DOCSLIB.ORG

Legislative Assembly

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Legislative Assembly 6894 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thursday 8 June 2000 ______ Mr Speaker (The Hon. John Henry Murray) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. Mr Speaker offered the Prayer. BILL RETURNED The following bill was returned from the Legislative Council without amendment: Courts Legislation Amendment Bill CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL Second Reading Debate resumed from 7 June. Mr O'DOHERTY (Hornsby) [10.02 a.m.]: I speak on behalf of the New South Wales Opposition in place of my colleague the shadow Attorney General, the honourable member for Gosford, who is currently on duty with his Sydney Organisation Committee for the Olympic Games colleague the Minister for the Olympics welcoming the Olympic torch to Australia. All Australians have been following the event on radio and television this morning. There is great excitement as the Olympic torch arrives at the very heart of our land. The Constitution Amendment Bill was introduced by the Government in another place. It deals with a problem that was drawn to our attention in 1996 in a report by the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption concerning the need to clarify the meaning of the word "conviction" in relation to members of Parliament holding their seats. I refer honourable members to the speech on behalf of the Opposition given by the shadow Minister in another place. The Opposition will not oppose the bill. Mr WHELAN (Strathfield—Minister for Police) [10.04 a.m.], in reply: I thank the honourable member for his contribution. Motion agreed to. Bill read a second time and passed through remaining stages. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Precedence of Business: Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders Motion by Mr Whelan agreed to: That standing and sessional orders be suspended to allow the consideration forthwith of a motion from the member for Wollongong regarding the treatment of Aboriginal people and Aboriginal reconciliation, with the following speaking times: Mover - 10 minutes Member next speaking - 10 minutes 6 other members - 5 minutes Reply - 5 minutes. MYALL CREEK MASSACRE Mr MARKHAM (Wollongong—Parliamentary Secretary) [10.06 a.m.]: I move: That this House: (1) recognise the significance of Myall Creek as an example of the treatment of Aboriginal people and of justice being done; (2) recognise the importance of sharing the whole truth of Australian history; and 8 June 2000 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 6895 (3) commend the Myall Creek Memorial Committee, and all the Aboriginal and other Australians who have worked together in a spirit of reconciliation to acknowledge the shared truth of our history. This Saturday on 10 June at Myall Creek near Bingara in north-west New South Wales a ceremony will be held to dedicate a memorial to the 1838 Myall Creek massacre. That event needs to be remembered as an appalling example of the treatment of Aboriginal people on colonial frontiers. Myall Creek can also be celebrated as an early example of Australian justice and of reconciliation in action. After all, there can be no reconciliation without justice. This is the story of Myall Creek. On 10 June 1838, 12 armed stockmen rode onto Henry Dangar's Myall Creek Station, where friendly Aboriginal people were camped. They rounded up and roped together like animals 28 Aboriginal elderly men, women and children, who were then dragged by the 12 stockmen into the bush and butchered—every last one. Their bodies were then burnt. The stockmen planned their murderous attack well. They waited until the younger Aboriginal men of the camp were away working with the station manager, leaving their elderly and women and children unprotected. When the station manager and young Aboriginal men returned the station manager immediately reported the massacre to the authorities. Henry Dangar's honourable action of reporting a crime against an Aboriginal community was uncommon during these times as Aboriginal people were considered animals and pests. The leader of the murderers escaped but the other 11 stockmen were brought to trial in Sydney. They were acquitted on a technicality. The jury was out for 20 minutes and the not guilty verdict was greeted by cheering. One of the jurors was later quoted in the Australian as saying: I look on the blacks as a set of monkeys and the sooner they are exterminated from the face of the earth, the better. I knew the men were guilty of murder but I would never see a white man hanged for killing a black. Four of the accused were freed. The other seven were retried on a different charge, found guilty and hanged. This was the first time white men were punished and brought to justice for killing Aboriginal people. The hanging of the Myall Creek murderers caused great outrage in Sydney. But there were many colonists who were outraged at the massacres of Aboriginal people. However, their voices were few among many. The Myall Creek massacre became headline news and caused a scandal that split colonial society. The Sydney Morning Herald spoke for the majority: We want neither the classic nor the romantic savage here. We have far too many of the murderous wretches about us already. The whole gang of black