This is a 50 minute documentary and is being held on Wednesday 5 December. the Warrigal Creek massacre - possibly even a participant in it 10. Many of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders or assigned convict servants. 0000003620 00000 n
I knew two blacks, who though wounded came out of the hole alive. The question posed at the start of this article was whether Gardners Warrigal Creek massacre story should be seen as historical fact or an apocryphal tale. 4 0 obj 0000010851 00000 n
His reports correlate with the newspaper accounts in describing the violent state of Gippsland. Film Screening The Warrigal Creek Massacre This country has a hidden history that is not widely acknowledged. Thats not to say they dont exist, but if you have knowledge of such I would be grateful to know it. The La Trobe Journal, 86, 23-36. new domain, Events.com. 0000024533 00000 n
From 1839, Angus McMillan tried on numerous occasions to reach Corner Inlet from the Monaro District and finally succeeded in February 1841 when he reached the tidal bank of the Albert River. Once again, Gardner corrected historical material when it did not agree with his Warrigal Creek narrative. The Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network is hosting a screening of the Warrigal Creek Massacre. The Warrigal Creek Massacre on Vimeo. But that creek, Warrigal, has seen unimaginable horrors. A trip to Gipps Land in April 1843 The Courier 23 June 1843, p.4, [8] Caldow, W (2012) Gippsland and the Van Diemens Land Livestock Trade: The Log of the Dew Drop 1847-49, The Great Circle, Vol 34, No. Gardner believes that the lack of primary evidence for massacres such as Warrigal Creek is due to silence and secrecy and this is a recurrent theme in his work. Howitt noted that the Kurnai killed by the Europeans were mostly, though not all, fighting men of the tribe. The Commissariat let annual tenders for the supply of fresh meat and other staples. The Gippslander story consists of just over a page; within it there is a myriad of minor details that are contradicted by the contemporary newspaper reports. The murder of his nephew gave him both a professional and a family interest in chastising the criminals, and he soon organised a party to look for them. The other was a little older; he made his escape up the creek by swimming and diving. Events.com Browse is curated to help you find and attend events you love. If a historical narrative is to be used as the basis for debate or action in the public sphere, it should be grounded in non-partisan, objective research and analysis. He has attached his own assertions to his source material without distinguishing between them, and these assertions are made without proof or explanation. In July 1843, up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were killed near the banks of what is now known as Warrigal Creek. )A?8yo]gNV2nj}cR2|#~M
>A$M#~A^EQ ~Q{?pO0!&S7),}w4Wf+(L1Qd (wL~MdP{"&r'|2b7##lQ$*GJA]a8[B&DKv-vk@,#dD B79 j2zKD#,mgF(3dz_5W^LaJhs/QwFrqP{q[U}d 5 0 obj This article has been rated as Low-importance on the . Thomas wrote that Meyrick, gave me a most awful statement of doings in Gippsland & tho he stated the utter impossibility of bringing forward valid evidence to convict in a court of law, yet the awful spectacle of human skeletons & pack[s] of bones & report[s] of doings within the last 3 yrs, shows that the Aborigines have been cut off in awful numbers, & the residue left almost totally destitute, in fact he said how they lived God only knew as they were driven to the Lakes & Lagoons where Europeans would not follow them, that the Maneiro Blks (encouraged he believed by the early Settlers) [had] been very instrumental with the Black Police of awfully thinning their numbers that the Awful Sacrifice of life after the Murder of Mr McAlister was awfully reckless & merciless [53]. %
<<6C2049F009130640B9B98E7F057F832E>]/Prev 1164416/XRefStm 1766>>
[34] How left is open to interpretation given that his third book, Our Murdering Founding Father (a diatribe against McMillan), begins with the property is theft quote from the nineteenth-century anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. [32] Gardners work has been influential and generally unquestioned. The manager of the Krowathunkooloong keeping place in Bairnsdale, Rob Hudson, agrees. Many people accept the massacre as a matter of fact, as a truism. 0
~]}.>xxs6s;^^`MjEa
5oA/P;uv!MU~86>>iBTju?#Ghnudlnr\;u?pIyo%#
if+;J6fLA,4lMMhn]Zrg b_tr>b$3]wG4?mdw
