0000002765 00000 n A European convicted of cattle stealing in the Port Phillip District faced the penalty of transportation for fifteen years; in Van Diemens Land, it was for life.[24]. ~]}.>xxs6s;^^`MjEa 5oA/P;uv!MU~86>>iBTju?#Ghnudlnr\;u?pIyo%# if+;J6fLA,4lMMhn]Zrg b_tr>b$3]wG4?mdw # 7Lw/_Mx+47nY;N9Uvs1;. Build a site and generate income from purchases, subscriptions, and courses. There are two significant aspects to this story: Dunderdale specifically named Lachlan Macalister as the perpetrator and he added the caveat on the death toll. Hoddinott said that more than 100 Aboriginal people were killed on that day. Please enable JavaScript to experience Vimeo in all of its glory. Oh how I wished I had written down the stories my grandmother used to regale us with. )A?8yo]gNV2nj}cR2|#~M >A$M#~A^EQ ~Q{?pO0!&S7),}w4Wf+(L1Qd (wL~MdP{"&r'|2b7##lQ$*GJA]a8[B&DKv-vk@,#dD B79 j2zKD#,mgF(3dz_5W^LaJhs/QwFrqP{q[U}d L4V n)p>WRMXBe*(ru)%]>9,ZUN \p ,_`s=L{5vs{Gw 2ngnBaz0&#Xk+_ q10 m hb``0c`` `01$Q3(f`faPS``e` 0=!E Clq.~Jg` `d``A h! [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]. Emotional articles in the Guardian in 2019 parroted the denunciation of McMillan, as did the Gippsland Times in June 2020. No reason was given for the murder. [23] Inwards correspondence Tyers to La Trobe 44/1367 p.5 PROV, [24] Port Phillip Gazette 21 May 1842, p.3, [25] Tyers to La Trobe Inwards Correspondence 45/324 PROV, [27] Tyers to La Trobe Inwards Correspondence 46/219 PROV, [28] Tyers to La Trobe Inwards Correspondence 44/2112, PROV; Port Phillip Patriot 12 August 1839, p.4, [29] Tyers to La Trobe Inwards Correspondence 44/1367, p.4, PROV, [30] Port Phillip Patriot 12 August 1839, p.4, [31] Gardner, P. D. (1994) Through Foreign Eyes, Ngarak Press, Ensay, p.45, [32]Gardner (1993) p.58; (1990) Our Murdering Founding Father, 2nd Edition, Ngarak Press, p.28, [33] The Guardian 6 March 2019; 8 March 2019; Gippsland Times 16 June 2020, [34] Gardner (1993) pp 6-7; (2015) Some Random Notes on Massacres 2000-2015 (on-line essay). In a letter to the Age in August 1874, R.L. Thats not to say they dont exist, but if you have knowledge of such I would be grateful to know it. According to Gardner, the Warrigal Creek massacre was revenge for his murder. Howitt noted that the Kurnai killed by the Europeans were mostly, though not all, fighting men of the tribe. Word of the murder was sent to Lachlan Macalister. Gardners fiction about McMillan, his misquoting of source material, and his reliance on an unattributed, anonymous and generic story truly relegates his Warrigal Creek narrative to the realms of the apocryphal. The Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network is hosting a screening of the Warrigal Creek Massacre. 2023 Vimeo.com, Inc. All rights reserved. [2], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}374014S 1463957E / 37.67056S 146.66583E / -37.67056; 146.66583, Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 01:43, List of massacres of Indigenous Australians, "Victoria's Deadly & Proud campaign remembers Indigenous victims of Warrigal Creek massacre in South Gippsland", "Living on a massacre site: home truths and trauma at Warrigal Creek", "Victoria to introduce Australia's first truth-telling process to address Indigenous injustices", "Victoria to establish truth and justice process as part of Aboriginal treaty process", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Warrigal_Creek_Massacre&oldid=1141638012, "The Settling of Gippsland - A Regional History", by Patrick Morgan, published by Gippsland Municipalities Association, Traralgon, 1997. It also suggests that the squatters were unprepared for the resistance they faced. The Gippslander account mentions the Highland Brigade and a death toll of 100 to 150, but McMillans involvement, Scotsmen, the swearing to God and the Queen, and secrecy, are entirely Gardners creation. 6az Q";cM;|?)/ Bg~VK7QVK_6 +K}\\&h"DmWK+^>Pnu"8H8@sF1jO-@g?XjGs=2]v'x9y[6p X &.-Yl;;]+/[r=w(\QwG SDB?