Police MemorialPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the deaths of Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Lonigan and Scanlan, members of the Victorian Police Force, who were killed at the infamous shoot out between police and the Kelly Gang at this site in 1878.
On 26 October 1878, Constable Thomas McIntyre was the only police officer to survive an attack on a police camp at Stringybark Creek in the Wombat Ranges near Mansfield.
Ned and Dan Kelly, two horse and cattle thieves, aided by friends Steve Hart and Joe Byrne ambushed the police. McIntyre was captured by the Gang while Constables Michael Scanlan and Thomas Lonigan were shot dead. Sergeant Michael Kennedy then fought a lone gun battle against the four murderers until he was wounded and fell to the ground. Defenceless, he was then murdered by Ned Kelly. Several children – the youngest a mere baby – were made fatherless by these brutal killings and the bodies of the dead police were looted by the gang.
Thomas McIntyre escaped and, tormented for the rest of his life over the affair, later wrote this account of what happened. After the shoot-out at Glenrowan, Thomas McIntyre was the only living witness to what had occurred at Stringybark Creek. Unsurprisingly, his version of events differed markedly from that given by Ned Kelly at Kelly’s trial in Melbourne.
Location
| Address: | Stringybark Creek Road, via Tatong -Tolmie Road, 36 kilometres from Mansfield, Archerton, 3723 |
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| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -36.870187 Long: 146.198861 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Crime |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 26-October-1878 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 26-October-1878 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Friday 26th October, 2001 |
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In memory of
Sergeant Michael Kennedy No:2009,
Constable Michael Scanlon No:2118,
Constable Thomas Lonigan No:2423
Killed at Stringybark Creek on the 26th October, 1878 during the execution of their duty in a gunfight with a group of men later known as the "Kelly Gang".
Respectfully remembered and never forgotten.
The Victoria Police Force.
Plaque unveiled by Michael and Mick Kennedy on the 26th of October, 2001
