NED Kelly had no silver hairs on his bushy beard on Saturday.
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Authenticity took commitment for actors at the Ned Kelly Weekend but it raised a few complications.
For a start, Ned Kelly was only 25 at the time of his capture in 1880.
Actors who have played Kelly in the past often seem to have had silver strands creeping into the beards, maybe because they were a good deal older than the real Kelly.
Anyway, that just wouldn’t do for the re- enactment on Saturday.
“I had to dye my beard for the past four years,” said former Kelly actor Michael Beattie, 44, who fulfilled the role for six years.
“We’ve got to do the story justice and I’m a bit too old now.”
This year’s actor, John Murphy, 38, also had to dye the two silver stripes either side of his beard to take on the role.
“It’s a complication to have a beard because it’s not in my line of work,” the welder, who moved from Ireland 10 years ago, said.
“I fear it will get burnt ... I don’t mind having it, but if it wasn’t for the re-enactment I would be clean shaven.”
But who could ever imagine Kelly coming out with guns blazing without his whiskers?
