Battle of Richmond Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Richmond Hill |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Darug warriors | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Capt. William Paterson |
Pemulwuy | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2 officers 66 marines 3 drummer boys |
50+ | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 7-8 killed several wounded 6 captured |
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The Battle of Richmond Hill was an important event in the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars. These wars were fought between the local Darug people and British soldiers, along with armed settlers. This battle is also sometimes called the Battle of the Hawkesbury or the Richmond Hill Massacre. It happened on June 7, 1795, near what is now Richmond, New South Wales.
Contents
Conflict Over Food and Land
British Settlers Arrive
In 1794, about 400 British settlers moved to the lands of the Darug people. This area was along the Hawkesbury River. The settlers began to build farms there.
Changing the Landscape
The Darug people had long grown yams along the riverbanks. These yams were a very important food source for them. But the settlers removed these yam beds. Instead, they planted Indian corn, also known as maize.
The Corn Becomes a Target
The Darug people saw the corn as a new food source on their traditional land. When the corn was ready to harvest, Darug men and women began to collect it. They carried it away in nets and blankets.
Early Clashes and Tensions
Settlers often fired shots to scare the Darug people away from the corn. There were also sad incidents where settlers took children from fleeing parents. The parents would then gather near the farms, asking for their children back.
A Darug boy was killed by settlers. Governor Arthur Phillip had previously said that Aboriginal people should not be harmed. So, Lieutenant John Macarthur investigated the killing. A settler named Robert Forrester admitted to killing the boy. He claimed the boy was a spy and that he killed him to end his suffering. However, Darug custom was to send young boys forward to make contact or check an area for safety. This killing led to more conflict.
Raids and Retaliation
After this, the Darug people began to raid settler farms. They took food, clothing, and weapons. In response, settlers chased the Darug people with guns. They killed several Darug individuals. This started a cycle of violence and killings in the area.
The Natives of the Hawkesbury ... lived on the wild yams on the banks. Cultivation has rooted out these, and poverty compelled them to steal Indian corn ... They [soldiers and settlers] came upon them [Indigenous people] unarmed, and unexpected, killed and wounded many more. The dead they hang on gibbets, to scare others. The war may be universal on the part of the blacks, whose improvement and civilisation will be a long time deferred. The people killed were unfortunately the most friendly of the blacks, and one of them more than once saved the life of a white man.
The Battle of Richmond Hill
Soldiers Are Sent In
In May 1795, the New South Wales Corps soldiers fought against Darug warriors at Richmond Hill. When the corn was ripening, settlers told the soldiers that Darug people planned to take the corn. Acting Governor William Paterson sent 62 soldiers to the Hawkesbury River. He told them to capture any Aboriginal people they found and drive others away.
The Attack
The soldiers found Darug camps at night. They fired into the dark. The commanding officer later reported that seven or eight Darug people were killed. However, their bodies were gone by the next morning.
The soldiers took five prisoners back to Parramatta. One of the women prisoners was carrying a baby who had been shot. The baby later died in the hospital. The remaining prisoners were released three days later. The fighting in this area continued for many years, until 1816.
Remembering the Past
A Place for Reflection
A special memorial garden exists at St John of God Hospital Richmond. This garden remembers the Aboriginal victims of the Battle of Richmond Hill. It also honors all those affected by colonial violence in the region.
How the Garden Was Created
The garden was created in 2002. Many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people worked together to make it happen. Reconciliation NSW helped to fund this important project.
The Mystery of the Yams
What Were These Yams?
The "yams" mentioned in the stories of the Hawkesbury River conflict are hard to identify exactly. Early settlers used the word yam for many different edible plants. These plants had starchy parts that grew underground, like tubers or bulbs.
Different Ideas About the Yams
- Some people, like author Kate Grenville in her novel The Secret River, suggest the yams were murnong. The Darug people called this plant midyini.
- Another common yam was the vine plant Dioscorea transversa. This plant was found in woodland areas, but not usually right along the river.
- Academic Geoffrey Ford thinks the yams might have been a marsh club-rush (Bolboschoenus fluviatilis). This plant grew along the riverside. He also suggests that the Indigenous people at Richmond Hill might have been Darkinyung people, not Darug.
- The yam could also be the Bind-weed (Convolvulus erubescens). This plant has a tough, starchy root that was cooked and made into dough. It grows in the Hawkesbury River area and has pink flowers.
Yams and Place Names
The Darug word for the Hawkesbury River is Dyarubbin, Dyirabun, or Deerubbin. The Gandangara people used similar words for an unknown yam species found near rivers. This shows that Indigenous people thought of the Hawkesbury River as a "river of yams."
A Settler's Experience
In July 1789, John Hunter wrote in his diary about seeing Indigenous people roasting "wild yams" by the Hawkesbury River. He tried some, but they made him feel sick. He thought they must need a special way of preparing them.
On the banks here also we found yams and other roots, and had evident marks of the natives frequenting these parts in search of them for food. They have no doubt some method of preparing these roots, before they can eat them; for we found one kind which some of the company had seen the natives dig up; and with which being pleased, as it had much the appearance of horse-radish, and had a sweetish taste, and having swallowed a small quantity, it caused strong stomach upset and sickness. It might probably be the casada root.
See also
