Forrest River massacre facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Location in Western Australia

The Forrest River massacre, also called the Oombulgurri massacre, happened in June 1926. It was a terrible event where Indigenous Australian people were killed by police officers and other people in the Kimberley area of Western Australia. This happened after a local farmer, Frederick Hay, was killed.

At first, a police investigation found that sixteen Aboriginal people had been killed and their bodies burned. Later, a special official inquiry called a Royal Commission was set up in 1927 to look into it more deeply. This inquiry found that twenty Aboriginal people were murdered and burned in different places. Two police officers, James St Jack and Denis Regan, who were part of the group that carried out the killings, were charged with murder. However, their case never went to a full trial. Lumbia, the Aboriginal man who killed the farmer Frederick Hay, was found guilty in a separate case. The exact number of people killed during this police operation is still not clear. Some reports say sixteen, while others suggest it could have been hundreds. Even though official investigations confirmed many people were killed, some people denied the massacre happened for many years, even into the early 2000s.

Why the Massacre Happened

In 1926, two farmers, Leopold Overheu and Frederick Hay, owned a property called Nulla Nulla near Wyndham in the Kimberley region. Their land was next to the Forrest River Aboriginal Mission, which was run by Reverend Ernest Gribble. For some time, Frederick Hay had treated Aboriginal women badly, and Reverend Gribble had complained about him to the authorities. In 1924, Hay had also seriously hurt an Aboriginal man.

Hay and Overheu often complained that local Aboriginal people were hunting their cattle. Overheu even claimed that cattle worth £10,000 had been killed. Because of these complaints, their property was made a "prohibited area" under a law from 1905. This meant Aboriginal people were not allowed to enter or cross their land to get to other places.

First Killings at Durragee

On May 18, 1926, Overheu reported that a large group of Aboriginal people were hunting cattle at Nulla Nulla. Constable James St Jack from the Western Australia Police in Wyndham was sent to investigate. St Jack, along with his two Aboriginal helpers, Windie Joe and Jacob, left Wyndham. They met Overheu and his Aboriginal helpers, Tommy Doort and Lyddie, near the lower Pentecost River.

The group then traveled towards Nulla Nulla and camped near Durragee Hill. Close by, about 300 Aboriginal people were holding a ceremony on an island in the river. At dawn on May 24, St Jack gave shotguns to Windie Joe, Jacob, and Tommy. The patrol then rushed the camp to scatter the Aboriginal people. Those who survived said that many were hurt. Two older men, Blui-Nua and Umbillie, were specifically mentioned as being killed. St Jack and Overheu later said they only shot 31 dogs, not people. However, witnesses described people being wounded by bullets and shotgun pellets.

After the attack at Durragee, the patrol continued to the Nulla Nulla Homestead. They arrived after dark and found Frederick Hay was missing. The next morning, Windie and Tommy were sent to find him. Hay's body was found later that day, about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north-east of the homestead.

How Frederick Hay Was Killed

On May 23, 1926, an Aboriginal man named Lumbia and his wives, Anulgoo and Goolool, were resting at Johnson Billabong on the Nulla Nulla property. Hay rode up and treated Anulgoo badly. When Lumbia protested, Hay attacked him with his stock-whip and broke his spears. Lumbia then grabbed a broken spear and attacked Hay as he was leaving, killing him. Anulgoo later said that Hay had shot at Lumbia during their argument. Hay's pistol was found with a used bullet casing inside.

When Constable St Jack's group found Hay's body, they didn't know Lumbia had killed him. They thought a large group of Aboriginal people were responsible. When news of Hay's death reached Wyndham, another armed group was formed. Richard Jolly and Bernard O'Leary were made special police officers under Constable Denis Regan. Overheu said he wanted a strong armed group to go out and "deal harshly" with the local Aboriginal people.