animals are not worth the money the colonists will have to pay for printing the silly court documents on which we have already wasted too much time. Most of the frontier massacres were not known about or talked about. Much of the history has been hidden and untold. The Myall Creek massacre was an unprovoked and premeditated act. Sadly, it was one of the many such massacres that occurred all along the settlement frontier during the nineteenth century. The truth is that gangs of stockmen regularly went on Aboriginal hunts. These are commonly remembered in white tradition as "a big bush whack", or simply "a drive". Nigel Parbury's book Survival records another massacre which occurred in 1865. A gang of stockmen, acting on advice and example by Major Nunn, also went on a drive which lasted several months. It culminated in the massacre of more than 200 Aboriginal people at Slaughterhouse Creek at the end of May. We certainly did not learn about massacres, rape and torture in Australian history classes. Nor did we learn about Aboriginal resistance. We learnt the whitewashed history of Australia. Historian Jan Roberts recorded many Aboriginal oral histories and included them in her 1981 book Massacres to Mining: The Colonisation of Aboriginal Australia. These are the words of an Aboriginal survivor—part of our untold history: My mother would sit and cry and tell me this: They buried our babies in the ground with only their heads above the ground. All in a row they were. Then they had tests to see who could kick the babies' heads off the furthest. Most of the history of Aboriginal resistance has been written out of the Australian legend. For reconciliation to occur, there needs to be an honest acknowledgement of our history. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people naturally have a different perspective on Australia's history to that of many immigrant Australians. What Europeans call "settlement" Aboriginal people call "invasion". A proper acknowledgement of history is basic to understanding the present circumstances and claims of indigenous Australians. Guilt is not a useful tool for reconciliation; a comprehensive understanding of our shared history is. From the beginning, Australia was treated as a colony of settlement, not of conquest. Aboriginal land was taken under the legal fiction of terra nullius—that the land belonged to no-one. There were no official negotiations or treaties. Looking at the Aboriginal perspective on Australia's colonisation is essential to the 6896 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 8 June 2000 production of a balanced picture, one that acknowledges not only the achievements of the settlers but also the terrible consequences of those achievements for Aboriginal Australians. And it helps us to understand how Aboriginal people came to be treated as a different and inferior people. Aboriginal studies should be a compulsory part of every child's education. Some excellent programs are up and running in New South Wales which are working to improve our children's education on Australian Aboriginal history. There is a pre-service teacher training project in universities called Teaching the Teachers. It is a model mandatory Aboriginal Studies subject with three excellent modules on teaching Aboriginal history. There is also a new project called Achieving Reconciliation in New South Wales Schools. The project aims to involve young people in reconciliation within their communities, but it also has a strong focus on teaching young people about Aboriginal people, culture and history. This excellent initiative has recently been completed by the Macquarie University and is funded by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Relatively few non-indigenous Australians have much to do with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in their day-to-day lives. A lack of first-hand information provides fertile ground for simplistic or false perceptions. Myall Creek is a very important part of New South Wales and Australian history, and the memorial should be given every support. The memorial commemorates not only the massacre and the fact that justice was done; it is testimony to the true history of Australia. The memorial is an initiative of the Myall Creek Memorial Committee, led by Gamilaroi Elder Lyall Munro Senior and Dr John Brown of the Uniting Church. Indigenous and non-indigenous community members were also involved, including descendants of the Aboriginal people who were massacred and descendants of the white stockmen who were hanged. This is a true sign of reconciliation. The Myall Creek memorial is funded by the New South Wales Government Heritage Assistance program and the Local Symbols of Reconciliation project of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Intimacies of Violence in the Settler Colony Economies of Dispossession Around the Pacific Rim
