Campaspe Plains massacre
Encyclopedia
Campaspe Plains massacre, occurred in 1839 in Central Victoria, Australia as a reprisal raid against Aboriginal resistance to the invasion and occupation of the Dja Dja Wurrung
and Daung Wurrung
lands. Charles Hutton took over the Campaspe run, located near the border of Dja Dja Wurrung and Daung Wurrung, in 1838 following sporadic confrontations.
who had robbed a hut of bedding, clothes, guns and ammunition and also run a flock of 700 sheep off the property possibly as retribution for the earlier Aboriginal deaths. The Daung Wurrung were enemies of the Dja Dja Wurrung.
The following month Hutton led a party of mounted police and came upon a party of local Dja Dja Wurrung whom Hutton had previously forced off his run, even though these people had been friendly to him since his arrival. The Aboriginal camp near the Campaspe Creek was charged by Hutton and the mounted police with no warning given, with six Dja Dja Wurrung being shot in the back and killed as they tried to flee and others wounded.
Charles Parker, the Assistant Protector of Aborigines for the region, described the massacre
as:
George Robinson described Charles Hutton and his attitude to the blacks in his journal of 24 January 1840:
No official action was taken against Hutton.
Dja Dja Wurrung
Dja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Jaara people and Loddon River tribe, is a native Aboriginal tribe which occupied the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca Rivers in the Bendigo region of central Victoria, Australia. They were part of the Kulin alliance of tribes. There were 16 clans, which adhered...
and Daung Wurrung
Taungurong
The Taungurong people, also known as the Daung Wurrung, were nine clans who spoke the Daungwurrung language and were part of the Kulin alliance of indigenous Australians. They lived to the north of and were closely associated with the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri people...
lands. Charles Hutton took over the Campaspe run, located near the border of Dja Dja Wurrung and Daung Wurrung, in 1838 following sporadic confrontations.
Cause
In April 1839 five Aborigines were killed by three white men. In response Hugh Bryan, a shepherd, and James Neill, a hut keeper were killed in May 1839 by Aborigines identified as Daung WurrungTaungurong
The Taungurong people, also known as the Daung Wurrung, were nine clans who spoke the Daungwurrung language and were part of the Kulin alliance of indigenous Australians. They lived to the north of and were closely associated with the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri people...
who had robbed a hut of bedding, clothes, guns and ammunition and also run a flock of 700 sheep off the property possibly as retribution for the earlier Aboriginal deaths. The Daung Wurrung were enemies of the Dja Dja Wurrung.
The Massacre
Hutton immediately put together an armed party of settlers who tracked and finally caught the Aborigines with a flock of sheep 30 miles away near the Campaspe Creek. An armed confrontation between the settlers and Aborigines occurred for up to half an hour. Hutton claimed privately that nearly 40 Aborigines were killed.The following month Hutton led a party of mounted police and came upon a party of local Dja Dja Wurrung whom Hutton had previously forced off his run, even though these people had been friendly to him since his arrival. The Aboriginal camp near the Campaspe Creek was charged by Hutton and the mounted police with no warning given, with six Dja Dja Wurrung being shot in the back and killed as they tried to flee and others wounded.
Charles Parker, the Assistant Protector of Aborigines for the region, described the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
as:
- ...it was a deliberately planned illegal reprisal on the aborigines, conducted on the principle advocated by many persons in this colony, that when any offence is committed by unknown individuals, the tribe to which they belong should be made to suffer for it.
George Robinson described Charles Hutton and his attitude to the blacks in his journal of 24 January 1840:
- Mr H. avowed [his approach to the natives] to be terror; to keep the natives in subjection by fear, and to punish them wholesale, that is, by tribes and communities. If a member of a tribe offend, destroy the whole. He believed they must be exterminated.
No official action was taken against Hutton.
See also
- Dja Dja WurrungDja Dja WurrungDja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Jaara people and Loddon River tribe, is a native Aboriginal tribe which occupied the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca Rivers in the Bendigo region of central Victoria, Australia. They were part of the Kulin alliance of tribes. There were 16 clans, which adhered...
people - Daung WurrungTaungurongThe Taungurong people, also known as the Daung Wurrung, were nine clans who spoke the Daungwurrung language and were part of the Kulin alliance of indigenous Australians. They lived to the north of and were closely associated with the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri people...
people - List of massacres in Australia
- List of massacres of Indigenous Australians