#86mXpqrOzX\R++QkEfz75Br,=t'F4_]Ug@dNq{":Q7 &DvB )vBqKwbm%aM!._aiaekE)hc_9lujzR10IrR--6HWXSA[Wd{DS#~}wDvenr,rFU-}aOe(d}b Their territory extended along the coast from Cape Liptrap in the west to Point Hicks in the east, and inland to the Great Dividing Range in the north. the Warrigal Creek massacre - possibly even a participant in it 10. [30] Escapees living outside the law would therefore have posed a dire threat to the Kurnai. Bells account and the report of the massacre involving the Native Police in April 1845 can be found by simple searches on Trove. Its part of our life and its not that I dont stop and think about it. The reference to Bundalaguah Swamp has previously escaped notice. This mass murder was committed by early colonists Angus McMillan and the Highland Brigade. bHn=Y,8M*[+GwXfi1^yn}vSuvA@pN. [45] Australasian 15 September 1923 p. 55; 31 January 1925; Glen Innes Examiner 31 August 1911 p. 6; Smiths Weekly 12 April 1919, p. 15, [47] Gardner (1990) Our Murdering Founding Father, Ngarak Press, Ensay, p. 40, [51] Stephens, Margeurita, transcribed from the journal of William Thomas; cited on Peter Crowleys website Snow on the Jeeralangs, [52]Adams, John (1990) From These Beginnings, Alberton Shire Council, Yarram, p. 21, [54] Tyers, Charles 1859 Submission to the Select Committee on Aborigines, Government Printer, Melbourne, p.77, [56] Gippsland Times 24 June 2020 (on-line edition), [57] Dunderdale, George (1898) The Book of the Bush, Ward Locke, London, pp.214- 215, [60] County Lands in the Parishes of Bundalaguah and Nuntin, 1857, W T Dawson, District Surveyor, on-line copy, NLA. 4 0 obj x[Ys~W`R.$7nN$QI.%>pA>\83FOT]K!+qq{|$E hj]Qw >|nQ)jn'L-.~>>ze)/[B_=|?b1R2Kz~&>,g0cppJBw'YzDh/sZOfyfALsn/P%v=3jeVy~;>H"Oj4**@EBxT14:=l3\Es`eeJZT%L}nz`^Kgxh |[jXaxqGw"0'JH-i`L>_n#&,6IvGr:hu'j^xsFo}\vfuklR4f/eK-fig;)pE?itkoe~x-gd}Y~N0f=)` s[/wE\|(u2|Jvp:n Please note and use or adapt the following words. % Convicts under the control of the penal system in the Port Phillip District and elsewhere were notorious for their crimes against the Aborigines. 0000116300 00000 n It really hadnt happened before and it just was not even acknowledged or recognised.. Their submission was denied; McMillan was renamed the Monash electorate instead. It was, of course, impossible to identify any blackfellow concerned in the outrage, and therefore atonement must be made by the tribe. Balderstones daughter Alice Irving calls the site a powerful place. No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are. Power your marketing strategy with perfectly branded videos to drive better ROI. Convicts were entitled to a daily ration of fresh meat, as were the military and the civilian authorities. 8 /Filter /FlateDecode >> McMillans employer, Captain Lachlan Macalister, described the squatters as legally authorised occupiers of Crown lands. >> 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. Your email address will not be published. ktp33#`r[vhJ hR,t%434qrZQ7z 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. People need to feel that their voices and stories are heard and we need to listen with humility because theres not just emotional hurt there, but also terrible physical pain, Irving says. 0000020971 00000 n As fast as they put their heads up for breath, they were shot.. Many people accept the massacre as a matter of fact, as a truism. Can only find the trailer. Gardners work has hints of Marxist reductionism, where the Kurnai are portrayed as living in an Arcadian economy that was destroyed by the expansionary capitalism of the land-hungry squatters. We are here to help! <>>> 12 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. 0000003620 00000 n 0000003570 00000 n Warrigal Creek is the site of an 1843 massacre in of Gunai/Kurnai people in colonial Victoria, during the Australian frontier wars. They will be immediately recommended to interested users. It was made to better understand our country's true history. I asked him if he was not afraid of meeting the Blacks, his reply was, Blks Sir no fear of them now they would run away as soon as they see a white man but there are not many left, he said he had a Brother who had been in Gippsland from the first his name was Bunton & kept a Public house in Gippsland by the Dirty Water Holes & a cattle station joining to Mr. McAllister who was killed, that after Mr. McAllisters murder great slaughter of the blacks took place and that on his brothers station a cart load of Blks bones might be gath.rd up [49]. xref [12] The first reported attack on the squatters came in 1841 when, it was said, 600 Kurnai attacked Macalisters run. 0001000963 00000 n This provides a contrast to Gardners analysis, which is based largely on a story from a schoolchildrens magazine from 1925. A Scottish colonist, called Angus McMillan, led a group of about 20 settlers who . 