    Cambridge Imperial & Post-Colonial Studies INTIMACIES OF VIOLENCE IN THE SETTLER COLONY ECONOMIES OF DISPOSSESSION AROUND THE PACIFIC RIM EDITED BY PENELOPE EDMONDS & AMANDA NETTELBECK Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series Series Editors Richard Drayton Department of History King’s College London London, UK Saul Dubow Magdalene College University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK The Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies series is a collection of studies on empires in world history and on the societies and cultures which emerged from colonialism. It includes both transnational, comparative and connective studies, and studies which address where particular regions or nations participate in global phenomena. While in the past the series focused on the British Empire and Commonwealth, in its current incarna- tion there is no imperial system, period of human history or part of the world which lies outside of its compass. While we particularly welcome the first monographs of young researchers, we also seek major studies by more senior scholars, and welcome collections of essays with a strong thematic focus. The series includes work on politics, economics, culture, literature, science, art, medicine, and war. Our aim is to collect the most exciting new scholarship on world history with an imperial theme. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/13937 Penelope Edmonds Amanda Nettelbeck Editors Intimacies of Violence in the Settler Colony Economies of Dispossession around the Pacific Rim Editors Penelope Edmonds Amanda Nettelbeck School of Humanities School of Humanities University of Tasmania University of Adelaide Hobart, TAS, Australia Adelaide, SA, Australia Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series ISBN 978-3-319-76230-2 ISBN 978-3-319-76231-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76231-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018941557 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • Today We're Alive – Generating Performance in a Cross-Cultural
    Faculty of Education and Social Work The University of Sydney Today We’re Alive – generating performance in a cross-cultural context, an Australian experience. By Linden Wilkinson A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Faculty of Education and Social Work Office of Doctoral Studies AUTHOR’S DECLARATION This is to certify that: l. this thesis comprises only my original work towards the Doctorate of Philosophy. ll. due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. lll. the thesis does not exceed the word length for this degree. lV. no part of this work has been used for the award of another degree. V. this thesis meets the University of Sydney’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) requirements for the conduct of this research. Signature: Name: Linden Wilkinson Date: 17th September, 2014 Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge my supervisors, Associate Professor Dr Michael Anderson and Dr Paul Dwyer, for their support, rigour and encouragement in relation to this project. I would also like to thank my family for their patience. And I would like to express my profound gratitude to everyone, who shared their time, their wisdom and their memories so willingly to this undertaking. The Myall Creek story goes on… Finally to the actors – to Fred, Anna, Lily, Genevieve, Aunty Rhonda & Terry in 2011, to Bjorn, Rosie, Frankie & Russell in 2013 – thanks for your skill, your trust, your imagination and your humour. And thanks for saying, “Yes.” i Today We’re Alive generating performance in a cross-cultural context, an Australian experience Abstract Using a mixed methods approach this thesis explores the construction and dissemination of a cross-cultural play within the Australian context.
    [Show full text]
  • Path to Treaty
    Report from the Treaty Working Group on Queensland’s PATH TO TREATY February 2020 Copyright Copyright © State of Queensland, February 2020. Copyright protects this publication. Excerpts may be reproduced with acknowledgment of the State of Queensland. This document is licensed by the State of Queensland under a Creative Attribution (CC BY) 3.0 Australian license. CC BY License Summary Statement: In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the Report from the Treaty Working Group on Queensland’s Path to Treaty as long as you attribute the work to the State of Queensland. To view a copy of this license, visit: www. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en. While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of any data, information, statement or advice, expressed or implied, contained within. To the best of our knowledge, the content was correct at the time of publishing. The information in this publication is general and does not take into account individual circumstances or situations. Disclaimer Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are warned the photographs in this publication may contain images of deceased persons which may cause sadness or distress. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...............................................4 Introduction and history 4 Treaties and agreement making 4 Community engagement process and findings 4 Conclusions 5 Recommendations 5 MESSAGE FROM THE TREATY WORKING GROUP ..................................................8 MEET THE TREATY WORKING GROUP AND EMINENT PANEL ..................................8 GLOSSARY AND TERMINOLOGY ........................................................................ 13 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 14 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF QUEENSLAND ..............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Memorialising the Past: Is There an Aboriginal Way?