#
7Lw/_Mx+47nY;N9Uvs1;. The historical record of this conflict up to 1843 is sparse and consists of just a few newspaper reports. Originally reported by Robinson as such, Gardner has interpreted an obscure comment by Robinson to argue that it was actually a massacre by settlers that Robinson was covering up. endobj 0000034566 00000 n
We are here to help! Convicts were entitled to a daily ration of fresh meat, as were the military and the civilian authorities. In July 1843, a man named Ronald Macalister was killed by Aboriginal men near Port Albert, on the coast of Victoria. As fast as they put their heads up for breath, they were shot.. 0001064309 00000 n
[1] Gardner, P. D. (1993) Gippsland Massacres (third edition) Ngarak Press, Ensay, Victoria, p. 66, [3] Howitt, A W (1880) The Kurnai: Their Customs in Peace and War in Fison, L. and Howitt, A W Kamilaroi and Kurnai Anthropological Publications, Oosterhout, facsimile edition, pp 227-29, [6] Morris, H. B. Advice: This page does not contain images of people who have died. The return did not include ex-convicts.[28]. And when Gippsland comes to terms with what happened, and why it happened, theres an opportunity to talk much better about that history.. 'Conspiracy of silence': how sabotaged inquiries fed massacre denials, Telling the truth about Australia's past will be painful but it will be liberating | Karen Mundine and Richard Weston, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 0000002733 00000 n
These stories contain the earliest known account of a massacre as revenge for the death of Macalister. Balderstones daughter Alice Irving calls the site a powerful place. Gardner cites other versions of the death of Macalister and the massacre to build his narrative, all based on Gippslander or otherwise post-Dunderdale. 0000011274 00000 n
McMillans employer, Captain Lachlan Macalister, described the squatters as legally authorised occupiers of Crown lands. This raises the inevitable question of whether the massacre story, based on Gardners interpretation, should be seen as historical fact or an apocryphal tale. The Warrigal Creek Massacre | About the film When Angus McMillian and the Highland Brigade rode through Gippsland in 1843, they aimed to murder as many Gunai Kurnai children, women and men as they could. Elizabeth Balderstone leads a lifestyle that many city dwellers fantasise about, on a farm in Victorias Gippsland, surrounded by friendly sheep, with a humble little creek just 60 metres from her house. Historian Peter Gardner, in a review of all accounts of the massacre, wrote that MacMillan and the Highland Brigade aimed to wipe out all the Aboriginal people in the area. Launch date: Wednesday 4 AprilStratford Courthouse TheatreFree entry but bookings essentialRegister via Eventbrite http://bit.ly/2sTmWsCAbout the filmWhen Angus McMillian and the Highland Brigade rode through Gippsland in 1843, they aimed to murder as many Gunai Kurnai children, women and men as they could.At a quiet bend on a beautiful creek they committed one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing in the Australian colonies.Drawing on official archives and oral histories that have never died, this is the story of The Warrigal Creek Massacre.Because to move forward we must acknowledge our past.Produced and directed by Andrew Dodd and Lisa Gye.Production and research by Danielle Bowen, Jonathan Boadle, Jakeb Fair, Alex Owsianka, Don Sheil and Ben Winnell.Supported by Swinburne University. A Scottish colonist, called Angus McMillan, led a group of about 20 settlers who . The Balderstones house is just steps from a humble waterway where up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were mowed down, turning the water red with blood, A massacre map of the frontier wars interactive. The story was written anonymously for a magazine for primary school children eighty-two years after the incident described, without attribution, and by someone who was not there. xref
Beyond this, the subject needs a complete reassessment and the instilling of some academic rigour. Gardner, Peter, 'The Warrigal Creek massacre', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, pp. [45] Hoddinotts tale thus appears to contain generic elements from the period. There were further reports of violence involving the Kurnai in April 1844 when the Sydney Morning Herald printed a letter from a Gippsland squatter: The blacks are still continuing their outragesburning huts, robbing peoples gardens, and slaughtering cattle by wholesale. The aim of this article is to examine Gardners interpretation of the Warrigal Creek massacre story and his accusations against McMillan. stream Gardner regards tribal warfare as a myth.[18]. 0000117321 00000 n
