Constable Hugh Bracken played a pivotal part in the demise of the Kelly Gang, but not even his gravesite is now known.
He was taken hostage by Ned Kelly during the outlaw gang's last stand and later stopped a fellow officer from shooting the infamous bushranger dead - but nobody knows where Constable Hugh Bracken lies today.
He rejoined the force in 1878 after the Kelly Gang ambushed a group of police officers at Stringybark Creek, killing three. The helmeted Kelly was able to convince Bracken of his identity, and with gang accomplice Joe Byrne took him to Glenrowan Hotel, where some 40-plus hostages were held.When police besieged the Ned Kelly Gang in the Glenrowan Hotel hundreds of spectators gathered nearby. "I remarked that the police were only earning an honest living, and asked how he, if he was an honest man, could get on without them?" Bracken recalled.
Bracken managed to steal a key used to lock the hotel's front door, and when the gang were otherwise occupied, he was able to escape and was able to warn approaching police about where the gang were, as well as the hostages.Byrne, on noticing the constable's escape, is said to have exclaimed: "Let me but catch him, and I will make a Bracken of him."
Lloyd, who herself is directly descended from Kelly Gang member Steve Hart, said Bracken had suffered harassment and bullying from fellow officers after halting the impromptu execution.
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