Massacre at Gordon Creek

Date: 1 Aug 1894 – 2 Aug 1894
Place: Gordon Creek
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
Mounted Constable William Willshire, who was notorious for killing Aboriginal people, wrote the following account alluding to the massacre of a group of people and the capture of young women (1896, p 47), 'A civilised blackboy belonging to a Justice of the Peace in the Lower Victoria district was murdered by the wild natives of the Gregory River. I started out from Gordon Creek with the native police to arrest the offenders if possible. On arriving in the locality the first thing we observed was a beautiful savage maiden, who in her startled movements was a graceful as a stag. She ran screaming through the gnarled overhanging branches to escape capture and warn the male portion of our advent. But let me inform my readers that this untutored beauty was too late. The black trackers were on the spot before she could give warning by her screams. She had only seen me in the first place; the auxiliaries were in ambush, and closer to her than I was. When all was over my boys brought her and some others to our camp.'
Notes:
CorroborationRating: **
LanguageGroup: Ngarinyman, Karrangpurru, Nungali, Malngin, Wardaman, Ngaliwurru, Bilinara
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 6

People involved

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Sources

  • Willshire, Land of the Dawning, 1896, p 47.

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Gordon Creek
    1 Aug 1894 – 2 Aug 1894 — Gordon Creek — massacre
    Mounted Constable William Willshire, who was notorious for killing Aboriginal people, wrote the following account alluding to the massacre of a group of people and the capture of young women (1896, p 47), 'A civilised blackboy belonging to a Justice of the Peace in the Lower Victoria district was murdered by the wild natives of the Gregory River. I started out from Gordon Creek with the native police to arrest the offenders if possible. On arriving in the locality the first thing we observed was a beautiful savage maiden, who in her startled movements was a graceful as a stag. She ran screaming through the gnarled overhanging branches to escape capture and warn the male portion of our advent. But let me inform my readers that this untutored beauty was too late. The black trackers were on the spot before she could give warning by her screams. She had only seen me in the first place; the auxiliaries were in ambush, and closer to her than I was. When all was over my boys brought her and some others to our camp.'
    Source: Willshire, Land of the Dawning, 1896, p 47.