1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: where we uncover the remnants of history every day. Today 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: is June tenth. The day was June tenth the will 5 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: Ray of roy people, a tribal clan of the Camilli 6 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: Roi nation. We're getting ready to have their evening meal 7 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: at Mile Creek Station. Just before sunset, a group of 8 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: twelve Europeans, including convicts, former convicts, and one colonist, showed 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: up at the station, armed and massacred at least twenty 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: eight Aboriginal people. The killings at Mile Creek was one 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,919 Speaker 1: of many incidences of colonial violence against Aboriginal people by 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: British colonists, but the trials that followed the massacre marked 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: the first time British subjects were executed from massacring Aboriginal 14 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,960 Speaker 1: people in New South Wales. At the time of the 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,199 Speaker 1: Mile Creek massacre, British law stated that killing Aboriginal people 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: was a crime, but as Aboriginal people and colonists clashed 17 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: over europeans increasing presents and use of land and resources, 18 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: violence became common. Aboriginal people fought against the incursion of 19 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: colonists and the state sanctioned attacks against Aboriginal people. On 20 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: January thirty eight, for example, Major James Nunn, the commander 21 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: of the New South Wales Mounted Police, along with some 22 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: soldiers in Stockman massacred more than fifty Aboriginal people at 23 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: Waterloo Creek. The Warray of Roy people had suffered many 24 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: losses as a result of the conflict between Aboriginal people 25 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: in Europeans. Fleeing frontier violence, they decided to camp on 26 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: Henry Dangar's property at Mile Creek Station, which was near 27 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: present day Bingara. The Worray of Roy assisted Stockman and 28 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: in Exchange, where detected from violence. But on June normal 29 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: operations at the station were interrupted when the group of convicts, 30 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: ex convicts and the colonists led by John Fleming, showed 31 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: up with weapons. Stockman, George Anderson and Charles Killmeister, as 32 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: well as two Aboriginal men, were attending the station. About 33 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: thirty Aboriginal people fled to the Stockmen's huts, while two 34 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: boys escaped by jumping into a creek. The attackers tied 35 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: up the Wearray of Why people and took them from 36 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: their campsite. Though several women and girls were separated from 37 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: the group and taken elsewhere. Kill Meister joined the attackers 38 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: while Anderson attempted to help an Aboriginal girl and woman. 39 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: The Weraya Why people were taken to a stockyard and killed, 40 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: and their bodies were dismembered and burned. People who committed 41 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: massacres of Aboriginal people were rarely punished. In fact, many 42 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: colonists thought that Europeans should not be punished for killing 43 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: Aboriginal people, but the proceedings that would follow the Mile 44 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: Creek massacre sat a judicial precedent. Station manager William Hobbs, 45 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: police Superintendent Thomas Foster, and colonists Frederick Foote reported the 46 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: massacre and Governor and George Gibbs sent police Magistrate Edward 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 1: Denny Day to investigate the crime. After taking depositions from 48 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,679 Speaker 1: nineteen witnesses, Day arrested eleven of the twelve people who 49 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: had committed the massacre. The free colonist John Fleming managed 50 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: to get away the convicts, and ex convicts who had 51 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: perpetrated the murders were sent to Sydney for trial. The 52 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: first trial began on November thirty eight at the New 53 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: South Wales Supreme Court. It was presided over by Chief 54 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: Justice Sir James Dowling, and there were twelve Colonists on 55 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: the jury. The Aboriginal man named yante in Ten, who 56 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: witnessed the killings, could not testify by in court because 57 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: he was not Christian, so he could not swear to 58 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: his evidence. In the end, the jury found the eleven 59 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: defendants not guilty of committing murder at Mile Creek, but 60 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: Attorney General John Plunkett was not satisfied with that verdict, 61 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: so they went to a second trial. Plunkett split up 62 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: the defendants, hoping they would tell in each other. Seven 63 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: of the defendants were tried by Judge William Burton. They 64 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: were found guilty and they were hanged in December at 65 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: the George Street Jail. The remaining four defendants were set 66 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: to go to trial as well. This time was Yanayanten 67 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: as an eyewitness as he had been introduced to Christianity. 68 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: But yanta Inten was never seen again and the rest 69 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: of the murderers walked free. After the trials, Colonists expressed 70 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: more anger at the executions of the Europeans than the 71 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: killings of the Aboriginal people, and they continue to massacre 72 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: Aboriginal people, though the but who committed the murders did 73 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: not publicize them as proudly and took measures to cover 74 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: them up. Even though there was a reward for Flemming's capture, 75 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: he was able to reintegrate into society and never faced trial. 76 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: One of the people who committed the massacre and got 77 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: off free died by suicide, and William Hobbs, who reported 78 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: the crime, lost his job with Dangar. Today there's a 79 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 1: memorial site in service at Mile Creek. I'm Eve Jefco 80 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 81 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. But if you still don't know enough, 82 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 1: you can listen to another show I host called Unpopular. 83 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: Un Popular is a podcast about people in history who 84 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: challenged the status quo and we're sometimes persecuted for it. 85 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: You can listen anywhere you get this day in History class. 86 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at 87 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: t d i h C podcast. Thanks again for listening 88 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from My 89 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 90 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.