppressed by authorities during Ned Kelly's life and for fifty years later, lest it arouse sympathy for him. However it has emerged and has been popularised at the end of the twentieth century.
So why isn't Peter Dunne mentioned in popular accounts of the Kelly Gang's escapades? That's a good question.
The newspaper reports from the town itself appear to confirm that Peter Dunne was personally confronted by Ned Kelly and that Peter Dunne was threatened if he repaired the lines. The report from the Jerilderie correspondent published in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on Friday July 4, 1879 confirms this version of events earlier in that year.
Peter Dunne's involvement, although unrecognised in later popular versions, is confirmed by contemporary sources from Jerilderie, the location of the events. The contemporaneous and proximate sources suggest that they are to be preferred over versions produced at distant times and distant places. It is not known what sources were available to the postmaster at Jerilderie in the 1960s whose version was told in the stamp collecting article, but he also portrayed Peter Dunne as the telegraph officer who ignored personal threats by Ned Kelly. The occasion of a testimonial, in the town of Jerilderie, for Peter Dunne was also the occasion of trouble-making by Isaiah "Wild" Wright, a well-known Kelly associate and was also the time of a rumoured return to Jerilderie by the Gang, apparently with a score to settle. No record has been located of the citizens of Jerilderie convening a testimonial for Jefferson.
Comment or further information would be welcome.
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