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What actually happened?
On Sunday the 10th of June 1838, a group of white stockmen 11 led my John Flemming galloped toward Myall Creek station where many Aboriginal people were sitting. Blind to the pain of the their victims and deaf to their cries, the stockmen tied up the Aboriginals and brutally hacked and slashed them to death. The next day the ten Aboriginals they missed were captured and murdered with two young girls spared to be raped. In total, 28 Aboriginals were massacred at Myall Creek.
Why were the men found innocent?
It was deemed ridiculous by society for white men to stand trial for the killing of 'lawless savages', with many of the jury not seeing the crime was worth the time it took. The men were found not guilty on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to support the case. This was due to the murders being the only witnesses to the crime and the bodies were all removed before they could be recorded for evidence.
Why were they later found guilty?
Ten days later at a second trial, seven of the ten men were accused for the murder of an Aboriginal child and eventually were found guilty.
What did this mean for the Australian Society at the time?
Aside from the loss of 28 Aborigines lives at Myall Creek, the court case for the murderers was a first step toward the white settlers seeing the Aboriginals as they were- humans. The hanging of seven of the men who committed this crime is
Why has Murdering Creek Road such a gruesome name?
Murdering Creek Road holds historical significance, as the nearby creek was the site at which many Aboriginals were murdered in the late 19th century. Eight white men with murderous intent travelled to Lake Weyba were a large group of Aboriginals had a camp. Dressed as a 'swaggie' one of the men caught the interest of the Aboriginals leading them to were the other seven men were hiding in the bushes. As they approached, shots were fired killing the camp of Aborigines.
Windolf, F. and Windolf, J. (2008). Murder mystery. [online] Noosa News. Available at: http://www.noosanews.com.au/news/murder-mystery/337577/ [Accessed 14 Oct. 2014].