Byrne, Joe (1857-1880), was an Australian bushranger (outlaw). He was a close friend of the famous bushranger Ned Kelly. Byrne played an important role in planning the Kelly gang’s bank raids.
Joseph Byrne was born near Beechworth, Victoria, Australia, in 1857. In 1878, Byrne joined the brothers Ned and Dan Kelly, who were hiding out in the thickly forested Wombat Ranges in northeastern Victoria. Another friend, Steve Hart, also joined them. That October, Byrne and the Kelly gang ambushed police at Stringybark Creek, killing three officers. The group robbed banks, raided towns, and committed other crimes.
On June 26, 1880, Byrne murdered a former friend, Aaron Sherritt. Byrne had heard that Sherritt had given the police information about the gang. The next day, the Kelly gang took over the village of Glenrowan, Victoria. A police force arrived in the early hours of June 28. It attacked the gang, leading to a 12-hour police siege. Byrne was killed, along with Hart and Dan Kelly. Ned Kelly briefly escaped but was soon captured, tried, and sentenced to death.