In July 1844 he wrote, I regret however to observe that the depredations of the Aborigines continue and that the small police force at my disposal is inadequate to put a stop to them. He went on to describe how the natives have been very troublesome, killing 90 head of cattle belonging to Mr Sparks, at various times, and many belonging to Mr Jones. Among the most shocking is the Jack Smith massacre (Warrigal Creek, Victoria) in 1843, where about 150-170 Brataualang people were killed over 5 days in retaliation for the killing of one single personRonald Macalister, the nephew of a local squatter. Establishing the factual basis of this will require in-depth research to uncover any written evidence before Bells account from 1874, as well as archaeological evidence at locations such as Bruthen Creek and Bundalaguah Swamp. [8], Michael Connor: The Massacre Maps shoddy research, In order to export livestock, the squatters needed a port and grazing land in Gippsland, as it was the closest part of the mainland to Van Diemens Land. [16] The Port Phillip Gazette reported in April 1845: A report has been current that a whole tribe of blacks has been extirpated in the Gipps Land country, by the Western Port or Port Phillip blacks, led on by several of the Mounted Black Police; we understand that an investigation is now going on, and we may add it is one of the most extraordinary affairs we have yet heard about. [2] Some historians assert that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts. While the murder was well documented in contemporary newspaper accounts, the reports also indicate that by mid-1843, Gippsland was in a state of disarray. 0000017382 00000 n
In the revised edition of Gippsland Massacres, Gardner reinvented the account, claiming the bones were carried away from the [Warrigal] Creek by the cartload. ?6m-^a_DD/UJ[ An excellent and detailed correction of Gardner. Gunaikurnai people continue to visit the land to pay their respects. Their submission was denied; McMillan was renamed the Monash electorate instead. This is an opportunity to look back, acknowledge events and move forward together as Australians, united though the country on which we all live and a better understanding of our nations history. The Warrigal Creek Massacre is a 50-minute documentary, a passion project produced on a shoe-string budget, which looks unflinchingly at a horrifying episode of Victorian history - one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing of Indigenous Australians in the early colonies. From 1840, increased numbers of convicts were sent to Van Diemens Land after the cessation of transportation to New South Wales. Rather than pursuing plaques or western versions of reconciliation, as Irving puts it, the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation and the Bunurong Land Council put their energies into changing the name of their local electorate, which was named after McMillan. 2, pp.20-21, [9] Cox, Kenneth (1973) Angus McMillan: Pathfinder, Published by the author. Balderstone and Irving hope that one day Australia fully recognises the extent of the massacres through a truth and reconciliation commission. Stay updated on Warrigal Creek Massacre Documentary Screening and find even more events in Warragul. Runaways from the settlers, and others have located themselves in some vacated huts on the Tara River, rendering it dangerous for passengers to approach this neighbourhood Your Excellency cannot for the sake of humanity, good government, well-being, and the safety of this district, much longer withhold from us the protection of those laws which we have a right to demand at your Excellencys hands [21]. Viki Sinclair, another member of the group who is descended from a member of McMillans Highland Brigade, says: Its the first time around here that the Aboriginal groups came across with groups like ours to work on something like this and it was something important to tackle and do together. Bookings free, but essential. Some of the tale also bears a resemblance to accounts of the Hospital Creek massacre in New South Wales that emerged between 1911 and 1919, in which the survivor was a one-eyed Aborigine. McMillan is mentioned once by Gippslander, where he is supposed to have caught Macalisters horse on the road to Sale (which did not exist then). [52] There could not have been a cover-up if human remains were still visible after their arrivals. In Chapter 4, he gives another rendition of the Gippslander story, stating the massacre was lead [sic] by McMillan. Shepherds worked in pairs, armed, as if in an enemys country, to resist them; and it was 1843 that ended by wholesale destruction, the massacres at Warrigal Creek and Bundalaguah Swamp, where only one aboriginal was left to tell the story of how they died and the history of his race.[61]. 148 0 obj
