Almanac Poetry: The Bluestone Step of the Sherritt Hut
The Bluestone Step of the Sherritt Hut
As a kid on a family holiday,
I went to a museum
in a Kelly Country town.
Euroa? Benalla? Can’t remember.
The museum had the bluestone step
upon which Joe Byrne placed a boot
before blasting holes through Aaron Sherritt,
savagely ending his life.
A newspaper artist’s drawing
of this infamous murder
in my Pictorial History of Bushrangers
used to give me nightmares
– Sherritt recoiling from the blasts,
Byrne’s smoking double-barrelled shotgun,
Dan Kelly standing nearby,
guarding the decoy, Anton Wick…
And I remember examining the surface
of the bluestone step very closely,
looking for signs of dried-up blood,
but was puzzled to find none.
Over time had it disappeared?
Can blood do that? I wondered then.
But later I discovered:
Sherritt fell back inside his hut
after being shot.
His head struck a packing case
and he lived only as long
as his heart had blood left to pump.
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Sacredly Profane, is available HERE
Read more Almanac Poetry HERE
If you would like to receive the Almanac Music and Poetry newsletter we will add you to the list. Please email us: [email protected]
To return to our Footy Almanac home page click HERE.
Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help things keep ticking over please consider making your own contribution.
Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE.
One-off financial contribution – CLICK HERE.
Regular financial contribution (monthly EFT) – CLICK HERE.
About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Brutal simplicity in this Kevin. Chilling moment. Former mates.
I remember as a kid being completely mesmerised by Ned Kelly’s death mask in the Old Melbourne gaol. The teacher had to drag me away.
I remember as a young adult being completely mesmerised by Michelangelo’s Pieta in the Vatican. I had to get dragged away.
Equal impact, very different reasons.
Funny what captures our imagination.
Thanks, Dips, for your comments – interesting as always.
What captures one’s imagination is certainly an intriguing topic. I often find that the material that ends up in my poetry is the stuff that has been brewing in my head for a very long time.
Re the Sherritt murder in particular, so much about it is chilling: the bush darkness; former best mates (Joe and Aaron) being the key individuals; a range of innocent bystanders who were in the hut in close proximity to the killing, including Sherritt’s pregnant sixteen-year-old wife, Belle (who later miscarried), Sherritt’s mother-in-law, and the four police who ended up hiding under the bed. There was also Anton Wick close by, being held hostage by Dan Kelly … horrifying!
Yes Kevin, Sherritt a paradoxical character. He was happy to feed the police the wrong information, whilst still horse stealing, and trying to woo Kate Kelly. It’s oft been surmised he wanted to protect Joe Byrne, but was happy to ‘sell ‘ the other three. After a while a few police such as sergeant Arthur Loftus Maude Steele were aware of his chicanery, preparing to use him as bait to ensnare the outlaws. Yep, he said the worst possible thing to Joe Byrne’s mother, a comment worthy of the death sentence he got.
The drawing has a bit of an error . Dan Kelly had a small moustache, not a beard.
Next month is the 122nd anniversary of his ‘execution’, with the tumultuous events that followed.
Glen!
Interesting range of comments, Glen – as usual.
I agree that Sherritt was a paradoxical character and you bring up a range of the ways in which his conduct expressed this. His end, though, was as a consequence of an shockingly violent act – whatever Byrne had in his head to compel him to do the deed.
Yes, Dan Kelly didn’t have a full-beard at this time – we know that from other descriptions of him, including the words of the priest, Fr Gibney, who saw his dead body at Glenrowan. Gibney described Hart and Dan Kelly as “two beardless boys” then, as you’ll recall. All in all though, I think newspaper artists of the era did a pretty good job. In the case of the image of the Sherritt murder, a poetic sense of the chilling nature of the event is conveyed.