A documentary was made in 2018 and a federal electorate was renamed that year to remove the legacy of Angus McMillan, the alleged instigator, who is otherwise remembered as an explorer, squatter, MP and Protector of Aborigines. 0001064309 00000 n 2020, Cnr. Smith Street and Albert Street, Warragul, 3820, VIC, AU. 2, pp.20-21, [9] Cox, Kenneth (1973) Angus McMillan: Pathfinder, Published by the author. A second version of Hoddinotts story was published in the Gippsland Times and Bairnsdale Advertiser in 1940. It also suggests that the squatters were unprepared for the resistance they faced. Fawkner blamed them for most of the conflict between the Europeans and the Aborigines. He recorded that there were fifty-five Prisoners of the Crown in Gippsland, nine of whom were in government service. << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Resources 6 0 R /Contents 4 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 595 842] In 1845, Tyers reported on the Aborigines, stating: In the early part of 1843as I have been informed, some of the Corner Inlet tribe were occasionally employed by the few Settlers at Port Albert in carrying fire wood and in other light work for which they generally received payment in flour & cbut since the unprovoked murder of Mr Ronald Macalister by them at Port Albert, about that time, they have not been seen in the neighbourhood. <>>> [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]. The manager of the Krowathunkooloong keeping place in Bairnsdale, Rob Hudson, agrees. 0000116989 00000 n The creek is on a farm 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Sale, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Melbourne, in the South Gippsland area of Victoria, Australia. Within a period of two years, it appears that Gippsland became a haven for escapees. 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 Wayne, a very valuable and comprehensive article. The official reports from Tyers to La Trobe from 1844 to 1845 thus describe the situation in Gippsland where the settlers were being attacked by the Kurnai and their stock was being killed. 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. We wish to pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. They travelled with Edward Hobson, who was attempting to find an overland route to Gippsland. [14], Conflict with the Kurnai was not restricted to the Europeans. Gardners method in telling the story is to first present the massacre and McMillans involvement as matters of fact. 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. [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). Many Bunurong joined the police and used the guise of their role to extract vengeance on the Kurnai. [38], I knew two blacks who, though wounded, came out of that hole alive. 0000117321 00000 n This documentary tells the story of the Warrigal Creek massacre of 1843 in Gippsland, Victoria, where as many as 150 Gunai Kurnai children, women and . endobj Gardner, Peter, 'The Warrigal Creek massacre', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, pp. Intertribal warfare was endemic in the region with raid and counter raid where men, women and children were slaughtered as they slept, and then eaten. 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. [23] To put this in context, crimes against livestock carried a heavy penalty. According to Tyers, at least fifty Kurnai were killed by the Native Police and other Aborigines attached to the search parties. the Warrigal Creek massacre - possibly even a participant in it 10. I welcome you all to (insert place name). 0000007199 00000 n %PDF-1.4 % Still from the Warrigal Creek Documentary produced by Swinburne University Introduction On 30 December 2020 Quadrant published an article entitled "The Warrigal Creek Massacre: True Story or Apocryphal?" by Wayne Caldow1, which was a general attack on my work and in particular on the Warrigal Creek massacre. 29 May 2018. Bunjileene was a leader of the Gunaikurnai people and Purrine was the head of the Lowanjerri tribe of the Bunurong. His alleged role in the massacre is a construct entirely of Gardners own making, where he attached McMillans name to the Gippslander story without revealing this to his readers. 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. L4V n)p>WRMXBe*(ru)%]>9,ZUN \p ,_`s=L{5vs{Gw 2ngnBaz0&#Xk+_ q10 m It has influenced works including Don Watsons Caledonia Australis and Patrick Morgans The Settling of Gippsland. 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. Bookings free, but essential. 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. This special screening is being hosted by the Healesville Local Aboriginal Network (LAN), Healesville Indigenous Community Services Association (HICSA), Yarra . 0000003570 00000 n The timing of this record is important because it was made after two of the three searches for a white woman allegedly held captive by the Kurnai. To those who came by jet plane yesterday. [59] McMillans Bushy Park run was on the eastern side of the Avon. 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. 0000030698 00000 n Gary Foley's Koori History Website http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/indexb.html Kevin Gilbert, Because a . Robinson was also attempting to do the same, although by a different route. As Bell indicates the early 1840s certainly were . 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. [2] His work has indeed permeated academic and public discourse, but it contains many unproven assertions that undermine his main premise, that McMillan was responsible for the massacre. [44] The word colourful may have been more appropriate. [2] Some historians assert that the number of 60 is an exaggeration, despite the witness accounts. LGMedia. Like Dunderdale and Thomas, he did not mention a mythical Highland Brigade and he was clearly not constrained by Gardners imaginary secrecy. Launch date: Wednesday 4 AprilStratford Courthouse TheatreFree entry but bookings essentialRegister via Eventbrite http://bit.ly/2sTmWsCAbout the filmWhen 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.At a quiet bend on a beautiful creek they committed one of the worst acts of indiscriminate killing in the Australian colonies.Drawing on official archives and oral histories that have never died, this is the story of The Warrigal Creek Massacre.Because to move forward we must acknowledge our past.Produced and directed by Andrew Dodd and Lisa Gye.Production and research by Danielle Bowen, Jonathan Boadle, Jakeb Fair, Alex Owsianka, Don Sheil and Ben Winnell.Supported by Swinburne University. There were further reports of violence involving the Kurnai in April 1844 when the Sydney Morning Herald printed a letter from a Gippsland squatter: The blacks are still continuing their outragesburning huts, robbing peoples gardens, and slaughtering cattle by wholesale. [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. Emotional articles in the Guardian in 2019 parroted the denunciation of McMillan, as did the Gippsland Times in June 2020. 