Something from our local press which I thought may be of interest.
Regards, Mike

Tests begin on possible Kelly Gang armour relic

Testing is under way on a metal relic believed to be a part of Kelly Gang armour.

The relic was found in Beechworth's Woolshed Valley in Victoria's north-east in September by a local historian.

Heritage Victoria's Jeremy Smith says the tests will compare the relic with the suit of armour worn by bushranger Joe Byrne.

"Because we believe the piece that's been found at Beechworth may in fact have originally been from the same set of metal, we would expect to find that the metallographic identity would be very similar, so we should get pretty definitive results from the testing," he said.

Results will be known by the end of this month.

Mr Smith says if the connection is proven, the Woolshed Valley site will become very significant.
"I think it's exciting work, potentially an archaeological excavation perhaps over the next month or two," he said.

"In some ways I think the site really is more significant, more important than the object and so there are challenges there in the way that we look after the place."

Source: ABC Goulburn Murray

Are they sure it isn't Mick Jagger's?

I'm not sure, but they won't finish the investigation until they got some satisfaction.

Nice one!

Ned was also known for being into heavy metal...but I don't think the Stones would see themselves as fitting that genre.

On the other hand, it could be that the metal fragment turns out to be a hip prosthesis that Mick left behind, after he made the film, to serve as a warning for future generations of the dangers brought by unrestrained hip gyration.

I think I'd better leave it to the archaeologists.

A follow up story to the investigation. More questions raised, but I'm confident our Heritage authority have done all they can, given their resources.

Relic fails Kelly Gang test
But historian questions method

By Di THOMAS 27 July 2007

HERITAGE Victoria says metallurgical testing of a relic found in Beechworth's Woolshed Valley has determined it is not part of the armour worn by Kelly gang member Joe Byrne.

The relic was found by miner, fossicker and historian Darren Sutton who last night was standing by his claims the piece was part of Byrne's armour.

Mr Sutton called into question some of the figures included in the Heritage Victoria report related to its iron composition and said he would assemble his own assessment team to do further research on the piece including forensic testing.

Heritage Victoria executive director Ray Tonkin said while the results did not completely rule out links to the Kelly gang, they were conclusive enough to rule out further testing.

"We are now convinced this relic is not the missing lap-plate from Joe Byrne's armour and will not be conducting further testing at this stage," Mr Tonkin said.

Heritage Victoria initiated testing of the object to establish its authenticity because historians believe Byrne's armour was made somewhere in the Woolshed Valley.

The piece also looked similar to the lap-plates in the gang's armour suits and also fitted closely with the bottom of Byrne's original armour, which is missing its lap-plate.

Director of cultural heritage research at the University of Canberra, Professor Dudley Creagh, compared the results with his 2004 tests of Byrne's original armour suit.

The testing, including x-ray fluorescence analysis and optical metallography, was conducted at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's Sydney laboratory.

Prof Creagh said the relic did not match the original armour in metal type or composition. "Testing showed the relic had a completely different composition from Byme's armour," he said.

"The original contains significant amounts of tin and lead, whereas the relic contains none.

"The relic's metal is wrought iron, whereas the original was made from steel."

Mr Sutton said Heritage Victoria had never visited Canberra to put the piece up against the original Byrne armour but had relied upon comparisons with a copy held at Benalla.

The authority also had not told the tester the piece had been found above ground and had been subject to several bushfires since which would have changed its composition, he said.

"I have since spoken to a number of metallurgists who have cast doubts on the results," he said.

"I stand by my original determination ... and I'm going to prove it."

- The Border Mail