World

Ned Kelly's body re-buried near relatives

00:31 am on 21 January 2013

More than 130 years after he was hanged, the infamous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly has been buried near relatives in rural Victoria.

Kelly's body was originally buried in a mass grave in Melbourne, but it was exhumed and identified two years ago.

His descendants re-buried the outlaw in an unmarked grave at Greta Cemetery, near Wangarrata, by his relatives.

Relative Joanne Griffiths says the service brought closure for the family.

"I think it is final closure," she said.

"We've brought him home, back to his family and back to the area that he loved.

"We've given him his final wish, so that makes us quite happy."

Ms Griffiths says the cemetery is the resting place of many other Kelly family members.

"There's a lot of unmarked graves," she said.

"Some of them originally were marked - unfortunately because Edward was so famous, some of our graves were fiddled with over the years.

"We've made a real effort to ensure that he's going to be safe and he's surrounded by family and friends, which is the way he would've wanted it."