Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 - 1954), Monday 6 November 1911, page 3


THE KELLY GANG. MEMORIES OF GLENROWAN. MR. CURNOW'S STORY. Ballarat, Thursday. In an article in the Adelaide "Ad-vertiser" last Saturday under the head-ing "New Light on an old Tragedy," the writer quoted a Mr. William Grove-nor, of Glenrowan, as saying that the action of Mr. Thomas Curnow, State school teacher, then of Glenrowan, and now of Ballarat, in saving the special police train from destruction that threa-tened it by the act of the Kellys in pulling up some rails near Benalla, was not on his volition, but at the request of Ned Kelly. Mr. Grovenor, the writer added, said that Ned Kelly urged Mr. Curnow, whom he had taken prisoner at Jones' Hotel, Glenrowan, to try and save the train, because he (Kelly) had heard that civilians as well as the police were aboard it. When the matter was re-ferred to Mr. Curnow to-day, he gave this new version of the episode an em-phatic denial. He said that when he had been stuck up by the Kellys when out driving with Mrs. Curnow and her sister-in-law and was taken to Jones' Hotel, he was asked by the Kellys to join in a dance with them. Hoping to get away and save the train he sug-gested that Ned Kelly should accom-pany him to the schoolhouse so that he could get dancing shoes, but after con-sideration Dan Kelly and Joe Byrne accompanied him. On the way to the schoolhouse Constable Bracken was taken prisoner without bloodshed. Mr. Curnow further stated that he was al-lowed to proceed home with his wife and sister-in-law, and Ned Kelly's last words to him were, "See you go to bed and don't dream too loud, or you will all be shot." He at once proceeded to get a red scarf, a candle and matches, and almost immediately afterwards heard the whistle of the approaching train. He rushed to the railway line and, by hold-ing the scarf in front of the lighted candle as a signal stopped the sup-posed train, which proved to be a pilot engine running ahead of the special. The driver of the pilot engine hurried back to warn the special, and so saved it from destruction. The Kellys soon af-ter attacked the police on the latter emerging from the train, and retreated into Jones' Hotel, which was eventually fired. Ned Kelly was taken alive but wounded. Mr. Curnow was voted £800 by the Victorian Government and pro-moted in the service of the Education Department. — "Herald."