    Memorialising the Past: Is there an Aboriginal Way? BRONWYN BATTEN AND PAUL BATTEN n Australia, men of European background dominate I memorials. This dominance is largely a product of the times in which the majority of memorials were created between 1800 and the post WWII era.1 In these times, the focus of history was on politics and warfare both of which were the ‘stages’ on which the lives of great men were played out.2 In the ‘post- modern’ era, the practice of history has expanded to incorporate not only the ‘achievements of great men but of ordinary people, especially those minority or disadvantaged groups supposedly outside the mainstream’.3 Whilst the study of history has expanded to include minority groups such as Australia’s Indigenous people, the field of heritage interpretation is only beginning to engage with diverse perspectives of the Australian past.4 Similarly, although there Public History Review Vol 15 (2008): 92–116 © UTSePress and the authors Public History Review | Batten & Batten has been a growth in memorialisation in recent times,5 it is only relatively recently that memorials have begun to engage with the history of minority groups and in particular Indigenous Australians.6 The idea of memorialisation is seen by some people as being ‘foreign’ to Australian Indigenous cultures. This is particularly relevant to the so-called ‘European’ style of memorialisation generally adopted in Australia that has a classical lineage such as stone and bronze statues, sculptures and pillars. If Indigenous people had memorials it was assumed that places within the landscape itself served the memorial function and thus they were a ‘natural’ form of memorial.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Dangar and the Myall Creek Massacre 1838
    “a very bad business”: Henry Dangar and the Myall Creek Massacre 1838 Lyndall Ryan University of Newcastle Introduction The Myall Creek massacre is widely regarded today as one of the most shameful incidents in Australian colonial history. Carried out by 12 armed, mounted stockmen on 10 June 1838 at Henry Dangar’s pastoral lease at Myall Creek in north western New South Wales, it is usually cited as an example of the lawlessness that prevailed on the colonial frontier at this time. The men rode into the station late on a Sunday afternoon, tied up and then deliberately shot and decapitated 28 unarmed Aboriginal men, women and children and afterwards burnt their bodies to escape detection. But, unlike other massacres in the region, this incident was reported to the authorities by Henry Dangar’s overseer. All but one of the perpetrators were apprehended, charged with the murder of an Aboriginal man and brought to trial, but there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction. Seven of the perpetrators were then charged with the murder of an Aboriginal child and following another trial were convicted and then hanged. The lead up to the trials and the determination of the attorney general to secure a conviction created a sensation in the colony and placed the government under severe pressure for appearing to support Aboriginal people at the expense of the colonists. i While the massacre and the trials which followed have been the subject of considerable scholarly attention, little is known about Henry Dangar and his relations with his employees at Myall Creek.
    [Show full text]
  • RECONCILIATION TRAIL - Armidale to Myall Creek
    1 RECONCILIATION TRAIL - Armidale to Myall Creek As we start off in Armidale and travel to Mt Yarrawyck, Tingha, Goonawigall, Inverell, Cranky Rock and Myall Creek we are making a long curving path that joins onto the one at the Memorial site which for Aboriginal people speaks of the path of the Rainbow Serpent moving through the land and creating the features of the landscape. Aboriginal language groups in the area https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aiatsis- map-indigenous-australia Who belongs to this land? The traditional custodians of the New England Region are the Anaiwan people living around Armidale and Tingha and the Kamilaroi around Inverell. The Anaiwan language is being revived and taught. The Kamilaroi nation is the second largest in Eastern Australia after the Waradjuri land that lies further south and west of the Blue Mountains. The Kamilaroi (pronounced Gamilaroi) inhabited a large country, stretching from as far as the Hunter Valley in NSW through to Nindigully in Qld and as far west as the Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran. They maintained fertile soil, running rivers and streams, and plentiful fish supplies. Today, descendants of the traditional people of the 2 Kamilaroi Nation continue to occupy these lands. They are known as 'Murri' people. The towns in their country include Moree, Inverell, Narrabri and Gunnedah. The Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay language) belong to Australia's largest language family, the Pama- Nyungan. Before 1788 this language family covered 90% of the country and comprised hundreds of languages. Today the Gamilaraay language remains an important part of Kamilaroi heritage. Although there are no fluent speakers, the language is being reconstructed from recordings and dictionaries, and is being taught by Kamilaroi people.
