Book Launch - Under Seige Francis Augustus Hare

Great-great-grandniece of Superintendent Francis Hare brings the other side of the Ned Kelly story to Sale! One of the central figures in the final confrontation with the Kelly Gang will come under a very different spotlight when author Sue Hare visits Sale to discuss her new book, Under Siege: Francis Augustus Hare — The Man Who Caught Ned Kelly.

Sue Hare’s book tells the remarkable story of the South African-born goldfields pioneer and Victorian Mounted Police officer who became one of the leading figures in the long pursuit of the Kelly Gang and was seriously wounded during the siege at Glenrowan in June 1880. While Ned Kelly has become one of Australia’s great folk legends, the lives of the policemen who pursued him have received considerably less attention. Drawing on family history, archival records and Hare’s own writings, Under Siege looks beyond the familiar Kelly legend and recovers the man behind the uniform — a complex figure whose career encompassed the Victorian gold rush, mounted police service, the pursuit of bushrangers, ultimately, one of the most famous episodes in Australian history.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION- Born at the Cape of Good Hope in 1830 into a military family of sixteen children, Francis Hare originally hoped for an army career. After failing to gain acceptance into the British East India Company, he was drawn to Victoria by the gold rush and tried his luck on the diggings before joining the Victorian Mounted Police. His police career took him to north-eastern Victoria, where he became known for his pursuit of bushrangers including Harry Power and later the Kelly Gang.

During the two-year hunt for the Gang, Hare advocated cutting off their support and supply networks and made use of police informants, including Aaron Sherritt. Following Sherritt’s murder by Joe Byrne in June 1880, Hare travelled with the police contingent to Glenrowan, where he was wounded during the opening exchange of gunfire at the siege.

Although initially welcomed back to Melbourne as a hero, Hare’s career was overshadowed by the subsequent Royal Commission into the police handling of the Kelly outbreak. He later served as a Police Magistrate and died in 1892.

Sue Hare is a former wine editor and academic author and winner of the 2023 Bendigo Bank/Peninsula Writers Club Competition. Her longstanding interest in Australian history and historical mythmaking led her to explore the life of her ancestor and reconsider the familiar story of the Kelly era from another perspective.

Kelly land Glenrowan’s Jesse Sanderson has praised the research behind the book, saying Sue’s work brings Hare to life “not as a character in ‘The Kelly Story’ but as a genuine man shaped by his era”.

There will be illustrated PowerPoint presentation at the book launch followed by Q & A discussion. Collins Booksellers Sale will have copies of Under Siege available for purchase at Bond Street Event Centre with an opportunity to have them signed by the author. Admission free -Bookings essential (email or phone Bond Street)- Bar Open -Book sales by S.P. Hare — RRP $44.95