Thread: Sadly our history has some very dark parts

The Duracks were being attacked and murdered up until the 1930s AFAIR.
Some of the chained aboriginals are not so innocent or guilty of “petty crimes”
look up Tunnel Creek then go to the story of Pigeon. It is a very sympathetic account IMHO
AFAIK the most common crime was spearing cattle as they were easier to kill than Roos , but of course too many killed could affe ct the station owner a lot.
Regards Philip A
ps I have no guilt as my ancestors were all free settlers in NSW and on the male side employed aboriginals to find cedar .

regards Philip A

"Saddly our history has some very dark parts" [sic] is the title of this thread and focus is on events that go back hundreds of years. Granted some comment has suggested murders as recent as 1930.

My own past, my own life and living memory, has some dark parts to it too - and that only goes back to late 1959.

The person I am today (a fine upstanding, honest and contributory member of society, able to be trusted with your 19yo french maid while you are on holidays) is partly a result of the mistakes (and even deliberate acts of unrighteousness) I was guilty of, in my younger days.

I paid for some of my errors and got away with others. The man I am now chooses more wisely than the man of my youth. I have made my peace with my past and am glad that social media never existed back then - so my mistakes are not pinned on a global noticeboard forever.

Doesn't any of the ways that we develop as individuals relate to Australia's growth and maturing as a country too? I think it does.

So in the same spirit I would say go **** off to anyone who wants to hold something I did back in my youth against me now - I will say the same, **** off, to anyone who wants to hold Australia to ransom for the sins of our forefathers

We can't change the past, but it would be good if we learned from it. Sadly, some seem to prefer to ignore it than to learn from it, so we keep repeating the same mistakes and deliberate offences.

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Photos show Aboriginals shackled in chains | Daily Mail Online

It was the wild west for some time. In 1865 the British Colonial Secretaries Office decreed no convicts could be used as forced labour beyond the 26th parallel, because of the extreme heat. Consequently, aboriginals were forced into labour, often under chains, and cattle were moved into the land of the local people. Inevitably, blood was spilled on both sides, with the most notorious local, Jandamarra, [ pigeon] reaching hero status amongst his people. Guilty of murdering white people, about 4 I think, it all started when he was working for the police as a tracker. Sent out to track down [ and allegedly shoot] some natives spearing cattle, Jandamarra found the group. They were from his own family, and when told 500 cattle had been pushed onto his tribal lands , he ended up shooting the policeman in charge of his party. After evading the white police for quite a while, it ended when a fellow black tracker shot him. It wasn't until 1966 that equal pay between white and black working on the cattle stations was made law.

Indigenous history in northern WA

The history of Aboriginal people in Australia’s northwest differs greatly from those on the east coast or in southern WA due to a colonial quirk. The British Colonial Secretaries Office decreed in 1865 that due to the extreme heat no convict labour was to be used further north than the 26th parallel. Consequently, rather than being slaughtered as on the east coast, local indigenous people were pressed into service in the burgeoning pastoral and pearling industries, meaning that their white “owners” were paradoxically depleting their workforces whenever they wanted to imprison local Aborigines for minor offences (an unsurprisingly regular occurrence).


The story of Jandamarra or “Pigeon” gives an interesting perspective on relations between Aborigines and white settlers.
Jandamarra, a member of the Bunuba group, was made a “tracker” in the 1890s, and was expected to work with the white police force to weed out Aboriginal criminals. When rounding up a group of such “criminals” at Lillimooloora Police Station in 1894, Jandamarra’s loyalties to his people returned to the fore, and he killed a policeman, Constable Richardson, instigating a three-year “war” between his followers and the police force. His escapes from Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek entered folklore – in the latter case the police staked out one end of the tunnel for days, in the belief that it was a cave, while Jandamarra escaped from the other end. Ironically, it was another Aboriginal tracker who caught and shot Jandamarra at Tunnel Creek in 1897.


By the 1880s, huge numbers of Aboriginal people were “black-birded”, or uprooted from their traditional communities, and marched for hundreds of kilometres to pastoral or pearling stations. With pastoralism dominating the area’s economy for the next hundred years, it took a shamefully long time for the mistreatment of indigenous workers to end, and it was only in 1966 that equal pay was granted to Aboriginal stockmen and farm workers. Unfortunately, this did not bring an end to Aboriginal suffering, as the increased mechanization of the farming industry resulted in the now-unwanted labourers being driven off the stations and into towns far away from their traditional land.


