Outlaw_Joe_Byrne

Joe Byrne was a literate outlaw and several examples of his handwriting still exist including his signature. While on the run he referred to himself as the enforced outlaw.

Aaron Sherritt: Bush larrikin, trouble-maker and frontiersman. Tough as redwood and flash as Lucifer. Aaron was Joe Byrne's closest friend but their connection to Ned Kelly would destroy them all.

What is the sum of a man? This gallimaufry is a distillation of Joe Byrne - the outlaw lover of whiskey, opium and music.

A list of the many locations connected to the life of Joe Byrne.

Maggie worked at the Vine Hotel in Beechworth as General Servant, where she had been employed (I believe) since 1876. While the circumstances of their first meeting are unknown, Joe was certainly taken by the young woman and she with him. Throughout his outlawry, Joe regularly visited Maggie in her quarters at the Vine, with locals believing her lover to be Paddy Byrne, until she was overheard calling her late night visitor ‘Joe’.

Aaron Sherritt: Bush larrikin, trouble-maker and frontiersman. Tough as redwood and flash as Lucifer.

Friends until the bitter end.

The journey from best of friends to murder is one that has inspired many artists and authors for more than 130 years. By June 1880 the rumour and innuendo around Aaron Sherritt had pushed Joe to breaking point, resulting in the most tragic of outcomes.

This design incorporates elements that symbolise the ssence of Joe Byrne's outlaw life: the iron helmet he wore in battle at Glenrowan, his grey mare Music, and his impassioned letter to his closest confidante Aaron Sherritt.

Cool and modern yet vintage and classic.

Cool and modern yet vintage and classic.

Cool and modern yet vintage and classic.

Cool and modern yet vintage and classic.

Joe Byrne is remembered as the lieutenant of the Kelly Gang, a flash outlaw fond of song, alcohol and opium. An Outlaw's Journal portrays the side of Joe forgotten by many history books: the lover, the poet, a son struggling to live up to expectations thrust upon him in a world he doesn't fit into. Grounded by his love for his girlfriend Maggie, Joe's story is one of drama, romance and tragedy.

Joe Byrne in his iron armour fighting the police.

Joe Byrne and Aaron Sherritt

Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne

Joe Byrne is remembered as the lieutenant of the Kelly Gang, a flash outlaw fond of song, alcohol and opium. An Outlaw's Journal portrays the side of Joe forgotten by many history books: the lover, the poet, a son struggling to live up to expectations thrust upon him in a world he doesn't fit into. Grounded by his love for his girlfriend Maggie, Joe's story is one of drama, romance and tragedy.

"I always said this bloody armour would bring us to grief!" Thus spake Joe Byrne to Ned Kelly as the pair of them reeled from their injuries during the Glenrowan siege. Joe's unique looking armour should have made him more protected from injury yet, true to his prediction, faith in the armour was unfounded - fatally so.

On the 26th of June 1879, worn down by constant questions regarding Aaron’s loyalty to the gang, Joe scrawled his mate a letter. Despite it being written, I believe, while Joe was heavily under the influence of alcohol, it offers a clear glimpse into his mind at this time.

Born in one of the most tumultuous periods in Australian history, Joe Byrne was destined for a remarkable life. Classy, erudite and handsome, Joe was also a larrikin who could speak Cantonese and was an expert at stock theft. When he teamed up with Ned Kelly little did he know that his whole life would change completely.

Joe Byrne was a literate outlaw and several examples of his handwriting still exist including this signature that appeared in a letter to his friend Aaron Sherritt.

An Outlaw's Journal is dedicated to the memory of Joe Byrne, a 19th century outlaw and member of the infamous Kelly Gang. It tells his story through dramatic reconstructions based on detailed historical knowledge.