Resistance
This information was prepared by Tim Muirhead, CSD Network. Tim is a Perth-Based facilitator and trainer who works extensively in the area of Indigenous/non-Indigenous relations.
Many Australians seem to think that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples surrendered their country without a fight. In fact there were significant wars and battles between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. At least 10,000, and probably more than 20,000 Indigenous people died at the hands of colonisers, and around 2,000 colonisers died at the hands of Indigenous people.
And, as in all wars, these figures are the tip of the ice-berg of the real story. In addition to the deaths, countless others suffered injury and trauma, and the fear that comes from hearing of the killings of other people.
These include 'massacres' that were in retaliation to Indigenous resistance (such as the Pinjarra Massacre), successful raids by Indigenous people on white settlers (such as the Faithfull Massacre) and ongoing local wars, such as the Yolngu wars and the Bunuba resistance.
The numbers of Indigenous people who died in these conflicts are often disputed, but the fact that the conflicts took place is not disputed. Although there wasn't a declared, large scale 'war', there was significant resistance.
Often, organising this resistance was hard. Massacres like Bathurst, Pinjarra and Flying Foam were designed to decimate resistance by killing men, women and children in dramatic and over-whelming reprisal for signs of resistance. In the Kimberley, some pastoralists created a workforce for themselves by killing men of the land, and capturing their women and children who were forced into compliance. (Other pastoralists negotiated respectfully with land owners to engage them as a workforce on their own land).
The Indigenous resistance is often forgotten. It seems that, today, we don’t know what to call this part of our history. Thousands died. How did they die? Murder? Massacres? Guerilla warfare? It is a gap in our history. We don’t read of it's heroes or it's victims in our history books, or see memorials to them on our streets.
Known massacres include:
- Black War (Tasmania) (early 1800’s)
- Bathurst (NSW) (1824)
- Pinjarra (WA) (28th of October, 1834)
- Myall Creek (Northern NSW)(1838)
- Faithfull Massacre (near Wangaratta, Vic) (1838)
- Wiradjuri Wars - around the Murrambidgee River (NSW) (1830s and 40s)
- Richmond River Massacre (NSW) (1864)
- Flying Foam Massacre - (North West Western Australia) (1868)
- Barrow Creek Massacre (NT) (1874)
- Yolngu Wars (NT) (1880's - 1900's)
- 'The Killing Times' (East Kimberley, WA) (1890 – 1920)
- Bunuba resistance led by Jandamarra to keep settlers out of the West Kimberley (WA) (1890s )
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