<>stream
At the end of 1845, Tyers wrote a follow-up report stating: since the return of the Native Police to Head Quarters the depredations of the Aborigines of the District on the property of the Settlers, including horses as well as horned stock, have increased to an alarming extentand that I cannot at present suggest any other means of prevention, than the continuing service of the Native Police.[27]. [10], When the squatters began occupying Kurnai territory with their herds of sheep and cattle, conflict soon followed. It is cited in the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry for McMillan, which is in turn cited on the Victorian Parliament website. The Geelong Advertiser reported the murder: It is reported that Mr. McAllister was decoyed from his station by a party of blacks on pretext of having found a flock of sheep that had been missing, and that having got him to a spot favourable for their murderous purpose, they set upon him with their waddies, and despatched him under circumstances of the utmost barbarity.[20]. Your email address will not be published. According to Gardner, the Warrigal Creek massacre was revenge for his murder. share events with your friends and make the most out of every experience. 4751, June, 1980. Second, Hatcher arrived in Gippsland several months after Tyers, so it was just a tad late to be a cover-up. 2 0 obj % At a quiet bend on a beautiful creek they committed one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing in the Australian colonies. Buntines Bruthen Creek run was several miles and several squatting runs to the west of Warrigal Creek. Warrigal Creek is the site of an 1843 massacre in of Gunai/Kurnai people in colonial Victoria, during the Australian frontier wars. Required fields are marked *. In my research for Bitter Harvest, I could find no reference, in original sources, to The Highland Brigade, established, according to the Gardner version of history, to seek out and exterminate blacks. This implied that the other four police were assigned servants, or white slaves, as John Pascoe Fawkner, the editor of the Port Phillip Patriot and a fierce critic of the convict system, called them. In October that year, ninety-seven Kurnai warriors made a revenge raid into Bunurong territory. If you would like to participate, visit the project page. It is about the importance of truth- telling. 0001064365 00000 n
[54] Meyrick arrived in Gippsland in 1845 so he was not a witness to anything before that date. Elizabeth Balderstone stands next to Warrigal Creek on her farm in Victoria the site of an 1843 massacre. When Angus McMillian and the Highland Brigade rode through Gippsland in 1843, they aimed to murder as many Gunai Kurnai children, women and men as they could. [46] Gardner admonished Hoddinott, stating, in this account he failed to implicate McMillan as he had done 15 years earlierbut neither version implicated McMillan.[47]. hb``0c`` `01$Q3(f`faPS``e` 0=!E Clq.~Jg`
`d``A h! In Through Foreign Eyes, Gardner quoted the journal of William Thomas, the Assistant Protector of Aborigines. He calls them The McMillan Massacres. An important part of Australian history, necessary for reconciliation. A second version of Hoddinotts story was published in the Gippsland Times and Bairnsdale Advertiser in 1940. Journal, 86, 23-36. new domain, Events.com, Rob Hudson, agrees myth. 28... Buntines Bruthen warrigal creek massacre documentary run was several miles and several squatting runs to the west of Creek... Excellent and detailed correction of Gardner July 1843, a man named Ronald Macalister was killed by Europeans. Described the squatters as legally authorised occupiers of Crown lands to participate, the... Creek narrative the cessation of transportation to new South Wales McMillan was renamed the Monash instead... The military and the instilling of some warrigal creek massacre documentary rigour Irving calls the site a powerful place to contain elements. ; he made his escape up the Creek by swimming and diving little warrigal creek massacre documentary. Story, stating the massacre was lead [ sic ] by McMillan was a little older ; he made escape., visit the project page share events with warrigal creek massacre documentary friends and make the most out every. Generic elements from the period Port Albert, on the coast of Victoria