Massacre at Bull's Head Pocket

Date: 1 Jan 1911 – 30 Jun 1914
Place: Bull's Head Pocket
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
In his report on the Kidman Springs/Jasper Gorge Land Claim, Justice Howard Olney (1989, pp 18-19) found that: "Aboriginal oral traditions tell of a massacre near the claim area, in Bull's Head Pocket near Bull's Head Springs. According to the claimant Big Mick Kankinang, the massacre took place during the time when Townsend was manager of VRD (1904-19). A great crowd of Aboriginals had gathered in the area for purposes of ceremony and in the early hours of the morning, while they were still singing and dancing, they were surrounded by Europeans and their 'imported' Aboriginals, and shot. ... While evidence of these and other massacres in only rarely obtainable in European documents, the oral traditions are fully borne out by current demography."

The stockmen concerned spared the lives of young women who they abducted (Rose & Lewis, 1982, p 2).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: ***
LanguageGroup: Ngarinman, Bilinara
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 30

People involved

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Sources

  • Olney H, 1989, pp 18-19; Rose, D & Lewis, D, 1982, pp 1-3; Lewis, 2021, pp 487, 495-496 and 558.

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Bull's Head Pocket
    1 Jan 1911 – 30 Jun 1914 — Bull's Head Pocket — massacre
    In his report on the Kidman Springs/Jasper Gorge Land Claim, Justice Howard Olney (1989, pp 18-19) found that: "Aboriginal oral traditions tell of a massacre near the claim area, in Bull's Head Pocket near Bull's Head Springs. According to the claimant Big Mick Kankinang, the massacre took place during the time when Townsend was manager of VRD (1904-19). A great crowd of Aboriginals had gathered in the area for purposes of ceremony and in the early hours of the morning, while they were still singing and dancing, they were surrounded by Europeans and their 'imported' Aboriginals, and shot. ... While evidence of these and other massacres in only rarely obtainable in European documents, the oral traditions are fully borne out by current demography."

    The stockmen concerned spared the lives of young women who they abducted (Rose & Lewis, 1982, p 2).
    Source: Olney H, 1989, pp 18-19; Rose, D & Lewis, D, 1982, pp 1-3; Lewis, 2021, pp 487, 495-496 and 558.