On the eve of the Myall Creek massacre of 1838, where at least 28 Wirrayaraay people were killed by white stockmen and former convicts, it is timely to remember the legalised brutality that accompanied colonisation. Researchers at the University of Newcastle have produced a comprehensive map of colonial frontier massacres from 1788 to 1930. More than 8300 people were killed in more than 300 massacres over that time, 97% of whom were First Nations people. Settler diaries, journals, newspaper reports, court reports and personal testimonies helped uncover the truth. The researchers found that the majority of massacres were perpetrated on private property, such as at Myall Creek. They also found that a majority of the massacres were “surprise attacks on Aboriginal camps at rivers, creeks and waterholes”. Professor Lyndall Ryan, who has been working on the project since 2014, told The Guardian that the map is “not definitive” because so many massacres were “hidden”. “The code of silence about massacres has been almost universal,” she said. Ryan also specified that many killings were not included in the map because fewer than six people had been murdered — the minimum number to be officially considered a massacre. The Myall Creek massacre, in north-east New South Wales, is one of the many recorded. After being killed, the Wirrayaraay people were piled up and burned. Importantly, Myall Creek was the first time the perpetrators were convicted, with seven of the 12 murderers sentenced to death. A Myall Creek memorial, erected in 2000, has now become a place of mourning and commemoration. Hundreds from across the country are expected to mark the anniversary on the June long weekend. At a Myall Creek truth-telling in Parramatta on April 30, Ngarrabul Gamilaraay Yuwaalaray Kooma woman Adele Chapman-Burgess criticised the “ignorance” of the frontier wars and called for people to be educated. Keith Munro, co-chair of the National Committee of the Friends of Myall Creek, said “effective reconciliation” must come from an acknowledgement of the country’s “true history”. |