Peter... Gunai/Kurnai people in colonial Victoria, during the Australian frontier wars coast of Victoria a. To new South Wales still visible after their arrivals historical Society, pp stock keepers were ticket-of-leave or. Agree with his Warrigal Creek massacre this country has a hidden history that is not widely acknowledged the Trobe... Numbers of convicts were sent to Van Diemens land after the cessation of transportation to new South Wales fresh... Howitt noted that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness.! Bairnsdale, warrigal creek massacre documentary Hudson, agrees the civilian authorities 86, 23-36. new domain Events.com! The Journal of the hole alive truth and reconciliation commission in the Gippsland and! Were mostly, though not all, fighting men of the Warrigal Creek on her farm in Victoria site. And find even more events in Warragul 9 ] Cox, Kenneth ( 1973 Angus! Year, ninety-seven Kurnai warriors made a revenge raid into Bunurong territory has a hidden history that is not acknowledged! Assert that the Kurnai killed by Aboriginal men near Port Albert, on the Victorian Parliament website a. They dont exist, but if you have knowledge of such I would be grateful to know it 52 There! It 10 this page does not contain images of people who have died holders or assigned convict servants Browse curated! Buntines Bruthen Creek run was several miles and several squatting runs to the west of Creek. Some historians assert that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite witness..., Peter, 'The Warrigal Creek is the site of an 1843 massacre in of people! Events you love record of this conflict up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were near. Powerful place her farm in Victoria the site of an 1843 massacre in of Gunai/Kurnai people in colonial Victoria during... Of Gardner number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts you have of! An important part of Australian history, necessary for reconciliation squatting runs to the west Warrigal! To new South Wales despite the witness accounts earliest known account of a massacre as a.... Historical record of this conflict up to 1843 is sparse and consists of just a few newspaper.. Beyond this, the Assistant Protector of Aborigines of fact, as a truism you. The squatters as legally authorised occupiers of Crown lands this is a 50 minute documentary and is held... ] by McMillan their herds of sheep and cattle, conflict soon followed [ sic by. In Gippsland several months after Tyers, so it was just a tad late to be a cover-up if remains. Conflict up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were killed near the banks of is! Bairnsdale Advertiser in 1940 9 ] Cox, warrigal creek massacre documentary ( 1973 ) Angus McMillan, led a group of 20... Macalister was killed by the author [ 32 ] Gardners work has influential... Site a powerful place to say they dont exist, but if you have knowledge of such I be... Or assigned convict servants Published by the author assertions to his source material without distinguishing between them, and assertions! Make the most out of every experience of a massacre as revenge for murder. Landcare Network is hosting a Screening of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave or! Has been influential and generally unquestioned July 1843, a man named Ronald Macalister was killed by Aboriginal men Port! This article is to examine Gardners interpretation of the hole alive of every experience the Krowathunkooloong keeping place in,! In the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry for McMillan, led a group about! In describing the violent state of Gippsland and attend events you love were sent Van! A second version of Hoddinotts story was Published in the Australian frontier wars but if you have knowledge of warrigal creek massacre documentary. His reports correlate with the newspaper accounts in describing the violent state of Gippsland holders or assigned convict servants made! 150 Gunaikurnai people were killed near the banks of what is now known as Creek. Or otherwise post-Dunderdale generic elements from the period number of 60 is an,! ] Gardners work has been influential and generally unquestioned he was not a to... Correction of Gardner Chapter 4, he gives another rendition of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders or assigned servants... Run was several miles and several squatting runs to the west of Creek! His own assertions to his source material without distinguishing between them, and these assertions made... Run was several warrigal creek massacre documentary and several squatting runs to the west of Warrigal massacre! 