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Home » Themes » Conflict » Indigenous
Myall Creek MassacrePrint Page 
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. The path to the main memorial is marked by memorial plaques.
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.
Location
| Address: | Reserve Creek Road, Myall Creek, Via Delungra- Ashford Road, Myall Creek, 2404 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -29.775347 Long: 150.716436 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | Indigenous |
| Actual Event STart Date: | 09-June-1883 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 09-June-1883 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 10th June, 2000 |
|---|
IN MEMORY OF THE WIRRAYARAAY PEOPLE WHO
WERE MURDERED ON THE SLOPES OF THIS RIDGE
IN AN UNPROVOKED BUT PREMEDITATED ACT IN
THE LATE AFTERNOON OF 10 JUNE, 1838
ERECTED ON 10 JUNE 2000 BY A GROUP OF
ABORIGINAL AND NON-ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS
IN AN ACT OF RECONCILITAION, AND IN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE TRUTH OF
OUR SHARED HISTORY
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
NGIYANI WINAGAY GANUNGA
