The tale of the infamous Ned Kelly Gang has been reimagined by a former Mount Isa resident, whose debut novel explores the legend of the gang's escape to North West Queensland
The book, titled Steve Hart: The Last Kelly Standing is a historical fiction and expands on the myth that Kelly gang members, Steve Hart and Dan Kelly, survived the infamous siege at Glenrowan Inn and fled to outback Queensland.
The Kelly gang were a group of 19th century Australian bushrangers based in Victoria whose infamous crime spree has since become pervasive in Australian culture.
Author Peter Long said he was fascinated with outback Queensland and had wanted to write about the area for decades, after living in Mount Isa during the 1970s.
"I loved this area and its people and felt privileged to have witnessed some of its beauty, history and stories," he said.
"I'd always wanted to bring it to the attention of people who never had the chance to experience it for themselves."
Urban legend has it that Steve Hart and Dan Kelly first worked on the Palmer River goldfields in the mid-1880s before heading south to Mareeba, where they joined Harry Readford, also known as "Captain Starlight", on his epic droving trips through western Queensland and beyond.
Mr Long said the novel follows their adventures around Longreach, Coopers Creek and the country where the rich Isa copper, and zinc deposits would later be discovered, out through Camooweal then onto the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory.
"Steve and Dan were reputed to have escaped [from Glenrowan]," he said.
"What happened was that the inn was burnt and two bodies that were barely recognisable, sort of led people to think that it may not necessarily have been them.
"The legend of Steve Hart's survival captured my attention because many of the reported sightings appeared so convincing and the prospect of a police cover-up over the siege at Glenrowan seemed so plausible."
Mr Long has long maintained strong ties to Mount Isa. He chaired the Cultural Coordinating Committee and launched the city's first Indigenous park ranger training program in the late 1970s.
"Because I've come from a country background, a lot of the story came to me naturally," he said.
"I'm just excited I've had the chance to pass on tales of a lot of things that Steve might have experienced."
