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Massacres
In bringing together data for pages about historical figures for this website, I have been struck by the number of well-known and otherwise highly-regarded men who engaged in what are euphemistically called 'punitive expeditions'. These were mounted because the people who were here when the colonisers arrived were seen as having broken British law – a system which the invaders had brought with them.
There had already been law in this country for thousands of years, and the 'savages' who were seen as having broken 'the' law were quite likely doing what they did because they were following the much more ancient law of their own culture. It may for example have required 'payback' for something a colonist had done, such as having sex with a woman of the first people community.
There is often no record of the reason for which the European person was killed or his property taken, but it may have been a perfectly good one, justified by the law which existed in the country before contact. It's likely that in every case the first offender was the colonist, and the first 'punitive act' was committed by the original inhabitant. The indiscrimate mass killings which followed were merely a demonstration of the greater power of the invader, part of the process of imperialistic domination, and without any ethical basis.
What follows is simply a list of perpetrators of colonialist massacres (in WA), with some related resources.
James Stirling, the first governor, led a punitive expedition earlier known euphemistically as the 'battle' of Pinjarra, in which up to eighty of the First People, including women, were killed.
Maitland Brown went to La Grange from Fremantle in February 1865 to recover the bodies of three man who had been killed, and found them in April. The Wikipedia entry gives this summary: 'Shortly after the discovery of the dead men, the expedition party engaged in a pitched battle with a group of Karrijarri men. Between six and twenty people were killed, with no injuries or deaths to the expedition party. Brown's journal states that the party had walked into an ambush, but most historians have interpreted the event as a punitive attack by Brown's party.'
Henry William St Pierre Bunbury was a British army officer, son of a baronet. The town of Bunbury is named after him.
His Wikipedia page mentions several of his exploits:
In July 1836 Bunbury was sent to York "to make war upon the native" and by 1837 around one third of the Swan River colony's troops were stationed in the York and Toodyay area. In July 1836 Bunbury wrote "I do not find the life very pleasant. I hope, however, it will not last very long as the Natives seem inclined to be quiet since I shot a few of them one night." On 9 July 1836 The Perth Gazette reported a rumour of an attack in the York area of a night attack on Ballardong Noongar people in which several were wounded and a woman was killed.
In September 1836, Arthur Trimmer, the farming business partner of the resident magistrate Revett Henry Bland, got his servant Ned Gallop to hide in the loft of their barn with his guns waiting for Noongar men who were stealing flour. One "fine young" Noongar man was "wantonly" shot dead while walking away and two others were injured. Bunbury was sent again to York to keep the peace and wrote: Trimmer's "character never could recover from this foul stain". In retaliation a shepherd called Knott was speared by Ballardong warriors Wainupwort and Dyott, an incident which Bunbury investigated with Bland. This incident resulted in more punitive action from troops led by Bunbury. ...
In July 1837 Bunbury was again sent to the York area after two colonial settlers Peter Chidlow and Edward Jones were speared by a group of around 40 Ballardong warriors after the arrest of two Noongar men, Durgap and his son Garbung, for stealing. They had been taken to Perth for punishment and the Ballardong people thought they would be killed without trial, like Midgegooroo had been. Stirling sent Bunbury and extra troops to York with instructions to make "proper examples of Severity to the full extent to which the Law warrants in such cases" so that "the natives may be deterred from the Commission of further outrage". In his notebook titled "Odds and Ends", Bunbury noted the names of eighteen Ballardong people who were killed during the following months.
Robert John Scholl was the magistrate who approved and supported the Flying Foam massacre. Wikipedia again: The Flying Foam Massacre was a massacre of Aboriginal people around Flying Foam Passage on Murujuga (Burrup Peninsula) in Western Australia by colonial settlers. Comprising a series of atrocities between February and May 1868, the massacre was in retaliation to the killing of a police officer, a police assistant, and a local workman. Collectively the atrocities resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of Jaburara (or Yaburrara, Yapurarra) people, but with estimates ranging from 15 to 150 dead men, women and children.
Frederick Irwin. Massacre near Perth 3 May 1830.
Boorloo Boodja:
A massacre took place near Perth around or on 3 May 1830. There is some confusion about where it took place – whether it was in Perth, Fremantle or the Swan Valley. Captain Irwin – who is the main source of information about the massacre – used the word ‘Cantonment’ in his report, leading some to believe the massacre took place in Fremantle, around Cantonment Hill. Others think it occurred near Ellenbrook and others have reached the conclusion it took place at Lake Monger.
