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In this clip, we hear from people who have lost direct family members in the Coniston Massacre in 1928. A map of the area from Coniston to Jarra Jarra shows the territory in which whites massacred Indigenous men, women and children. Sepia-toned re-enactments using voice-over narration are intercut with interviews with the relatives. Gunshots are heard off screen in a re-enactment of two boys hiding in a bush potato hole to avoid being murdered.
Curator’s notes
In the history of Australia stories of the massacre of Indigenous peoples abound. While known as the Coniston Massacre, the killings themselves took place in areas from Coniston to Jarra Jarra, and people from many different Indigenous groups – Warlpiri, Anmatyerre and Kaytetye – were killed. We are hearing oral histories in this clip, and oral history is an important feature of Indigenous culture. The stories of the massacres told by family members redress the historical consequence of dehumanisation. In other words, the story as told by relatives of the deceased gives the massacre a human face and emotion.
