Person:Aaron Sherritt (3)

Aaron Sherritt was born in the same year as Ned <ned_kelly.htm>,1855. He was a strong, athletic youth and had a swaggering demeanour and outgoing personality. He was said to be second only to Ned in toughness, a big call considering he saw Ned as being superhuman. Aaron was from a Protestant family, but wound up attending a Catholic school where he was destined to make the acquaintance of Joe Byrne, who was a couple of years younger. The two boys were instantly drawn to one another and an intense bond of friendship was forged, with them becoming more like brothers than friends. Aaron had a romance with Joe's sister and Joe went out with Aaron's sister. They even spent time in gaol together. Ultimately, this union was to end in tragedy as thetwo men lost their friendship and their lives within days of each other. Joe Byrne wound up murdering his best friend after being convinced that that Aaron was spying for the police. Joe's mother had seen Aaron sleeping among a police cave-party and the game was up! The romance between Aaron and Joe's sister would now be terminated. Aaron had been providing the police with 'cold' information and accepting money from them, but he never gave enough useful information to endanger the gang. Joe knew that Aaron was sending the police on a wild goose chase, however not all the police believed Aaron was betraying the gang. Unfortunately in the end none of this mattered, Aaron was seen by the gang as a spy working for the police. The police staying in the hut often visited Sherritt Senior to obtain supplies. The Byrne children (Joe's siblings) knew this and so it was not a secret that Aaron was working for the police. The biggest mistake Aaron made was not to inform Joe exactly how deep his involvement with the police was. He paid for this error in judgement with his life. The police view of Aaron was that had he not been killed by the gang, he would also have been lost to the police and become a bushranger himself. http://www.glenrowan1880.com/aaron_sherritt.htm