Murdering Gully massacre
Encyclopedia
Murdering Gully, formerly known as Puuroyup to the Djargurd Wurrung
people, is the site of an 1839 massacre
of 35-40 people of the Tarnbeere Gundidj clan of the Djargurd Wurrung
in the Camperdown
district of Victoria, Australia. It is a gully on Mount Emu Creek
, where a small stream adjoins from Merida Station.
Of particular note for this massacre is the extent of oral history and first hand accounts of the incident and detail in settler diaries, records of Weslayan missionaries, and Aboriginal Protectorate records. Following the massacre there was popular disapproval and censure of the leading perpetrator, Frederick Taylor, so that Taylor's River was renamed to Mount Emu Creek. The massacre effectively destroyed the Tarnbeere Gundidj clan.
, the Chief Protector of Aborigines
, in a letter to Assistant Protector Charles Sievwright on 11 July 1839, questions Taylor's allegation saying
Taylor had formerly been implicated in the killing of Woolmudgin from the Wathaurong people on 17 October 1836, and had fled to Van Diemen's Land
to avoid interview and possible prosecution in that case.
In a deposition by Edward Williamson, overseer to the Weslayan Buntingdale Mission establishment at Birregurra
, outlines the events of the massacre as reported to him by Wore-gu-i-moni:
Charles Sievwright collected another witness statement from Wan-geg-a-mon relating to the murder of his wife and child in the massacre:
Oral history collected by James Dawson in 1881, told of Bareetch Chuurneen (alias Queen Fanny the chieftess of the clan) escaping with a child but pursued to Wuurna Weewheetch (the home of the swallow) on the west side of Lake Bullen Merri
. With the child on her back she swam across the lake to finally escape her pursuers.
Black maintained the dispossession and native terror engendered by the massacre by driving Djargurd Wurrung
people from his run, pulling down any miam-miams (bark shelters) he found and leaving gunpowder to show as a warning sign.
Taylor, fearing prosecution for the massacre, in late 1839 or early 1840 fled to the obscurity of India for a few years. He returned to Victoria and in June 1844 was managing a station on the Mitchell River
near Lindenow. When Taylor applied to take up his own run in Gippsland
, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Charles Tyers
, refused to grant any land citing Taylor's treatment of aborigines in the Western District. Taylor appealed to Governor Charles La Trobe
requesting:
La Trobe reviewed the case over subsequent months, including the evidence collected by Charles Sievwright and forwarded by Chief Protector of Aborigines George Robinson, and upheld Tyer's decision. Despite this decision Taylor became a joint licence holder of Lindenow with the Loughnans in 1845. In March 1846 La Trobe informed the Colonial Secretary that all charges against Taylor had ended in satisfactory disproval.
For the next 13 years Taylor continued to hold licences for land in Gippsland along the Mitchell and Tambo rivers, around Lake Victoria and Lake King
, and at Swan Reach
, where he continued with a campaign of dispossession of the Gunai
people.
Djargurd Wurrung
The Djargurd wurrung are Indigenous Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and Lake Corangamite, extending to Mount Emu and Cressy in the North, and to Cobden and Swan Marsh in the South in central Victoria and are still represented in the region. The...
people, is the site of an 1839 massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of 35-40 people of the Tarnbeere Gundidj clan of the Djargurd Wurrung
Djargurd Wurrung
The Djargurd wurrung are Indigenous Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and Lake Corangamite, extending to Mount Emu and Cressy in the North, and to Cobden and Swan Marsh in the South in central Victoria and are still represented in the region. The...
in the Camperdown
Camperdown, Victoria
Camperdown is an historically significant rural town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,165.-History:...
district of Victoria, Australia. It is a gully on Mount Emu Creek
Mount Emu Creek
Mount Emu Creek is a long but small meandering waterway located in the west of Victoria. The total length of the Mount Emu Creek is over 250 kilometres. The creek forms near Trawalla, and Trawalla Creek flows to Mount Emu Creek , the quantity and quality of water from Trawalla Creek is of great...
, where a small stream adjoins from Merida Station.
