THE redeveloped Burbank Oval will also have a feature of historic significance – an artillery bunker that was uncovered during excavation of the ground.
The time capsule was almost certainly worked on by Ned Kelly, according to Monti, who is a historian of Australia’s most famous criminal.
Prison records show that he worked on maintenance of the artillery bunkers. He came off for good behaviour in the last part of his sentence at the barracks, which are next door to the ground. There’s no doubt that Ned Kelly would have worked on the bunker that we’ve uncovered and preserved,” Monti said.
Indeed, the Public Record Office of Victoria does have Ned Kelly’s prison records, which reveal the bushranger was imprisoned in the hull of a sailing ship in 1873 for stealing a horse. He worked on a bluestone quarry in Williamstown during his imprisonment.