It matters where it happened because sometimes standing at the site of of such an atrocity can have more of an impact and helps us visualise the events. Memorials can be erected, and places for quiet contemplation and reflection set aside.
I think the clues point to Lake Monger as the site of most of the carnage, but I could be wrong. It would really be helpful to know where Paton’s house was but no luck so far – please comment if you know!
When this incident happened, the djanga (white devils) had been in the area for less than a year. Of course they weren’t welcome! They’d descended en masse, along with their primitive class-system and brutal penal code, and set out to subjugate and terrorise the Aboriginal people. They’d offered nothing in return for the land they’d taken except stodgy white bread, sugar and tea (both grown on plundered lands far far away and harvested by slaves), alcohol, tobacco and disease.
As usual, the British response to petty theft (as opposed to the grand theft of land and resources) was out of all proportion. We lost a proud warrior and other brave men to their savagery.
Here’s Irwin’s letter, edited for reasons of courtesy to Aboriginal people.
Perth Western Australia 18 May 1830.
Sir, during the absence of your Excellency to the southward an affair took place here between the Aboriginal people and some of the inhabitants, which led to the Military being called out. I have now the honour to annex a statement of the transaction, and the measures I thought necessary to adopt.
On the 3rs May, at 3 P.M., a message was brought to the Cantonment [1] from the inhabitants of the west end of the town, asking for help with the Aboriginal people [2] In my absence Ensign Dale proceeded to that quarter with a few of the Guard. On hearing the report I followed with more men, soon after. On arrival at the quarter, I learned from Mr. Reveley and other credible testimony that the Aboriginal people were the aggressors; they had been very troublesome in the morning in one place, throwing spears at poultry; and at another, stealing pieces of board from workshops. At last they broke into and plundered the house of a man named Paton, which brought on the clash. Three or four neighbours endeavoured to drive the Aboriginal people from the house which they had collected round; however the Aboriginal people threw spears at them and drove them back to the next house, following till they recovered their spears.
More people came up with two or three muskets and advanced to dislodge the Aboriginal people from Paton's. Several were drawn up, with spears poised in their throwing sticks, and a tall warrior, who appeared the leader, showed unmistakable gestures of defiance and contempt.
The muskets were aimed, and the people fired. The tall man fell wounded, falling a second time after rising. The Aboriginal people now made a rapid retreat, leading him off. This daring and hostile conduct of the natives induced me to seize the opportunity to demonstrate our superiority by showing how severely we could retaliate against their aggression, but that we had no wish to injure them. With this view I continued the pursuit, directing that shots should only be fired in self-defence.
After proceeding a mile and in half [2.4km] in a N.W. Direction, we overtook Mr. Dale, near a lagoon with a few soldiers and settlers. [3] I was concerned to find he had received two wounds from the thrust of a spear by an Aboriginal man, while endeavouring to secure him in the swamp. The warrior had succeeded in escaping though severely wounded by a shot in the face. His jaw was seen to hang. He had previously slightly wounded Sergeant Smallman, who tried unsuccessfully to arrest him after knocking him down with his gun.
I now divided the party, taking half with me round the lagoon, and directed Mr. Dale, with the remainder, to go the opposite way, to get the Aboriginal people between us, should they be in the lagoon. We discovered them by their talking in the upper end, where the width was from forty to fifty yards; but none could be seen, so thick was the cover of tea trees and reeds of seven or eight feet long. [4]
While observing the Aboriginal people here, several shots were fired towards us from the opposite bank by Mr. Dale's party. On calling out for an explanation, and ordering the firing to cease, I learned that a volley of spears had been thrown at them while penetrating the swamp to where the Aboriginal people were. Three spears had pierced the arm of the acting Sergeant Major, and the party had fired in return. One of the men now called out from a tree he had climbed and gave us to understand that their women and children were with them and seemed serious in his pleas for us to leave them. I now told the party to leave the swamp, and for about twenty minutes we held a discussion with the Aboriginal people: them entreating us to leave them, and we in vain trying to encourage them to come out with us.
