Myall Creek Massacre of 1838
On June 10, 1838, the infamous Myall Creek Massacre took place at Myall Creek Station where twenty eight Aboriginal men, women and children were massacred and their bodies burned. The ensuing court case marked the first time in Australian history that white men were tried for crimes against Aborigines. Seven men were hanged as a result. (Source: http://www.bingara.com.au/)
In 1838 a vicious attack on some Aboriginal people happened at Myall Creek, north of Sydney. Some settlers, outraged at an attack on their cattle, wanted revenge.
On Sunday 10 June 1838, over 30 Aboriginal men, women and children were surrounded by a group of stockmen, tied up and then almost all of them were murdered. Governor Gipps had been ordered by the British Government to protect all people. Despite an outcry from many of the settlers and the press, he ordered that the settlers who had murdered the Aborigines at Myall Creek should be found and brought to justice. There were two trials following the massacre. |
There was two completely different ways of seeing the world. As the colonists began to develop the land conflicts soon arose between the original inhabitants and the new settlers. Many colonists took the law into their own hands. Myall Creek is one of the massacres that took place in colonial times.
(Source: http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/)
(Source: http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/)
The Myall Creek Trials
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Interesting Fact
While Aboriginal people were entitled to be protected by British law they were not permitted to give evidence in a court. It was claimed that most Aboriginal people were not Christians and therefore could not take the oath to tell the truth. Aboriginal people could also not appear before courts or give evidence. |
As the British settlement spread away from Sydney and into the inland areas, violent clashes between Aboriginal peoples and settlers became more common. Although it was official government policy to protect the Aboriginal peoples, most settlers disregarded this policy. They attacked and killed many Aboriginal people for even the smallest crimes, or simply to keep them away from their settlement. Settlers who randomly killed Aboriginal people were rarely brought to justice. What was notable about the massacre of a group of Aboriginal people at Myall Creek in 1838 was that the British murderers were brought to trial; and seven were found guilty and hanged.
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Myall Creek massacre
On 9 June 1838, a party of 12 men, consisting of 11 convict settlers and 1 free man, named John Fleming, arrived at a hut on Henry Dangar's Myall Creek station, in north-west New South Wales, near Inverell. They were there to capture any Aboriginal people they could find, in revenge for the theft of cattle. The men gathered 28 Aboriginal people who were at a camp nearby and tied them up. The men brutally beat the group to death; the group included women and children. Later, they collected the bodies and burned them. Refer Image 1
When the manager of the station returned several days later, he discovered the bodies and decided to report the incident to the authorities. A group of police investigated the incident and found the burnt bodies. The 11 convicts were captured and charged with murder, but John Fleming escaped. He was never captured and may have been responsible for further massacres throughout the Liverpool Plains and New England regions. Refer Image 2
The trials
There were 2 trials of the convicts. At each trial, a station-hand named George Anderson, who was living on the property, was the only British witness to the incident. In the first trial, the men were found not guilty of murdering 2 Aboriginal men, but in the second trial they were charged with the murder of one of the Aboriginal children. 7 of the men were found guilty and were sentenced to execution by hanging. The men were executed on the morning of 18 December 1838. This was the first time that the European legal system had been used to punish British people for crimes against Aboriginal people.
Consequences
There was much anger among the British settlers that the 7 men were hanged for killing the Aboriginal people, who many regarded as 'black animals'. Although the trial and hangings were intended to stop the massacres on the frontier, it may have encouraged the settlers to further retaliate and to cover up the evidence. Indeed, the frontier battles and massacres continued to occur for many more years, causing countless deaths in both the Aboriginal and European populations.
On 9 June 1838, a party of 12 men, consisting of 11 convict settlers and 1 free man, named John Fleming, arrived at a hut on Henry Dangar's Myall Creek station, in north-west New South Wales, near Inverell. They were there to capture any Aboriginal people they could find, in revenge for the theft of cattle. The men gathered 28 Aboriginal people who were at a camp nearby and tied them up. The men brutally beat the group to death; the group included women and children. Later, they collected the bodies and burned them. Refer Image 1
When the manager of the station returned several days later, he discovered the bodies and decided to report the incident to the authorities. A group of police investigated the incident and found the burnt bodies. The 11 convicts were captured and charged with murder, but John Fleming escaped. He was never captured and may have been responsible for further massacres throughout the Liverpool Plains and New England regions. Refer Image 2
The trials
There were 2 trials of the convicts. At each trial, a station-hand named George Anderson, who was living on the property, was the only British witness to the incident. In the first trial, the men were found not guilty of murdering 2 Aboriginal men, but in the second trial they were charged with the murder of one of the Aboriginal children. 7 of the men were found guilty and were sentenced to execution by hanging. The men were executed on the morning of 18 December 1838. This was the first time that the European legal system had been used to punish British people for crimes against Aboriginal people.
Consequences
There was much anger among the British settlers that the 7 men were hanged for killing the Aboriginal people, who many regarded as 'black animals'. Although the trial and hangings were intended to stop the massacres on the frontier, it may have encouraged the settlers to further retaliate and to cover up the evidence. Indeed, the frontier battles and massacres continued to occur for many more years, causing countless deaths in both the Aboriginal and European populations.
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Click on the following images to learn more about the Myall Creek Massacre |
Myall Creek Massacre Monument
A monument commemorates the unprovoked massacre of about twenty-eight Wirrayaraay women, children and old men by a group of stockmen in 1838. This is the only massacre for which Europeans were charged, found guilty and punished. Seven men were found guilty of murder and hung.
In early May 1838, a group of about 40 Aboriginal people set up camp on Henry Dangar's Myall Creek station. A posse of European stockmen and squatters arrived one day seeking revenge for cattle losses. The Aboriginal people at the property had no involvement in these attacks on stock. Despite this knowledge the men cold bloodedly killed 28 old men, women and children and later another three. Children were decapitated and people hacked to death. A young women was forced to witness her people being killed and was then repeatedly brutalised. Governor Gipps ordered an investigation into the massacre with a view to prosecution. There was a great deal of public anger towards the government over this decision. In the initial trial the eleven men were found not guilty. In the retrial, seven men were charged with murder and sentenced to be hung. The Memorial has great symbolic significance for the reconciliation of Aboriginal and other Australians. At the dedication on 10 June 2000, descendants of those who were murdered, and descendants of those who carried out the massacre came together in an act of personal reconciliation. |
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