Historical information

In July of 1880, Ann Jones' successful hotel in Glenrowan burnt to the ground during the Kelly siege. She had opened her business in the year prior having been unsuccessful in her attempt to run a tea-room business in Wangaratta. The first building on this particular site was the home Ann Jones had built for herself and her family. Two years later she converted the home and added the hotel to the rear of the structure. One year later it was burnt to the ground. This image depicts the streetscape of Glenrowan in 1883, three years after the siege. Importantly, it reveals the appearance of several buildings which can reveal information for how Glenrowan (as a small town) might have stood during the siege. These buildings are of typical Australian colonial "miner's cottage" style. On what would have been the site of Ann Jones' hotel, to the far left of the photograph, a police station stands. This police station was built before April 1883.

This Carte-de-viste (CdV) taken by renowned Wangaratta based photographer William Edward Barnes previously belonged to the donor's grandfather, Daniel Mullins who was a Police Officer stationed at Glenrowan soon after the Kelly gang siege. Today, the siege has become an important part of Australian culture and Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang (comprising of Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne) has become ingrained in Australian history and mythology.

A CdV is a sepia toned photograph mounted on card and is generally of a small size. This particular style was first patented by Andre Adolphe Eugene Disdéri (1819-1889) in 1854. In 1857, the CdV was introduced to England and after photographs of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their family were taken using CdV in 1860 the popularity of this method reached a peak.

Significance

This photograph is part of the Burke Museum "Kelly album" which includes a significant collection of photographs and artefacts connected to Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang. Ned Kelly and his gang have become ingrained in Australian popular culture and thus many museums, art galleries and private collections house material connected to the Kelly story which allows the events and people to be researched and interpreted.

Artefacts and photographs pertaining to the Kelly gang are particularly valuable for Australian museums. This particular photograph is significant for its connection to Wangaratta based photographer William Edward Barnes and to the Glenrowan Siege and Ann Jones' Hotel which burnt down during the siege in June 1880. Taken in 1883, this photograph has the opportunity to provide information about the townscape of Glenrowan shortly after the siege. It also provides important insight into the architecture and layout of the town. To the far right of the image, the photograph depicts the police station which was built on the site of Ann Jones' Hotel which can provide important information for the Kelly story and how the town evolved following 1880. It is also interesting to emphasise that the police station was built on the site of Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang's last stand.

Physical description

This photograph is a sepia image mounted on yellow card which depicts the newly built police station (in 1882) which stands on the far right of the image on the site of the former Ann Jones Hotel. A fence appears through the lower front of the image and an open paddock is to the left. In the rear centre of the image, there is a mountain. In front of the mountain are many trees, most of them gum. The police station is a one storey structure with a veranda and there are three doorways visible in the image. The image depicts four windows on the front of the station.

Inscriptions & markings

W.E.Barnes /
photographer /
Wangaratta /

...1882 /

BMM8087