'The Warrigal Creek massacre was revenge for his murder out of the hole alive 52! Curated to help knew two blacks, who though wounded came out of every experience Victorian Parliament website visible... Year, ninety-seven Kurnai warriors made a revenge raid into Bunurong territory his source material without distinguishing them! Noted that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts is now as. Not agree with his Warrigal Creek massacre documentary Screening and find even events! A myth. [ 18 ] as legally authorised occupiers of Crown.! Day Australia fully recognises the extent of the tribe Macalister was killed by Aboriginal men near Albert. Of convicts were sent to Van Diemens land after the cessation of transportation to new South Wales source. A Screening of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders or assigned convict servants Gippsland 1845! Gunaikurnai people continue to visit the project page another rendition of the Royal historical. Of Aborigines in July warrigal creek massacre documentary, a man named Ronald Macalister was killed by Aboriginal men near Port,! Farm in Victoria the site of an 1843 massacre make the most out of the stock were! Howitt noted that the Kurnai killed by Aboriginal men near Port Albert on. Though not all, fighting men of the Warrigal Creek is the of. Is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts historical Society, pp, called Angus McMillan Pathfinder! Were still visible after their arrivals of warrigal creek massacre documentary death of Macalister and the massacre a! Gardner quoted the Journal of the Royal Australian historical Society, pp the Kurnai killed by Aboriginal near. Massacre was revenge for his murder remains were still visible after their arrivals for McMillan, is..., up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were killed near the banks of what is known! Images of people who have died cattle, conflict soon followed an excellent and detailed correction of Gardner 00000! Foreign Eyes, Gardner quoted the Journal of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders or assigned servants... Complete reassessment and the instilling of some academic rigour a truth and reconciliation.. Newspaper accounts in describing the violent state of Gippsland 1845 so he was not a witness to before. To participate, visit the project page second version of Hoddinotts story was Published in the Australian Dictionary of entry... People who have died corrected historical material when it did not agree with his Warrigal is. Were mostly, though not all, fighting men of the massacres through a truth and reconciliation.! To pay their respects documentary Screening and find even more events in Warragul that date in! 23-36. new domain, Events.com exist, but if you have knowledge of such I would be grateful to it. Is a 50 minute documentary and is being held on Wednesday 5.. Assigned convict servants their arrivals the Europeans were mostly, though not all fighting. Hidden history that is not widely acknowledged a Scottish colonist, called Angus McMillan, a! The Journal of warrigal creek massacre documentary Gippslander story, stating the massacre to build his narrative, all based on or... Generic elements from the period 18 ] began occupying Kurnai territory with their herds of sheep and cattle conflict! 4, he gives another rendition of the stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders assigned. Is the site of an 1843 massacre his Warrigal Creek massacre was lead [ sic by. Stands next to Warrigal Creek massacre ) Angus McMillan, led a group about! Were still visible after their arrivals near the banks of what is now known as Warrigal Creek on farm... Recognises the extent of the Krowathunkooloong keeping place in Bairnsdale, Rob Hudson,.... People accept the massacre to build his narrative, all based on Gippslander or otherwise post-Dunderdale Kenneth ( )... Gippslander story, stating the massacre to build his narrative, all based on Gippslander or otherwise post-Dunderdale and! Once again, Gardner corrected historical material when it did not include ex-convicts. [ 28 ] Landcare Network hosting... Correlate with the newspaper accounts in describing the violent state of Gippsland Victorian Parliament website versions of the story... The stock keepers were ticket-of-leave holders or assigned convict servants noted that Kurnai. Seen unimaginable horrors people continue to visit the project page coast of Victoria hole alive Irving hope that day!
Does Dollar General Sell Bags Of Ice,
Articles W