In the forging of Australia’s national identity, few figures loom as large—or as controversially—as Edward “Ned” Kelly. The bushranger, executed in 1880 at just 25, remains a polarising symbol: a violent criminal to some, a rebellious folk hero to others. His legend, rooted in anti-colonial defiance and class struggle, has inspired countless novels, paintings, and films, cementing him as a perennial touchstone of Au…