Richmond River massacres facts for kids

The Richmond River massacres were a series of sad and violent events that happened in the mid-1800s around the Richmond River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. During this time, groups of Indigenous Australian people and European Australians were killed.

Massacres

Pelican Creek tragedy

In 1842, five European men were killed at Pelican Creek, which is about 10 kilometres north of Coraki. This event led to another violent act known as the Evans Head massacre.

Mr. T.J. Olive, who lived in Woodburn, shared his memories in 1928. He said his father, George, was a squatter (someone who settled on land without permission). Mr. Olive claimed his father was part of the 1842 events:

Squatters and people who cut timber (called sawyers) had set up a storehouse at Pelican Creek. Sailing ships would drop off supplies there and pick up loads of red cedar wood. Soon after the storehouse was built, supplies were left with five men and one boy. Their job was to guard the supplies before they were moved to other places. One morning at dawn, Aboriginal people crept up and killed the men. Only the boy escaped into the bush and was able to tell what happened. Later, when teamsters (people who drove teams of horses or oxen) arrived at the storehouse, they were shocked. They found the five men killed and all the goods either stolen or completely destroyed.

News of this quickly spread to other Europeans, who became very scared. They formed a group of men on horseback, planning to get revenge using their muskets and pistols. They gathered all the men they could spare, and the group seeking revenge ended up with eleven people. They believed that the terrible act was done by the Aboriginal people living near the coast.

Evans Head massacre

In 1842, about 100 Bundjalung Nation Aboriginal people were killed at Evans Head by Europeans. People said this was in return for "a few sheep" being killed, or for the killing of "five European men" from the 1842 Pelican Creek tragedy.

This event is also known as the 'Goanna Headland massacre'.

East Ballina massacre

Between 1853 and 1854, near the old East Ballina Golf Course, the Native Police killed between 30 and 40 Bundjalung people. Many who managed to escape were badly hurt.

It is thought that some Aboriginal people from north of the Tweed River had killed some Europeans. These people were believed to have then fled south towards the Richmond River.

The night before the attack, the police group, which included both Native Police trackers (Indigenous police) and European troopers, stayed at 'The Sailor's Home', a public house owned by James Ainsworth's father. At 3 am the next morning, the Native Mounted Police patrol rode to where 200 to 300 tribal people were sleeping in their camp. The Nyangbal East Ballina clan of the Bundjalung Nation had a camping ground on the side of a hill near Black Head. The troopers and trackers surrounded the camp and started shooting at close range. After this terrible event, the Native Mounted Police patrol then went north towards the Tweed River.

The matter was reported to the NSW Government, but no action was taken against those who committed the acts.

When the Aboriginal survivors eventually returned to the camp, they did not seek revenge against the Native Police trackers and European troopers involved in the massacre.

There is an Aboriginal oral tradition (stories passed down by word of mouth) that tells of people escaping. It speaks of those who were shot and buried in the forests north of the camp, and of those who were forced off the cliff at Black Head.

South Ballina poisoning

The Nyangbal South Ballina clan of the Bundjalung Nation had about 200 people during the early days of the Ballina Township.

In the early 1860s, a large group of the clan was harmed using poisoned flour. This flour was given to them to make damper (a type of bread). After taking the flour to their camp, the older people and children of the Nyangbal tribe chose not to eat the damper because it was a new food to them. When survivors woke up the next morning, they found nearly 150 adults had died.

See also

• Australian frontier wars
• List of massacres of Indigenous Australians
• Myall Creek massacre