    [Show full text]
  • Bringing Them Home Rightsed | Bringing Them Home Bringing Them Home
    Human rights education resources for teachers Photo: Heide Smith Bringing them home rightsED | Bringing them home Bringing them home Subjects: Society and Environment, English, Arts/Drama, Human rights Australian Studies, Aboriginal Studies, education resources Civics and Citizenship, Geography, History for teachers Level: Some activities suitable for Year 5 and up (most activities suitable for Year 9 and up) Time needed: 1–10 lessons (can be used as a complete unit of study or separately as required – refer to individual activities) Introduction In 1997, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now the Australian Human Rights Commission) released its report Bringing them home: National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. Following this, the Commission received extensive requests from teachers for information about the report. The resources on this site have been developed in response to this request. There are a variety of worksheets that can be used in either the classroom or in the community. Warning: These materials may contain images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. Aim The teaching activities are intended to help students gain a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the issues surrounding the forcible removal of Indigenous people in Australian history. The aim of each activity is detailed in the teaching and learning strategies. Activities can be photocopied for class use and used individually or as an entire resource. Learning
    [Show full text]
  • Australia: a Cultural History (Third Edition)
    AUSTRALIA A CULTURAL HISTORY THIRD EDITION JOHN RICKARD AUSTRALIA Australia A CULTURAL HISTORY Third Edition John Rickard Australia: A Cultural History (Third Edition) © Copyright 2017 John Rickard All rights reserved. Apart from any uses permitted by Australia’s Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the copyright owners. Inquiries should be directed to the publisher. Monash University Publishing Matheson Library and Information Services Building 40 Exhibition Walk Monash University Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia www.publishing.monash.edu Monash University Publishing brings to the world publications which advance the best traditions of humane and enlightened thought. Monash University Publishing titles pass through a rigorous process of independent peer review. www.publishing.monash.edu/books/ach-9781921867606.html Series: Australian History Series Editor: Sean Scalmer Design: Les Thomas Cover image: Aboriginal demonstrators protesting at the re-enactment of the First Fleet. The tall ships enter Sydney Harbour with the Harbour Bridge in the background on 26 January 1988 during the Bicentenary celebrations. Published in Sydney Morning Herald 26 January, 1988. Courtesy Fairfax Media Syndication, image FXJ24142. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Creator: Rickard, John, author. Title: Australia : a cultural history / John Rickard. Edition: Third Edition ISBN: 9781921867606 (paperback) Subjects: Australia--History. Australia--Civilization. Australia--Social conditions. ISBN (print): 9781921867606 ISBN (PDF): 9781921867613 First published 1988 Second edition 1996 In memory of John and Juan ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Rickard is the author of two prize-winning books, Class and Politics: New South Wales, Victoria and the Early Commonwealth, 1890-1910 and H.B.
    [Show full text]
  • Aborigines, the Law, Justice and Imprisonment in Colonial Queensland
    ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Genever, Terence Geoffrey (1996) The road to Lotus Glen: Aborigines, the law, justice and imprisonment in colonial Queensland. PhD thesis, James Cook University of North Queensland. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/35099/ If you believe that this work constitutes a copyright infringement, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/35099/ THE ROAD TO LOTUS GLEN: ABORIGINES, THE LAW, JUSTICE AND IMPRISONMENT IN COLONIAL QUEENSLAND. Thesis submitted by Terence Geoffrey Genever, BA(Hons). March 1996. for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History and Politics James Cook University of North Queensland I, the undersigned, the author of this thesis, understand that the James Cook University of North Queensland will make it available for use within the University library and by microfilm or other photographic means, allow access to users in other approved libraries. All users consulting this thesis will have to sign the following statement: "In consulting this thesis I agree not to copy or closely paraphrase it in whole or in part without the written consent of the author; and to make proper written acknowledgment for any assistance which I have obtained from it." Beyon9Ahis, I do not wish to place any restriction on access to this thesis. /. f}···1R/.IC.. .... !.Jjft ABSTRACT This thesis examines aspects of the laws that were applied to Aborigines during Queensland's colonial era. It looks at the effect of imposing an alien judicial system on people who did not understand it but nonetheless recognised its inequity.