Today, the harsh realities of indigenous life are displayed at every turn in the Kimberley, particularly in towns along the highway such as Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing. On a more positive note, Aboriginal art is a growing force across the region, bringing funds in to poor communities and in some cases alleviating social problems. The galleries and workshops in Roebourne and Kununurra are well worth a visit.

Many so called 'Free Settlers' got their land for 'free'. IE: it was stolen from Aboriginal people, who were then chained up and murdered because they were protecting their land. All private and public land owned by anyone other than Aboriginal people in Australia falls into this category. We should all bear this in mind when making claims about our rights as Australian citizens. There is yet to be a Treaty which resolves the issues around this fact. Until there is there will continue to be intercultural anxiety. We all have a responsibility to recognise this and work towards a Treaty IMO.

Originally Posted by Zeros

Many so called 'Free Settlers' got their land for 'free'. IE: it was stolen from Aboriginal people, who were then chained up and murdered because they were protecting their land. All private and public land owned by anyone other than Aboriginal people in Australia falls into this category. We should all bear this in mind when making claims about our rights as Australian citizens. There is yet to be a Treaty which resolves the issues around this fact. Until there is there will continue to be intercultural anxiety. We all have a responsibility to recognise this and work towards a Treaty IMO.

Interesting point of view - I don't agree with it, but can respect it.

In any treaty it takes all parties to work towards a common goal. Lets hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Cheers Ean

Originally Posted by Zeros

Many so called 'Free Settlers' got their land for 'free'. IE: it was stolen from Aboriginal people, who were then chained up and murdered because they were protecting their land. All private and public land owned by anyone other than Aboriginal people in Australia falls into this category. We should all bear this in mind when making claims about our rights as Australian citizens. There is yet to be a Treaty which resolves the issues around this fact. Until there is there will continue to be intercultural anxiety. We all have a responsibility to recognise this and work towards a Treaty IMO.

A treaty with Who?
The vast majority of people that call themselves Aboriginal these days are of mixed race now, So are these people also to be held accountable as well because of their part Non Aboriginal heritage. Or do they make a treaty with themselves?
All this talk about treaties and things like calling Australia day "Invasion day" and cancelling the event does Nothing for reconciliation in fact I put it to you that it is a cause of Division in our society.
We are ALL Australians and we are ALL responsible for building the infrastructure, the security and the social safeguards that EVERYONE now enjoys So we ALL have the same rights as Australians and to say that one particular race of people that live in Australia have MORE rights than others is Racist and is Exactly the Same Sick thinking that the early settlers had.
If you think about ALL the people that now live in Australia and call themselves Australians you will see that we are a VERY diverse society populated with people from many nations and that the vast majority of these people arrived AFTER all the atrocities occurred and they AND their ancestors had NOTHING whatsoever to do with these atrocities, Why and What should these people be held accountable for?

We are ALL Australians, End of story.
Lets get on with the business of building Australia NOT dividing Australia

Originally Posted by trout1105

A treaty with Who?
The vast majority of people that call themselves Aboriginal these days are of mixed race now, So are these people also to be held accountable as well because of their part Non Aboriginal heritage. Or do they make a treaty with themselves?
All this talk about treaties and things like calling Australia day "Invasion day" and cancelling the event does Nothing for reconciliation in fact I put it to you that it is a cause of Division in our society.
We are ALL Australians and we are ALL responsible for building the infrastructure, the security and the social safeguards that EVERYONE now enjoys So we ALL have the same rights as Australians and to say that one particular race of people that live in Australia have MORE rights than others is Racist and is Exactly the Same Sick thinking that the early settlers had.
If you think about ALL the people that now live in Australia and call themselves Australians you will see that we are a VERY diverse society populated with people from many nations and that the vast majority of these people arrived AFTER all the atrocities occurred and they AND their ancestors had NOTHING whatsoever to do with these atrocities, Why and What should these people be held accountable for?

We are ALL Australians, End of story.
Lets get on with the business of building Australia NOT dividing Australia

Well said, I agree 100%.
Pickles.