The Forrest River Expedition

Regan's group left Wyndham on June 1. They met St Jack's group at a place called Jowa, near the start of the Forrest River, on June 5. It seems that before Regan's group arrived, St Jack and Overheu had already been killing local Aboriginal people in the area without a trial.

People in the Police Group

The combined police group that met at Jowa on June 5 had 13 men and one woman. It was led by two police constables:

Constable James Graham St Jack, from Wyndham police station.
Constable Denis Hastings Regan, from Turkey Creek police station.

They were joined by two regular citizens who were made special police officers:

Bernard Patrick O'Leary, a farmer from Galway Valley Station.
Richard John Jolly, who was unemployed.

Two other people, a farmer and a animal doctor, also went with the group:

Leopold Rupert Overheu, Hay's business partner at Nulla Nulla station.
Daniel Murnane, an Australian government animal doctor from Victoria.

There were five Aboriginal trackers. Three were professional police trackers, and two more were hired for this job:

Jim McDonald (Mulga Jim), a police tracker from the Northern Territory.
Frank, a police tracker from Turkey Creek.
Jacob, a police tracker from Wyndham.
Windie Joe, a special police tracker.
Sulieman, an Afghan/Aboriginal tracker.

In addition, there were three more people in the group:

Charlie, O'Leary's Aboriginal helper.
Tommy Doort, Overheu's Aboriginal helper.
Lyddie Goolara, Tommy's wife and Overheu's helper.

This large group carried their supplies on 42 pack horses and mules.

First Stage of the Massacre

On June 6, the police group went to a place called Wodgil, higher up the Forrest River. They camped there for two days and managed to capture several Aboriginal people. Seven of these, four men and three women, were taken by force to nearby creek beds called Gotegotemerrie and Mowerie. At Gotegotemerrie, the four men were killed. At Mowerie, the three women were also killed.

On June 10, the police group moved to another spot called Police Camp No. 3, a few kilometers north of Wodgil. Here, they captured nine more local Aboriginal people, five men and four women. They were taken to a nearby ravine and killed.

On June 14, the group raided a large camp of Aboriginal people and took 34 prisoners. They questioned them about Hay's killing but later released them, and no one was hurt. By this time, the group was running low on supplies. Their leaders decided to go to the Nulla Nulla homestead and the Forrest River mission to get more.

After arriving at Nulla Nulla, Daniel Murnane, the animal doctor who had joined the group because he was Hay's friend, decided to leave. On June 19, Murnane arrived in Wyndham and gave his first reports about what had happened. It was said that he described it as "worse than the war" and that he "had enough of it," though he later denied saying this. When Sergeant Arthur Buckland, who was in charge of the Wyndham police, heard these reports, he decided to call the group back. He left to meet them at the Forrest River mission.

Second Stage of the Massacre

Reverend Ernest Gribble at the Forrest River mission had already heard that the group had killed several Aboriginal people. He was worried that other innocent people might be killed. When members of the group arrived at the mission for supplies, he told them that local Aboriginal people had said Lumbia had killed Hay. Gribble advised them that they might find Lumbia near the Lyne River, north of the mission. The Aboriginal community at the mission supported Lumbia's arrest. Gribble provided two Aboriginal men from the mission, Aldoa and Herbert, to guide the group to Lumbia. Sergeant Buckland arrived at the mission on June 24 to call the group back. However, since the police were now looking for a specific suspect, he allowed them to continue, but with fewer members. Buckland took Jolly back to Wyndham, while Overheu and O'Leary and their Aboriginal helpers returned to Nulla Nulla. The police group now included constables Regan and St Jack, along with four Aboriginal trackers: Mulga Jim, Frank, Windie Joe, and Sulieman. Aldoa and Herbert, the guides from the mission, also joined them.

The group set out to arrest Lumbia. On June 27, they arrived at a place called Dala near the Lyne River. Here they captured two men and two women named Gumbol, Boondung, Bungomerrie, and Newringie. Constables St Jack and Regan took these prisoners to a nearby creek bed, away from the police camp, where they shot them dead.