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-08485-8 — Taking Liberty Ann Curthoys , Jessie Mitchell Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-08485-8 — Taking Liberty Ann Curthoys , Jessie Mitchell Index More Information Index Aboriginal cricket team, 284 Adelaide Chronicle, 96 Aboriginal Evidence Act 1840 (WA), 135 Adelaide River settlement, 352–53 Aboriginal Evidence Act 1846 (SA), 135 agriculture, 307 Aboriginal missions. See missions Albert (Prince of Wales) Aboriginal people. See Indigenous people celebrations to mark his marriage, 280–83 Aboriginal policy gifts from Kulin nation, 281 Britain. See British Aboriginal policy Alexandra (Princess), gift from Kulin nation, colonies. See headings for each colony e.g. 281 Queensland — Aboriginal policy Alfred (Prince, Duke of Edinburgh) Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 (Vic), 286 Aboriginal people banned from Victorian Aboriginal Protection Association, 386 towns during visit, 285–86 Aboriginal reserves. See reserves attempted assassination in Sydney, 310 Aborigines Protection Act 1886 (WA), cricket match for, 310 391–92, 396 grand corroboree in Sydney, 310 Aborigines Protection Board (WA), 392, 395, meeting with Oyster Cove residents, 259 396, 402, 403 meeting with residents of Point McLeay Aborigines Protection Society (APS) (NSW), mission and surrounding districts, 78, 80, 81, 138 355–57 Aborigines Protection Society (APS) (UK), 9, royal tour of Australian colonies, 251 22, 92, 135, 393 visit to Queensland, 331–33 Aboriginal policy and representative gov- visit to Western Australia, 363 ernment in Australia, 177 Allan, John McMahon, 278, 279 amalgamation policy, 238 Allbrook, Malcolm, 363 debate over colonial constitutions, 237 Allen, George, 193 frontier violence in Queensland, 239 Allen, Jack, 149 impact of convictism, 166 Allison, William Race, 203, 264 imperial control over Aboriginal policy, 115 Allport, Morton, 260 New Zealand self-government, 215 amalgamation/assimilation theory, 117–19 protection of Canadian Indians, 109–11 Angas, George Fife, 338, 342 recognition of Maori rights, 175 Angas, George French, 309 rights of Aboriginal people, 12 Angelo, E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Killing Times
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Killing Times by Gerry Georgatos April 20th, 2013 Australia was founded on bloodshed, and its historical identity and its origins-of- thinking include slavery (blackbirding), social engineering, apartheid, racism. To deny all of this is to keep Australians hostage to the various veils and layers of racism. Understanding the past is to free up the present and the future from being held hostage by lies. Far too often our ability to discover the truth has been outstripped by the capacity to manifest deceit. Last week, Western Australia’s Governor, Malcolm McCusker, in what was a surprising gaffe or an act of ignorance claimed in a speech to a joint sitting of Parliament that Australia as we know it was “achieved without civil war or bloodshed.” It is an insult to Aboriginal peoples, and to the hundreds of descendants of the hundreds of Aboriginal cultures whose ancestors were slaughtered in massacres. Governor McCusker asserted that Australian democracy and its Government arose without civil strife. This was all too much for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Roger Cook who challenged Governor McCusker’s comments. Mr Cooke has married into an Aboriginal family. Mr Cook took the opportunity to correct Governor McCusker’s comments from the previous week in his speech during the opening of the new term of Parliament. “On this particular occasion, I am taking the opportunity to remind the Governor of our history,” said Mr Cook. “Many people died in terms of the assertion of the new legal rights, which the British colony enforced upon the original inhabitants of this area.” “Unless we come to terms with that, we will continue to repeat the injustices that were done at the time.” Mr Cook went as far as citing some of the bloodshed – he referred to the Flying Foam Massacre on the Dampier Archipelago in 1868 and the subsequent civil strife which just about wiped out the Yaburara peoples of the Burrup.
    [Show full text]
  • John Henry Fleming and the Myall Creek Massacre
    The University of Newcastle The Twelfth Man: John Fleming and the Myall Creek Massacre Submitted in partial fulfilment for Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Author Patricia Mary Withycombe Supervisor Lyndall Ryan Date of Submission 30 October 2015 1 Statement of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final copy of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Signed Name Date 2 Acknowledgements Firstly, thanks to my supervisor Professor Lyndall Ryan for her generous supervisory meetings, suggestions and critique of my work. I would also like to thank Professor Philip Dwyer for his encouragement, constructive review of my draft thesis and prompt replies to my many emails. I would also like to thank Dr. Jillian Barnes for initially drawing me to my thesis topic. The staff at the Auchmuty Library have been extremely helpful at all times, especially Ann and Karen from Get It and John Di Gravio and Gregg Heathcote in the archives section in Cultural Collections. The State Library of New South Wales, the Mitchell Library and State Records of New South Wales have all helped with my many enquiries. Special thanks to Ros Bean who transcribed the letter recently purchased by the State Library of New South Wales and to Naomi Newton and Noellen Newton from the library at the National Museum Australia who alerted me to the purchase of this letter relating to the massacre by the State Library of New South Wales in April 2015.
    [Show full text]