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]. Your email address will not be published. They proposed a different name: Bunjileene-Purrine. At a quiet bend on a beautiful creek they committed one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing in the Australian colonies. Captain Charles Tyers RN arrived in Gippsland in January 1844 as the Commissioner for Crown Lands. The history of early Gippsland will invariably include many intersecting and conflicting narratives. These passages represent the sum total of Gardners evidence against McMillan (left), but he does not explain how the story implicates McMillan. xX[~`*E}KgnvqEd%$4?9h1s7KDE+>RT*;[(b 0000021061 00000 n 0000116524 00000 n Most importantly, it does not say whereif Hatchers account is reliable, he was clearly not speaking about Warrigal Creek. Perhaps the most apt way to name these outrageous and brutal occurrences is that they be called after the man who organised and perpetrated them: Angus McMillan. [48] Thomas (right) recorded a conversation with a man named Hatcher who Gardner believes was the brother-in-law of a Gippsland squatter named Buntine. 0000016727 00000 n Perhaps the most revealing example of Gardners influence is Cal Flynns Thicker Than Water, in which McMillan is denounced by his own descendant. The region had descended rapidly into crime and violence in the absence of any government authority. Drawing on official archives and oral histories that have never died, this is the story of The Warrigal Creek Massacre. [6] It's an atrocity which historians found fitting the criteria of 'genocidal massacre.' [3] I knew two blacks, who though wounded came out of the hole alive. 5 0 obj Home; News; Entertainment; Sport; Galleries; Competitions; . 0000002096 00000 n Convicts were present in the early years of settlement in Gippsland in two very different ways: first, as the slave labour of the squatters, and second, as escapees congregated around Alberton. [52] There could not have been a cover-up if human remains were still visible after their arrivals. [35] This simplistic reductionism obscures the complexity of Gippslands early history, evident in his rejection of Robinsons observations on the escaped convicts. [45] Hoddinotts tale thus appears to contain generic elements from the period. Because to move forward we must acknowledge our past. 148 0 obj <>stream 0000024998 00000 n Advice: This page does not contain images of people who have died. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. Tyerss Convict Return for 1844 shows that convict labour was an integral part of the squatter economy. Gardner, Peter, 'The Warrigal Creek massacre', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, pp. %PDF-1.4 % 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). Some basic research puts Hatchers account into context. External Lived Experience Employment Opportunities, Complete the VMIAC Conference 2023 Survey, CEO Update with Craig Wallace | 17.02.2023, New Consumer Register Opportunity: Access Policy & Triage Guidelines, CEO Update with Craig Wallace | 03.02.2023, CEO Update with Craig Wallace | 20.01.2023. [41] The conspiracy of secrecy is used to explain why Hoddinott probably with good reason, chose to remain anonymous, as the account implicated Angus McMillan as the leader of this murderous retaliation. The murder of Ranald Macalister may have been the pretext for an attack on the Kurnai at Warrigal Creek or Gammon Creek but this is not borne out by the contemporary historical record. Buntines Bruthen Creek run was several miles and several squatting runs to the west of Warrigal Creek. GLaWAC has been given permission to screen the Warrigal Creek Massacre film at our office at Forestec. [42] Elsewhere he states that Hoddinotts desire to remain anonymous would seem to indicate that the telling of the story may have had undesirable repercussions. Wayne, a very valuable and comprehensive article. Gardner says this was almost certainly McMillan of Nuntin and that Dunderdale was mistaken as the person he was most likely referring to was McMillan of Bushy Park. stream These stories contain the earliest known account of a massacre as revenge for the death of Macalister. 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. Once again, Gardner corrected historical material when it did not agree with his Warrigal Creek narrative. [2] Some historians assert that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts. In July 1843, up to 150 Gunaikurnai people were killed near the banks of what is now known as Warrigal Creek. endobj Gardner claimed in June 2020 that Meyrick gave a death toll of about 150 for Warrigal Creek, which he did not. Could you help us please? Purchase tickets, Gardner regards tribal warfare as a myth.