The Coniston Massacre
Essay Preview: The Coniston Massacre
Report this essay
On the 29th o April, 1977 Captain Cook, commander of a British fleet, landed on the eastern shore of Australia, in an attempt to claim the land under the name of Britain. The land was to be claimed by Britain as a land where the British government could send convicts; in an attempt to ease the struggle in the over flowing prisons. Upon Cooks arrival, he was ordered to follow three rules of claiming a foreign land. They were;
If the land was not claimed, owned or inhabited by another country or race, Britain could just claim the land as their own.
If the land was already claimed or owned by another country or people, then Britain could easily ask to have, or more likely, purchase some of the desired land. Through under British law, they could not steal the land as their own.
If the people who owned the land decided not to give or sell any of it, Britain could declare was on them, to most probably reveal the superior country. During, and after the war, under British law, Britain was still unable to claim any already claimed land as their own, without the permission of the owners.
Cook used none of these methods upon his arrival of Australia. Upon his arrival of Australia the country was already inhabited by the local Aboriginal people. Even though Cook presumably had a knowledge of the laws of claiming land, he did not abide by them. The British settlers instead just took the land as their own, with no regard for the Aboriginal people, starting a war, of sorts, that continues to this very day.
(Board of Studies, NSW)
White settlers moved into Central Queensland in hopes to find suitable land for their cattle to graze on. In their search this, much like the majority of the other land that had been “Settled” was inhabited by the local Aboriginal people. Again, much like the other portions of land that had settled, the white settlers took the Aboriginal people with no regard, killing and wounding them as a way to claim the land. One of the vile acts that the white people did to the Aboriginals during those times was the raping and sexual mistreatment of many of the Aboriginal women. Probably the worst group to commit such acts was the Frasier Brothers. Boys who grew up on a station raped countless, some what defenceless, women, with no conscience or remorse. These boys did not go unpunished though. They themselves were raped, and killed, by Aboriginal people in acts of self defence.
(Australian Broadcasting Commission)
In 1928, following an investigation about the killing of a station owners cattle, constable William George Murray visited the station of Coniston, where on arrival he heard of the death of a local dingo trapper, Fred Brooks. Soon an investigation was started, to find the killers of Brooks. The first people convicted of the crime were to Aboriginal men who strolled into Coniston to trade in some Dingo skins, the were abruptly shot and captured, as they were guilty by association. They were not the last to be punished. Murray soon set up a party to find the killers of Brooks, which included himself, Aboriginal tracker Paddy, half-caste Alex Wilson, Bill Briscoe, Randal Safford and John Saxby. The expedition resulted in the reported death of seventeen Aboriginals.