On July 1, the group raided a large camp of Aboriginal people on the Lyne River. They captured Lumbia and took 30 other people prisoner. They then went back to the Forrest River mission with these prisoners, arriving on the edge of the mission settlement on July 4. Gribble heard they had arrived and was worried that some of these prisoners would be killed without a trial. He went to the police camp and convinced Regan and St Jack to release all their captives except Lumbia and three others. Lumbia was then questioned through an interpreter and admitted to killing Hay.

Official Investigations

Early Reports of Killings

While the police group was active, various reports of the killings were shared. Aboriginal people told Gribble what happened, and Murnane told people in Wyndham when he left the group. In the weeks after the police operation ended, several Aboriginal people came to the Forrest River mission with bullet wounds. C. R. Herschell, who worked for Pathé films, was visiting the mission at that time. He took many photographs and movie films of the wounded survivors and their sad relatives. Also, Overheu's helper, Tommy, talked about the killings he was part of to some Aboriginal people from the bush, who then told Gribble. Overheu found out about Tommy's conversations, and Tommy soon disappeared. It was believed that Overheu had shot him.

Gribble estimated that 30 men and women were missing and he suspected they had been killed by the police group. Local Aboriginal people claimed that up to 100 men, women, and children had been killed. In 1968, Charles Overheu said that his brother Leopold, who was part of the police group, had told him that the group had killed at least 300 people.

Police Investigation

On August 12, Gribble, along with Inspector E. C. Mitchell from the Western Australian Aborigines Department, visited two of the massacre sites at Mowerie and Gotegotemerrie. Mitchell reported that he found a lot of evidence that people had tried to clean up the sites. He sent a message to the Chief Protector, A.O. Neville.

Two weeks later, the chief of police in the Kimberley region, Inspector William Douglas, personally carried out a detailed investigation of some of the massacre sites. He was joined by Suleiman, an Aboriginal tracker who had been part of the killings. Douglas followed the police group's movements from Mowerie and Gotegotemerrie to the ravine near Police Camp No.3. Suleiman stated that Regan, O'Leary, and Murnane led nine prisoners, who were chained, into the ravine, and only returned alone the next morning. Douglas later sent other officers to investigate the massacre site at Dala. Traces of burned bodies were found at both sites.

The Wood Royal Commission

Douglas's report was given to Robert Connell, the Western Australia police commissioner. He suggested that a Royal Commission, a special official inquiry, should be set up. The Premier of Western Australia, Philip Collier, approved the creation of this Royal Commission, which was led by George Tuttle Wood in 1927. This commission was given the job of investigating the killing and burning of Aboriginal people near the Forrest River Mission and the disappearance of important witnesses.

Many witnesses changed their statements, refused to speak, or simply disappeared. Several key Aboriginal witnesses to the killings "escaped" from police custody in Wyndham before they could give evidence to the commission. No legal help was given to represent the Aboriginal people's side. However, a fund organized by Leopold Overheu helped pay for a respected lawyer, Walter Nairn, to defend the police and settlers. Commissioner Wood noticed that the police officers lied consistently during the inquiry. He found that the statements given by most members of the police group could not be trusted. Wood was able to conduct part of the inquiry in the Forrest River region itself. There, he saw the Dala massacre site firsthand and was convinced by the physical evidence he found.

The Royal Commission concluded that 11 people had been murdered and their bodies burned at Gotegotemerrie, Mowerie, and Dala. Another 9 people suffered the same fate at a separate site called Police Camp No.3.

Trial of St Jack and Regan

Based on the Royal Commission's findings, police officers James St Jack and Denis Regan were arrested in May 1927. They were charged with the murder of Boondung at the Dala massacre site. However, at an early hearing, the case against St Jack and Regan was dismissed by Magistrate Alfred Kidson. He felt there wasn't enough evidence to present to a jury. The two officers were given their jobs back but were later moved out of the Kimberley region.