[18]. In other parts of the District, prior to my arrival, they had occasionally come into collision with the Settlersthe consequence of which was the murder of four shepherdsand as far as I can learn without any provocationthey have also committed, and are still committing, many depredations on the stock of the Settlerswhich from the nature of the country, and the known fact of their carrying on their depredations at night, it is difficult to prevent. We were hearing the stories all the time, especially when we were near the places or going past somewhere, my mum would always say, Over that way. Shed point the finger and say, Dont go that way. Gardner is dismissive, claiming that Some parts of this account are definitely wrong on the basis that Dunderdale referred to Macalister of Nuntin. According to Dunderdale, Donald Macalister fired at some Kurnai without any provocation. share events with your friends and make the most out of every experience. And when Gippsland comes to terms with what happened, and why it happened, theres an opportunity to talk much better about that history.. 0000117321 00000 n The newspapers and Charles Tyerss reports indicate that attacks by the Kurnai continued in 1844 and 1845; they did not end at Warrigal Creek in 1843. One thing is clear from his work: the Kurnai men were warriors. MAR [25], Tyers noted that the Kurnai were geographically isolated from all of the neighbouring Aboriginal tribes, none of whom could understand their language, and From this circumstance, the Chief Protector [Robinson] on his visit to Gipps Land last year, was unsuccessful in his attempts to communicate with them. The isolation from the other tribes meant that their fierce and predatory habits have received no check.[26]. The quote from Robinson is from Gardners book, Through Foreign Eyes; he says Robinson was incorrect to blame the convicts, because The hostile collisions that occurred following the murder of Macalister and others in Gippsland were carried out by the squatters and their employees.[31] This correction suggests that Gardner entirely overlooked the substance and significance of Robinsons observations. To those who came by jet plane yesterday. An independent expedition from Melbourne to Corner Inlet in the barque Singapore in the same year led to the discovery of the mouths of the Albert and Tarra rivers. The attack on the Brataualung people camped at Warrigal Creek was one of several incidents resulting in loss of life among the Gunai Kurnai people. This letter indicates that the Kurnai were still harrying the squatters the year after the massacre is believed to have occurredthere was conflict with the Kurnai before and after the murder of Macalister. << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Resources 6 0 R /Contents 4 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 595 842] In the latter, there is no mention of McMillan at all, the death toll is different (many escaped into the bush), and there is no Bing Eye or Club Footwhich may suggest editorial licence in the original version. [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. First though, it is necessary to establish the circumstances that led to the European settlement of Gippsland and the resulting conflict with the indigenous Kurnai people, which is the root of the massacre story. % [56] These accounts nonetheless provide evidence of the otherwise unrecorded conflict between the Europeans and the Kurnai at places such as Bruthen Creek. @7k_|F_j}t'J'fu_}"Y5Xgx{ps:KQb#wOQ:/[]6Hy [13], The squatting runs were large tracts of unfenced landMacalister had 100 square mileswhere livestock was left in charge of shepherds and hut keepers whose job it was to tend the livestock and prevent it from straying. 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. However, Thomas, Hatcher and Meyrick did not mention Warrigal Creek as Gardner claimsand they certainly did not mention McMillan. trailer 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. 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. 4 0 obj 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]. "qd]^vc'OontVsl They travelled with Edward Hobson, who was attempting to find an overland route to Gippsland. The Australian reported in August: The Prince George touched at Port Albert on the 25th ultimo, and reports that the Agenoria is taking in cattle there, the captain of which reported the blacks to be in a very riotous state. 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. His body was mutilated and stripped, and it was found the next day by an Aboriginal boy in his employment. 0000001766 00000 n 12/02/2019. [11] Sydney Morning Herald 6 September 1843, p.2, [13] Port Phillip Patriot 23 December 1841, p. 3, [15] Fels, Marie Hansen (2010) I Succeeded Once: The Aboriginal Protectorate on the Mornington Peninsula 1839-1840 , ANU E-Press, pp 249-271, [16] See also: George Henry Haydon (1846) Five Years Experience in Australia Felix pp151-152 (on-line edition), [17] Port Phillip Gazette 30 April 1845 p.2, [18] Gardner, P D (2005) The Myth of Tribal Warfare On-line essay, [20] Geelong Advertiser 5 August 1843, p.2, [21] Sydney Morning Herald 6 September 1843, p.2. 