Myall Creek massacre (1838)

The Myall Creek Massacre, one of the darkest chapters in Australia’s colonial history. On 10 June 1838, a group of white settlers and stockmen, led by a man named John Henry Fleming, rode into a station near Myall Creek in northern New South Wales. There, they encountered a group of Wirrayaraay people, part of the broader Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) nation, who had been camping peacefully near the station and had formed a relationship with some of the white settlers working there. These Aboriginal people were unarmed, including elders, women, and children.

Despite their vulnerability, the group of stockmen tied up around 28 people, led them away under false pretenses, and then massacred them—slaughtering them with swords and knives before burning the bodies to destroy the evidence. It was brutal, calculated, and completely unjustifiable.

What set this massacre apart from many others (and yes, there were many) was what came next: justice was attempted. One of the station workers reported the killings, leading to a highly controversial trial. Although the first trial ended in acquittals, public pressure and the persistence of magistrates and Governor Gipps led to a second trial, where seven of the men were found guilty and hanged—the first time in Australian history that white colonists were punished for killing Indigenous people.

However, this legal outcome was extremely unpopular among the white settler population, and it deterred further prosecutions of similar crimes. In fact, future massacres were often covered up more thoroughly to avoid legal consequences.

Today, the Myall Creek Massacre is remembered as a symbol of both injustice and accountability—a rare moment when the colonial legal system tried to protect Indigenous lives. There is now a memorial site at Myall Creek, and every year, descendants of both the victims and the perpetrators come together to commemorate the event, fostering healing and dialogue.

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