Mistake Creek massacre

This article is about the 1915 massacre Western Australia. For the c.1872 massacre in Queensland, see Mistake Creek massacre (Queensland). For the 1890 massacre in the Northern Territory, see Mistake Creek massacre (Northern Territory).

The Mistake Creek massacre was a massacre of Indigenous Australians that took place in Western Australia in 1915.

Mistake Creek massacre
Part of Australian frontier conflicts
Approximate location of the massacre site on Mistake Creek, Lake Argyle is visible to the right and above.
Location	Mistake Creek, East Kimberley, Western Australia
Coordinates	16°55′37″S 128°14′31″E / 16.927°S 128.242°E / -16.927; 128.242^[1]
Date	28 March 1915
Target	Gija people
Attack type	Mass shooting
Weapons	Rifles Revolvers^[1]
Deaths	8-32^[2]
Perpetrators	Michael Ratigan and two of his Aboriginal employees^[1]
No. of participants	3 attackers and up to 35 Gija people
Motive	Reprisal for the theft of a cow
Accused	Michael Rhatigan and Nipper
Convicted	None
Verdict	Michael Rhatigan: Never tried Nipper: Not Guilty
Convictions	None
Charges	Murder

Massacre

On 28 March 1915,^[3] between 8^[2][4] and 32^[5] Gija people were shot and killed, and their bodies burned, at Mistake Creek in the East Kimberley.^[3] Exactly who was responsible and why the massacre occurred have remained uncertain,^[6] but the perpetrators are believed to have been an ex-policeman and telegraph linesman from Warmun (then known as Turkey Creek) called Michael^[2] "Mick" Rhatigan and two of his Indigenous employees, Jim Wynne and Nipper.^[3][4][6][7] Rhatigan had been involved in earlier massacres of Aboriginal people during his time as a police constable, including one in 1895 where around 20 people were killed.^[6]

According to Gija oral history, the motive was the mistaken belief that one of Rhatigan's milking cows had been killed and eaten by members of the camp that was attacked. The oral history accounts state that Rhatigan was directly involved in the massacre, with Wynne and Nipper assisting. There is some suggestion that Wynne, who was not Gija himself, had encouraged the massacre in some way, possibly due to a dispute over a woman.^[8][9] The Gija oral history seems to have been derived from accounts given by survivors of the massacre.^[5]

Aftermath

Rhatigan and Nipper were arrested.^[10] Wynne was shot dead by police whilst trying to escape after he was seen near one of the bodies.^[11] A coroner's inquest held at Turkey Creek acquitted Rhatigan of any wrongdoing, while Nipper was ordered to face trial for the murder of eight people. Wynne's death was ruled a "justifiable homicide", and the constable who shot Wynne was commended by the jury for his "promptness" in shooting him as he was allegedly "a most dangerous character".^[10] Nipper was found not guilty and was released, and later worked at the police stables in Perth.^[5]

Rhatigan remained a telegraph linesman at Turkey Creek until his death in 1920.^[8][12] His son, John Rhatigan, became a long-serving Labor politician in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.^[9]

Differing versions

Further information: Australian history wars

In 2001 controversy arose following a visit by the Governor General, William Deane, to the site of the massacre. According to columnist Miranda Devine, reporting on historian Keith Windschuttle's version of events, Deane personally apologised for the events at Mistake Creek and for other frontier killings by white people, mentioning Rhatigan and his employees had committed the massacre over the mistaken belief that a cow had been stolen.^[13] Windschuttle asserted that there were no Europeans involved in the massacre, and that it was a drastic escalation of a dispute over a woman. He stated that Wynne and Nipper were the only ones involved, starting a debate on the actual details of the massacre.^[14][7]

Windschuttle's account was vigorously rebutted by WA historian Cathie Clement, who also said the Windschuttle's reporting of Deane's visit was factually incorrect, and that he did not actually make an apology at all, citing the original sources of that story. She also stated that Windschuttle's version of the reporting of events passed down in oral history and related by Patrick O'Brien was incorrect, and had been corrected by O'Brien.^[12]

Later research has shown that the oral and visual histories are significant, and today they are given more weight than they were in the past, when they were often dismissed in favour of colonial representations of history.^[7]

In art

Gija people from Warmun (Turkey Creek) community have depicted the massacre in their artworks.^[15]

A painting by well-known Aboriginal artist Queenie McKenzie depicting the massacre was bought by the National Museum of Australia in 2005, but was not put on display as it was claimed to depict an "event which never occurred". Ian McLean, University of Melbourne's Hugh Ramsay chair of Australian Art History, said that this was a political decision, made in the era of the "history wars". In July 2020 it was put on display as part of a new exhibition titled Talking Blak to History at the Museum.^[7][5]

See also

• List of massacres of Indigenous Australians

References

1. "Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930". University of Newcastle Centre - Centre For 21st Century Humanities. from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
2. Pickering, Michael (2010). "Where are the stories?". The Public Historian. 32 (1): 79–95. doi:10.1525/tph.2010.32.1.79. Retrieved 28 May 2022 – via JSTOR.
3. "Sensational charges". The West Australian. Western Australia. 1 April 1915. p. 7. from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
4. Daley, Paul (4 July 2013). "What became of the Mistake Creek massacre?". The Guardian. from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
5. Deane, William (27 November 2002). "Decrying the memories of Mistake Creek is yet further injustice". Sydney Morning Herald. Opinion. from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
6. Collins, Ben; Mills, Vanessa; O'Connor, Ted. "Family connection to Mistake Creek Massacre could see Rhatigan Street removed from Halls Creek". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
7. Burnside, Niki (22 July 2020). "Queenie McKenzie's 'Mistake Creek Massacre' displayed by National Museum after years of controversy". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
8. "Family Notices". The West Australian. Western Australia. 30 March 1920. p. 1. from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
9. "John Joseph Rhatigan". Parliament of Western Australia. Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
10. "North-west sensation". The West Australian. Western Australia. 27 April 1915. p. 8. from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
11. "NORTH-WEST SENSATION". West Australian. 7 April 1915. from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
12. Clement, Cathie. "National Museum of Australia Review of Exhibitions and Public Programs Submissions" (PDF). National Museum of Australia. (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
13. Devine, Miranda. "Truce, and truth, in history wars". The Sydney Morning Herald. from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
14. Windschuttle, Keith (18 June 2001). "Wrong on Mistake Creek". Australian Financial Review. from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
15. Carrington, Betty. "Mistake Creek Massacre". DesertRiverSea. from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.