Of particular note for this massacre is the extent of oral history and first hand accounts of the incident and detail in settler diaries, records of Weslayan missionaries, and Aboriginal Protectorate records. Following the massacre there was popular disapproval and censure of the leading perpetrator, Frederick Taylor, so that Taylor's River was renamed to Mount Emu Creek. The massacre effectively destroyed the Tarnbeere Gundidj clan.
Cause
The massacre was undertaken by Frederick Taylor and others in retaliation for some sheep being killed by two unidentified Aborigines, as reported by one of Taylor's shepherds. As Aboriginal clans were pushed from their lands, their traditional foods of kangaroo and emu became much more scarce forcing Aborigines to kill sheep to fend off starvation. A common resistance tactic against the European invasion and dispossession was an economic war to drive sheep off and to kill sheep for food. However, George RobinsonGeorge Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
, the Chief Protector of Aborigines
Protector of Aborigines
The role of Protectors of Aborigines resulted from a recommendation of the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Aborigines . On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies sent Governor Gipps the report.The report recommended that Protectors of...
, in a letter to Assistant Protector Charles Sievwright on 11 July 1839, questions Taylor's allegation saying
- What proof is there of the Blacks having killed the sheep? The shepherd said so. Might not the shepherd have done it himself and after keeping the hindquarters for his own use have given the forequarters to the natives ... If this is the only charge Mr Taylor can allege against the aboriginal natives it certainly amounts to very little. In point of law it proved it is an offence, but who in the name of common humanity I would ask would think of injuring those already too much injured people, and for such a trifle
The Massacre
Frederick Taylor, the manager at Glenormiston station, with associates James Hamilton and Bloomfield led a group of several shepherds in their employ and attacked a sleeping aboriginal camp, firing upon and killing men, women and children. Several aborigines were able to escape and later told their accounts to Assistant Protector Sievwright, and Weslayan missionaries Benjamin Hurst and Francis Tuckfield. The bodies were dumped in the waterhole and later burnt by some accounts.Taylor had formerly been implicated in the killing of Woolmudgin from the Wathaurong people on 17 October 1836, and had fled to Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
to avoid interview and possible prosecution in that case.
In a deposition by Edward Williamson, overseer to the Weslayan Buntingdale Mission establishment at Birregurra
Birregurra, Victoria
Birregurra is a town in Victoria, Australia approximately 130 km south-west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Birregurra had a population of 688....
, outlines the events of the massacre as reported to him by Wore-gu-i-moni:
- ...The party advanced in an extended line upon the natives, Mr Taylor was in the centre of the line, the shepherds were on each side of him, they advanced shouting and immediately fired upon the natives who were asleep. They succeeded in killing all they could see, amounting to thirty five (35). I was particular in ascertaining the exact number and they (the natives) gave me the same number over and over again. The slaughtered consisted of men, women and children. The abovenamed native was one of the party attacked and succeeded in hiding himself among the long grass and thus escaped. The whites immediately threw the bodies into a waterhole, and left the spot leaving the bodies there.
Charles Sievwright collected another witness statement from Wan-geg-a-mon relating to the murder of his wife and child in the massacre:
- ...about six moons ago, I with my lubra and child (male) were encamped with thirty others Aboriginal natives, men, women and children, upon the Bor-rang-yallock, when Mr Taylor and many poor men (shepherds) came towards our miam-miams with guns, Mr Taylor was on horseback, they came up in an extended line Mr Taylor in the centre they advanced quick and immediately fired upon the natives, I ran to the other side of the river and lay down behind a tree among the grass, they killed more than thirty men women and children, my lubra and child were among the dead, the white people threw them into the water and soon left the place, the water was much stained with blood, I saw the dead body of my lubra but did not see my child. I remained for two days near the spot. Two days after the murder Yi-yi-ran (Mr Andreson) and Mr Watson came and saw the bodies and seemed sorry and said to Mr Taylor why did you kill so many lubras and children. Yi-yi-ran, Charles Courtney, James Ramslie and James Hamilton, burned the bodies, and made fires. Mr Taylor, Mr Andreson and Mr Watson came on horseback two days after with a sack and took away part of the bones not consumed.