0000014051 00000 n In his first notes [in the 1970s], he talks about the massacre and, from the beginning of my time here, no one ever kept a blanket over the story. There were simple economic facts that led to this. Men, women and children are shot whenever they can be met with I have protested against it at every station I have been in Gippsland, in the strongest language, but these things are kept very secret as the penalty would certainly be hanging. << /ProcSet [ /PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI ] /ColorSpace << /Cs1 7 0 R The arrival of the Europeans changed the dynamics of this conflict with the introduction of firearms and the formation of the Native Police. Third, Gardners narrative is constructed around a story written for schoolchildren in 1925, a story that could at best be considered as folk history. The aim of this article is to examine Gardners interpretation of the Warrigal Creek massacre story and his accusations against McMillan. endstream endobj 92 0 obj <>/Metadata 5 0 R/PageLabels 2 0 R/Pages 4 0 R/StructTreeRoot 7 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences<>>> endobj 93 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC/ImageI]/Properties<>>>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 595.276 841.89]/Type/Page>> endobj 94 0 obj [95 0 R 96 0 R] endobj 95 0 obj <>/Border[0 0 0]/H/O/Rect[243.918 110.871 393.795 129.239]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> endobj 96 0 obj <>/Border[0 0 0]/H/O/Rect[262.285 160.096 431.264 175.524]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> endobj 97 0 obj <> endobj 98 0 obj [/Indexed/DeviceCMYK 244 110 0 R] endobj 99 0 obj [/ICCBased 111 0 R] endobj 100 0 obj <>stream At a quiet bend on a beautiful creek they committed one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing in the Australian colonies. He was joined by detachments of the Border and Native Police. We acknowledge that in our past, as in most nations, bad things have happened. 0000024533 00000 n [58] Apart from the perverse logic of this claim, it is factually incorrect. In a letter to his family in England dated April 1846, the Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick said: .css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The blacks are very quiet here now, poor wretches. But we strive to be one people, equality of opportunity for all, no privilege by birth, truly one nation. They were feared by their tribal enemies for their ability to attack at nighta skill the Europeans were to encounter.[5]. %%EOF [40] Gippslander (1925) Experiences with Gippsland blacks, The Gap, Education Department, Bairnsdale Inspectorate, Omeo, pp 5-6. McMillan made the first export of livestock to Van Diemens Land in 1842 and the trade continued until 1868 when it was halted by a tariff war between Victoria and Tasmania. Probably even as a child I just sensed something its a really spiritual place, she says. For them to do that and come up with a shared name was a major achievement. This documentary was made by university journalism students and staff. This essay appears in Decembers Quadrant. 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. He was afterwards adopted by one of the party and called Bing Eye. It beggars belief that it was accepted as a completely reliable historical source. 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. Following the screening, VMIAC will facilitate a discussion about the film and its importance in understanding the effects of colonisation and inter-generational trauma and resilience for First Nations peoples. News; Warrigal Creek doco at the Memo. %PDF-1.5 There exists little to no official documentation of the Warrigal Creek Massacre. [60] Dunderdales geography was correct and it is just possible he knew who he was referring to, given that he arrived in the district just twenty-six years after the event he describedwell within living memory. <> [38], I knew two blacks who, though wounded, came out of that hole alive. [10] Caldow (2012) p.25; Caldow W (2010) The early livestock trade between Gippsland and Van Diemens Land: insights from Patrick Coady Buckleys journal of 1844. The creek is on a farm 40 kilometres south of Sale, and 200 kilometres east of Melbourne, in the South Gippsland area of Victoria, Australia. Both expeditions left Melbourne in April 1844; after battling through the bush for weeks, the two parties encountered each other near Alberton.
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