0000020971 00000 n Warrigal Creek is the site of an 1843 massacre in of Gunai/Kurnai people in colonial Victoria, during the Australian frontier wars. Gardner prefaced the following quote from Gippslander stating that after the murder of Macalister, An avenging party set out under the leadership of Angus McMillan , The brigade coming up to the blacks camped around the waterhole at Warrigal Creek surrounded them and fired into them, killing a great number, some escaped into the scrub, others jumped into the waterhole, and, as fast as they put their heads up for a breath, they were shot until the water was red with blood. Advice: This page does not contain images of people who have died. Use your same username and password to log in and you'll be Part III: Other Versions of the Massacre Story. 0000024227 00000 n 0000001456 00000 n The Warrigal Creek Massacre, a documentary exploring the history of colonisation in Gippsland in the 1800s, is screening at the [.] 0000034127 00000 n 0000017382 00000 n Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group members Marg Lynn and Florence Hydon say they have been left completely unsatisfied: Stage one was getting rid of McMillan, of course, but stage two was totally frustrating.. An important part of Australian history, necessary for reconciliation. In Chapter 4, he gives another rendition of the Gippslander story, stating the massacre was lead [sic] by McMillan. Purchase tickets, x]xG)mIq$hpwwR+VKqPMps^63.ffv>Y ?hiO#'FZ@&.JGr4O,D5nHEK{GDs ,2fspcd88qpB[V,4~nfrpe8,$Y}i{rq]v9sl{3g &6mBRii&"0k2dZNPR5foHWJcJWLlel+_0d)[Vs[ ])[UJT+Wd41 The Warrigal Creek Massacre: True Story or Apocryphal? 0000033752 00000 n % 2 0 obj Considering that Gardner has political motives and a disdain for objectivity, his work should perhaps be seen as a political campaign rather than as history. In March 1840, twenty Bunurong men from Westernport escaped the supervision of Assistant Protector William Thomas to undertake a raid into Gippsland. This documentary was made by university journalism students and staff. The Scottish colonist and pastoralist, Angus McMillan, led a group of around 20 colonists to attack and kill several groups of Aboriginal people across a number of days. At the end of 1845, Tyers wrote a follow-up report stating: since the return of the Native Police to Head Quarters the depredations of the Aborigines of the District on the property of the Settlers, including horses as well as horned stock, have increased to an alarming extentand that I cannot at present suggest any other means of prevention, than the continuing service of the Native Police.[27]. 0000003656 00000 n [citation needed] The group of Gaelic-speaking Scotsmen was known as the "Highland Brigade". I knew two blacks, who though wounded came out of the hole alive. Howitt noted that the Kurnai killed by the Europeans were mostly, though not all, fighting men of the tribe. Robinsons comments are significant in that he was revealing that escaped convicts were responsible for mistreating the Kurnai. In July 1843 Angus McMillan and a group of his countrymen known as the Highland Brigade shot between 60 and 150 Gunaikurnai people in retribution for the murder of Ronald Macalister, the nephew of a wealthy pastoralist, Lachlan Macalister, who owned a local station called Nuntin. stream 0000888069 00000 n Their submission was denied; McMillan was renamed the Monash electorate instead. Thomas wrote in April 1845: He said he and another man had come unarmed from Gippsland. <<6C2049F009130640B9B98E7F057F832E>]/Prev 1164416/XRefStm 1766>> But we strive to be one people, equality of opportunity for all, no privilege by birth, truly one nation. 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. 148 0 obj <>stream 0001064365 00000 n 0000024998 00000 n new domain, Events.com. Hatcher appears to suggest that there was a massacre at Bruthen Creek; Gardner has either ignored or failed to grasp this to make the account fit his Warrigal Creek narrative. His reports correlate with the newspaper accounts in describing the violent state of Gippsland. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. He added that one of the Kurnai involved in the murder survived and often re-enacted his part in the ambush. According to Gardner, the Warrigal Creek massacre was revenge for his murder. Drawing on official archives and oral histories that have never died, this is the story of The Warrigal Creek Massacre. [4] Howitts pioneering anthropological work is compelling reading and provides a suitable counter to many modern narratives. These stories contain the earliest known account of a massacre as revenge for the death of Macalister. If a historical narrative is to be used as the basis for debate or action in the public sphere, it should be grounded in non-partisan, objective research and analysis. Word of the murder was sent to Lachlan Macalister. endobj According to Dunderdale, Donald Macalister fired at some Kurnai without any provocation. The statistical discrepancies likely emerged because Macmillan's group killed Aboriginal people at five different locations in the area. Produced and directed by Andrew Dodd and Lisa Gye. Elizabeth Balderstone leads a lifestyle that many city dwellers fantasise about, on a farm in Victorias Gippsland, surrounded by friendly sheep, with a humble little creek just 60 metres from her house. [15]. <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 595.4 841.8] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> 0000020785 00000 n 'Conspiracy of silence': how sabotaged inquiries fed massacre denials, Telling the truth about Australia's past will be painful but it will be liberating | Karen Mundine and Richard Weston, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In Chapter 1 of Gippsland Massacres, he states: There was a brigade formed by McMillan, which according to Gippslander, was called the Highland Brigade, and mainly consisted of Scotsmen who swore before God and their Queen not to inform on their fellow desperados, and to maintain complete secrecy of the affair in which they were about to participate. Travelled with Edward Hobson, who was attempting to do the same, although by a different route Brigade... Restricted to the search parties blamed them for most of the Warrigal Creek -. 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