PLAQUES should be erected at places where Aborigines were slaughtered, the creator of a new map detailing colonial massacres believes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
An attack that left 12 Wiradjuri men, women and children dead around Table Top and a revenge killing of Aborigines at Benalla are on the first detailed online map of frontier bloodbaths.
It has been created by University of Newcastle 19th century Australian history specialist Lyndell Ryan and has details of more than 150 eastern states massacres.
“Being a university teacher students were always saying to me ‘show me where the violence was, where it happened’ and it was from the students saying that (the map emerged),” Professor Ryan said.
Since being launched on Wednesday there has been strong interest.
“We’ve had almost 200 emails in the last two days with people giving us more information about existing incidents or information about incidents yet to be put on the map,” Professor Ryan said.
Three sources have generally been required for a massacre to be marked on the map, with newspaper articles, settlers’ diaries and accounts from travellers providing much material.
Professor Ryan said detail about the killing of the dozen Aborigines at Dora Dora Station, Table Top mountain, in 1836 was provided by a postgraduate student from Charles Sturt University.
The map listing describes how the owner of nearby Cumberoona station, John Jobbins, led the attack after two stockmen were killed by Wiradjuri men at Thologolong station.
The Benalla slaughter in 1838 has become known as the Battle of Broken River or the Faithfull Massacre.
Seven shepherds and stockmen employed by William Faithfull were slayed and in response at least six Aborigines were killed.
Professor Ryan believes plaques should be erected at the locales of the massacres to ensure greater recognition of what occurred.
“This is an important part of history and I see no reason why we can’t acknowledge it,” she said.
“It’s time we grew up and accepted we had this violent past and it would remind people that this land was not settled peacefully.”
The map, which can be found online at, https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres, has been developed over the past four years.
Professor Ryan said she had information about another 150 massacres which had not been included with NSW and Queensland attacks still to be fully detailed.
She plans to add South Australian incidents next year and Western Australian and Northern Territory killings at a later date.
