Why has the Myall Creek Massacre become a fixture in the Australian public memory? BY SOPHIA MITCHELL, YEAR 12, 2021
The Myall Creek Massacre of 28 Wirrayaraay people on 10 June 1838 was just one event in a long and shameful history of Australian frontier violence between colonial settlers and the First Nations people. In our contemporary context, its horrors are confronting, yet the pursuit of justice that followed has imprinted this event as a fixture in the public memory as a symbol of post-colonial efforts towards acknowledgement, accountability and reconciliation. The massacre involved the unprovoked killing of innocent men, women and children by 12 white settlers at Myall Creek Station in Northern New South Wales. Whilst the criminal atrocity was not unusual in its context of persistent frontier violence, it was unique in the sense that the white witnesses, officials and legal experts were prepared to actively seek justice, by ensuring that the laws of the colony were applied to white settlers. The emotional public response to reports of the massacre sparked a movement, which has led to a recent nationwide effort to revisit the past and recognise its many injustices. Moreover, recent efforts of post-colonial historians and artists to bring authentic light to the voices of those who have been silenced in the past, has effectively turned historical dialogue into a tool for political and social reconciliation. Public or collective memory refers to the circulation of recollections among members of society, in regard to specific events or incidents.1 The public’s understanding of the Myall Creek Massacre has been shaped over time,
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scholarly truths, by enlarging the public’s collective understanding of Australian history.4 The significance of the Myall Creek Massacre lies in the conversations and dialogue that arose in its aftermath, as this has shaped our national narrative and placed the event firmly within the forefront of public memory. Although it would become the most acknowledged massacre of Australia’s Frontier Wars, the nature of the Myall Creek Massacre was not unique for its time. In the 1830s, frontier violence, a general sense of lawlessness, and government-sponsored massacres had become widespread. Historian Lyndall Ryan has defined a massacre as the killing of six or more undefended people and described its common characteristics; it is carried out in secret, the assassins make active attempts to remain undercover, and they often burn the bodies to achieve this.5 The perpetrators were usually comprised of groups of heavily armed stockmen on horseback, under the command of a white settler. Another horrific characteristic shared by these massacres was the abduction, rape and abuse of young Indigenous women during attacks. At Myall Creek, two innocent Wirrayaraay women were kidnapped by the perpetrators and raped for three days.6 In New South Wales, an estimated 270 similar frontier massacres occurred between 1794 and 1928, with particular prevalence in the Hunter Valley, Bathurst and Gravesend Mountain7. In Victoria, there were 68 massacres and an estimated 1,168 deaths.8 Evidently, the sheer prevalence of massacres consequently normalised the murder of Indigenous people by settlers, despite British law stating that it was a crime punishable by death.9
through a collaboration between traditional academic
In 19th century Australia and until the landmark decision of
history, popular history, oral history and the media.2 Whilst
the Mabo Case in 1992, the Government actively ignored
there were some initial press reports of the incident,
the connection of Indigenous people to their country,
accurate historical coverage was limited to biased white
and the settlement of land by white settlers was viewed
perspectives until the late 1970s, when Indigenous voices
as equivalent to ownership.10 Typical narratives of the time
began to emerge.3 It remains crucial for historians and
described ‘heroic’ white settlers defending themselves
members of the public to make an active effort to bridge
against bold Indigenous ‘warriors’ or ‘savages’ attempting
the gap between the national public memory and the
to attack colonial property and steal livestock.
Pymble Ladies’ College