Oral history collected by James Dawson in 1881, told of Bareetch Chuurneen (alias Queen Fanny the chieftess of the clan) escaping with a child but pursued to Wuurna Weewheetch (the home of the swallow) on the west side of Lake Bullen Merri
Lake Bullen Merri
Lake Bullen Merri is a brackish crater lake near Camperdown in Victoria, Australia. It has a maximum depth of 66 metres, with a clover leaf outline indicating that it was probably formed by two overlapping maar volcanoes. The lake is depicted in beautiful work by Eugene von Guerard...
. With the child on her back she swam across the lake to finally escape her pursuers.
Aftermath
Glenormiston station was purchased by Niel Black in 1840, who wrote in his journal:- The blacks have been very troublesome on it [Glenormiston] and I believe they have been cruelly dealt with. The late superintendent [Taylor] ran off from a fear that he would be apprehended and tried for murdering the natives. The poor creatures are terror stricken and will be easily managed. ... It is the opinion of Blackie [the station overseer] that about 35 - 40 natives have been despatched on this establishment and that there is only two men left alive of the tribe. He is certain we will never be troubled with any of them on this run
Black maintained the dispossession and native terror engendered by the massacre by driving Djargurd Wurrung
Djargurd Wurrung
The Djargurd wurrung are Indigenous Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and Lake Corangamite, extending to Mount Emu and Cressy in the North, and to Cobden and Swan Marsh in the South in central Victoria and are still represented in the region. The...
people from his run, pulling down any miam-miams (bark shelters) he found and leaving gunpowder to show as a warning sign.
Taylor, fearing prosecution for the massacre, in late 1839 or early 1840 fled to the obscurity of India for a few years. He returned to Victoria and in June 1844 was managing a station on the Mitchell River
Mitchell River (Victoria)
The Mitchell River is the largest unregulated river in Victoria, Australia and provides a unique example of riparian ecology. Tributaries include the Crooked, Dargo, Wentworth, Wonnangatta, and Wongungarra Rivers, which are surrounded by dense native forest on the steep mountains of the Victorian...
near Lindenow. When Taylor applied to take up his own run in Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Charles Tyers
Charles Tyers
Captain Charles James Tyers RN FRSV was a 19th century surveyor and explorer, and the Commissioner for Crown Lands for Portland and Gippsland...
, refused to grant any land citing Taylor's treatment of aborigines in the Western District. Taylor appealed to Governor Charles La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
requesting:
- "a copy of these grave charges that are recorded against me that I may have an opportunity of showing Mr Tyers and the Government that I am innocent of any improper treatment of the aboriginal natives of this district".
La Trobe reviewed the case over subsequent months, including the evidence collected by Charles Sievwright and forwarded by Chief Protector of Aborigines George Robinson, and upheld Tyer's decision. Despite this decision Taylor became a joint licence holder of Lindenow with the Loughnans in 1845. In March 1846 La Trobe informed the Colonial Secretary that all charges against Taylor had ended in satisfactory disproval.
For the next 13 years Taylor continued to hold licences for land in Gippsland along the Mitchell and Tambo rivers, around Lake Victoria and Lake King
Gippsland Lakes
The Gippsland Lakes are a network of lakes, marshes and lagoons in east Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an area of about 600 km2. The largest of the lakes are Lake Wellington , Lake King and Lake Victoria. They are fed by the Avon, Thomson, Latrobe, Mitchell, Nicholson and Tambo...
, and at Swan Reach
Swan Reach, Victoria
Swan Reach is a small residential town located in the east Gippsland region of Victoria. It is situated east of the state capital, Melbourne and is located approximately halfway between the townships of Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance on the Tambo River. Swan Reach falls under the jurisdiction of...
, where he continued with a campaign of dispossession of the Gunai
Gunai
The Gunai or Kurnai is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupied most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The nation was not on friendly terms with the neighbouring Wurundjeri and Bunurong nations...
people.
External links
- Mount Emu Creek massacre site Redreaming the Plain
- Murdering Gully - Museum Victoria page with an extract from Ian Clark on Murdering Gully, Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 ISBN 0855752815
See also
- Djargurd WurrungDjargurd WurrungThe Djargurd wurrung are Indigenous Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and Lake Corangamite, extending to Mount Emu and Cressy in the North, and to Cobden and Swan Marsh in the South in central Victoria and are still represented in the region. The...
people - List of massacres in Australia
- List of massacres of Indigenous Australians