At this period, hearing a trampling in the lagoon, I proceeded alone down the bank, and distinctly heard the groans of the wounded, whom they were carrying past: but the height of the reeds concealed them, except the tops of their spears. I Considered I had now fully accomplished my intention to impress upon them a salutary dread of our superiority and arms yet showed them we did not wish to injure them. After getting them and their families completely in our power, we left them at sunset, apparently on friendly terms as usual. I was anxious to re-establish a good feeling, as I was afraid they might think of revenging themselves on settlers elsewhere before the settlers had heard about the affair.
During the night nothing was heard of them but next morning they were seen to cross the river at the Islands with their families, in considerable Numbers. [5]
A patrol I sent out brought in three Aboriginal men they had surprised. These men had often been in the Cantonment, and willingly accompanied the soldiers. They intimated, by signs, that some of their people were dead or wounded in the lagoon, after yesterday's clash. When I heard this I took them off to the lagoon, but they didn’t show me any dead or wounded people, and I concluded they meant only to signify that some of their people had been killed or injured there.
On our return we observed a group of about forty Aboriginal people including women and children, moving westerly. Some came towards us on being called and with these people and our Guides to the Swamp we parted on very good terms.
At the Cantonment I learned that several Aboriginal people had come in apparently anxious about the fate of the three who had been brought in in the Morning. Some days after, several Aboriginal men came into the Cantonment. and pointed out their women and children passing along the outskirts evidently to make a show of their confidence in us. I ordered that they should be received in the usual friendly way but ordered a Sergeant and a file of the Guard with their muskets to watch their movements. At seeing the arms they looked alarmed and made signs to us to put them away.
This had been a good move: for when they reached to the western edge of town, the Sergeant saw a considerable number collected around Paton's House (which they had previously rifled), trying to push open the Door and Windows. At this he made his appearance, and the Aboriginal people all ran off to the rear.
Since that time they have not visited the Cantonment: and I am happy to learn that they have committed no act of aggression against the settlers in any part of the country.
I have the honour to be, etc
(Signed) F. C. IRWIN.
Notes
[1] ‘Cantonment’ is another word for ‘barracks’ and in 1830, the Perth Barracks was on St George’s Terrace, on the corner of Barrack Street.
[2] If the massacre took place at Ellenbrook, which town would it have been at the west end of?
[3] Lake Monger is 2.4km north west of West(ish) Perth
[4] Lake Monger was quite a different shape then than it is now, (see old maps attached) and the ‘upper end’ would have gone up as far as Powis Street although have been a lot wider than 40 to 50 yards (36 to 45 metres) – perhaps Irwin meant the visible water was 36 to 45 metres wide whereas the tea-trees (paperbarks) and reeds actually stretched for a longer distance along the lake edge.
[5] This is likely to be Matta Garup (Causeway)
Australian Frontier Conflicts:
c. 1833 Clontarf Hill (Hamilton Hill Swamp), south of Fremantle, WA, massacre of Aboriginal people believed to have occurred during Acting Governor Ellis's search for Yagan.
References and Links
Barker, Anthony J. & Maxine Laurie 1992, Excellent Connections: A History of Bunbury, Western Australia 1836-1900, City of Bunbury.
Carlson, Bronwyn & Terry Farrelly 2023, Monumental Disruptions: Aboriginal people and colonial commemorations in so-called Australia, Aboriginal Studies Press.
Cowan, Peter 1988, Maitland Brown: A View of Nineteenth Century Western Australia, Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
Owen, Chris 2016, Every Mother's Son is Guilty: Policing the Kimberley Frontier of Western Australia 1882-1905, UWAP.
Statham-Drew, Pamela 2003, James Stirling: Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia, UWAP.
Early Days: The Battle of Pinjarra, 1834:
1. Ilbery, Mrs E. S. 1927, 'The passing of the Bibbulmun', Early Days, vol. 1, part 1: 24-30.
2. Grose, Mrs J. E. 1927, 'The background to the encounter', Early Days, vol. 1, part 1: 30-35.
3. Battye, Dr. J. S. 1927, 'The official records of the encounter', Early Days, vol. 1, part 1: 35-37.
Wikipedia: List of massacres in Australia, including pages for the Mowla Bluff and Forrest River massacres (in WA) of Aboriginal people.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 19 August, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/events/massacres.html (it was last updated on 24 March, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.