La Grange (Injudinah) MassacrePrint Page 
The plaque located on the Explorers Memorial, commemorates the Aboriginal people who were killed in the massacre at Injudinah Swamp near La Grange in 1865. The plaque also commemorates all Aboriginal people killed in the invasion of their country.
In April 1865 about 20 innocent men, women and children were massacred at Injudinah Swamp near La Grange in the north west of Western Australia. Their deaths were at the hands of eight armed men on horseback, sent to investigate and avenge the deaths of three explorers at nearby Boola Boola. The people were Karadjarie, the punitive party were Europeans, and 48 years later at Fremantle in the state`s south, a memorial, known as the Explorers` Monument was erected to the explorers, but no mention made of the people of La Grange.
To the European settler community and historians of the time, the explorers were "murdered" in cold blood in an unprovoked attack "at night by treacherous natives". To the aboriginal community, the explorers were invaders.
For the settler community, the massacre at La Grange was a "punitive" mission, the killing justified as punishment for the explorers` deaths. For the aboriginal community it was unprovoked slaughter.
On 9 April 1994, the City of Fremantle publicly broke the silence surrounding the La Grange massacre and erected a plaque to commemorate all Aboriginal people killed in the invasion of their country, and in particular the people of La Grange. It was placed on the Explorers Monument, giving balance to what was previously a onesided history. In doing so it also challenged the general European view of Australia`s colonisation, which in so many instances ignored Aboriginal involvement and perspectives.
Location
| Address: | The Esplanade, Explorers Memorial, Fremantle, 6160 |
|---|---|
| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -32.057511 Long: 115.744221 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | Frontier |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 04-April-1865 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 06-April-1865 |
| Link: | https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colo… |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 9th April, 1994 |
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This plaque was erected by people who found the monument before you offensive.
The monument described the events at La Grange from one perspective only; the viewpoint of the white `settlers`.
No mention is made of the right of Aboriginal people to defend their land or of the history of provocation which led to the explorers` deaths.
The `Punitive Party` mentioned here ended in the deaths of somewhere around twenty Aboriginal people. The whites were well-armed and equipped and none of their party was killed or wounded.
This plaque is in memory of the Aboriginal people killed at La Grange. It also commemorates all other Aboriginal people who died during the invasion of their country.
Lest We Forget. Mapa Jarriya-Nyalaku.