What Happened Later

Lumbia's Story

Lumbia (on left) after his arrest in 1926

On October 28, 1926, Lumbia was put on trial for killing Hay. He did not have a lawyer or a translator. He was first sentenced to death, but this was changed to life in prison after it was argued that Hay had caused the attack. Lumbia was sent to prison on Rottnest Island. When that prison closed in 1929, he was moved to the Broome Regional Prison. In 1935, he was sent to the Moola Bulla settlement near Halls Creek. In 1936, he walked 270 miles (435 km) back to the Forrest River Mission, and no one tried to make him finish his sentence. In December 1944, Lumbia killed his second wife, Waldjanurri, and was sentenced to death again. He escaped and was caught, but was released after serving two weeks for the escape. He was sent back to Moola Bulla, where he got leprosy. He returned to Forrest River and died in 1950.

Leopold Overheu

Leopold Overheu left the Nulla Nulla property. For a while, he worked as a bookkeeper for other farmers to earn money to help pay for the legal defense of the two police officers, St Jack and Regan. In 1927, Overheu moved to Perth. He was the son of a well-known farmer from Pingelly, Heinrich Overheu. Leopold was able to start a new life in Donnybrook, where he died in 1949.

James St Jack

Constable James St Jack stayed with the Western Australia police force. He was stationed in different places around the state, including Perth, Kojonup, Bunbury, and Carnarvon. His first wife, Florence Drage, died in 1937, and he married his second wife, Annie Leabeter, a year later. He had several children. St Jack became a sergeant and retired in 1960. He died in Shoalwater, Western Australia in 1993.

Denis Regan

Constable Denis Regan also remained with the Western Australia police. He was posted to similar places as St Jack, including Perth and Kojonup. He married Emily Finch in 1928 but divorced in 1942 and left the police force. He later lived near Kalgoorlie and died in Perth in 1966.

Daniel Murnane

Daniel Murnane continued his career as an animal doctor. He later became a major in the Australian military. He became a main research officer in the CSIRO, which is a big science organization. He won the Australian Veterinary Association's highest award, the Gilruth Prize, in 1968. He died in 1970. His daughter, Merrilyn Murnane, was a respected children's doctor. She set up a $25,000 scholarship in her father's name for students at Ormond College at the University of Melbourne.

Later Information About the Massacre

In January 1968, Dr. Neville Green recorded an interview with Charles Overheu, who was the brother of Leopold Overheu (Hay's partner). Charles Overheu said:

"They all got together up there and there was a bloody massacre because I think they shot about three hundred [...Aboriginal persons] all in one hit... It was all published in the papers and somebody let the cat out of the bag and anyhow the government and the judges in those times they realised what the trouble was and the whole thing was hushed up you see."

In the same year, Aboriginal people from Forrest River said that the massacres happened at five different places. A German expert, Dr. Helmut Reim, interviewed three Aboriginal elders. He concluded that between 80 and 100 Aboriginal people had been killed in the massacres on the Marndoc Reserve, which included the Forrest River Mission.

Denials of the Massacres

During the 1927 Royal Commission, George Tuttle Wood, who led the inquiry, said that there was a "conspiracy of silence" among those giving statements. Witnesses either disappeared or were influenced not to speak or to give false information. Wood found that constables St Jack and Regan and other members of the group consistently lied to the commission to protect themselves. They denied any killings, even though there was written, spoken, and physical evidence. Denials that any massacre happened at Forrest River continued, with the Western Australia Police refusing to admit it occurred until at least 2001.

Over the years, some writers have published articles denying the massacres ever happened. For example, in 1999, journalist Rod Moran published a book called Massacre Myth. He argued that the massacres were made up by Reverend Gribble. This was despite official police and government investigations concluding that at least 11 to 20 people were killed by the police group. Most historians agree with the general findings of the Royal Commission, even if they don't agree on the exact number of victims.

Images for kids

Lumbia (on left) after his arrest in 1926