Michael Edward Ward (1845 – 27 May 1921) was an Irish-Australian detective, best known for his role in the capture of

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

and his brother Dan Kelly during the Kelly Outbreak of 1879/1880.

Early and Family life

Ward was born the second son to John Ward, a large farmer, in Kidlawn (a townland in the parish of Moore) near

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

, County Galway, Ireland in about 1845. He had at least two other brothers; Peter and James. In 1865 at the age of 20, Ward emigrated from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

to Melbourne on board the

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

. By 1869, he had settled in the Benalla/Beechworth area where he remained for about 11 years. In 1880, he moved to Melbourne where he met his first wife, Ellen "Nellie" McDonald, whom he married in 1882. Ellen died in 1890 at the age of thirty of a pelvic abscess. Twelve years later, Ward married Margaret Mary Aiken, a native of

Benalla Benalla is a small city in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town sits on the Broken River (Victoria), Broken River, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. As of the , the population wa ...

with whom he lived until his death in 1921. The couple adopted Charles Eustace Hayes, an English orphan born in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in about 1912. Hayes had his name changed by deed poll on 12 March 1920 to Charles Hayes Ward

Career

Michael E. Ward joined the police force in October 1869 and was stationed at Benalla and

Beechworth Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

. In 1876, he was promoted to the rank of detective. In this position he was instrumental in the capture of members of the Kelly gang. A number of books have been written about the efforts of Ward and his colleagues to capture these outlaws. News reports as far away as England kept the public up to date on the chase. Ward's persistent pursuit frustrated Kelly, who sent death threats to the detective. Eventually Ward devised a trap which involved considerable trickery and misdirection; Kelly later accused him of threatening to harm his family. Ward's experiences were the basis for a character in Rolph Bolderwood's romantic crime fiction work. ''Robbery Under Arms''. Following the Kelly Outbreak, Ward was transferred to Melbourne in 1880, where he served until his retirement, having reached the rank of Sub-Inspector, in 1905. Ward's career was distinguished not only for his role in the capture of the Kellys but also many other high-profile arrests such as that of Ferozi Fathay Mahommed in 1904The Argus (15 Sep 1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Michael Edward 1845 births 1921 deaths Australian police officers