A man has handed over a skull to authorities which he claims belongs to legendary Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.
West Australian farmer Tom Baxter gave the skull up to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine this week for testing, the Herald Sun reports.
The handover is the result of months of negotiations between Mr Baxter and Heritage Victoria.
Mr Baxter had said the skull is the one stolen in 1978 from a display case at the Old Melbourne Gaol but he has so far refused to say how he came by it.
An official inquiry has now been opened into the skull 129 years after the bushranger was hanged.
Attorney-General Rob Hulls told the Herald Sun the state would use all methods available to determine if the skull genuinely belonged to Ned Kelly.
"We now have a unique opportunity, using a combination of historical research and modern technology, to test whether the remains ... are actually those of Ned Kelly," he said.
DNA tests, forensic dental checks and 3D scans are some of the methods that will be used to test the skull in a process that could take up to a year.
A descendant of the Kelly family has previously offered themselves up for genetic testing.
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