Notice

Norman McVicker

The Wiradjuri Story: Aborigines of Henry Lawson Country by Mudgee’s Local Historian and Writer, Norman McVicker OAM written in 1991. The story is relevant only up to that time as many changes have taken place since.

About Norman McVicker

Norman McVicker OAM, Launched this site on the 20^th February 2009

The Wiradjuri Story cont., P.25

Martial Law

The declaration of Martial Law proved to be an ‘open season’ on all members of the Wiradjuri. Pregnant women were slaughtered along with children, usually having their skulls broken. Aborigine men were taken prisoner, executed and their bodies hung from trees as a warning to others. They fought back. A reward of 500 acres of land was offered for Windradyne – dead or alive. There were bloody massacres from one end of Wiradjuri country to the other. The sole purpose seemed by be total extermination of the tribe. There were stories of food and wheat being poisoned and offered as gifts to the Aborigines. On one occasion soldiers prepared dampers and bully beef for themselves. Some of the food was placed on the ground and the Wiradjuri approached believing the food to be a gesture of goodwill and friendliness. The women and children came first followed by the men. As the women collected food the soldiers fired on them and some thirty Wiradjuri were killed.

The Slaughter Continued

The slaughter continued unabated. Soldiers and settlers alike went on a rampage. Starting from the mountains near Capertee they fanned out through the valleys following the creeks and rivers. Each time they caught the Wiradjuri at their camp sites they shot them as they tried to escape up the exposed rock faces. The valleys resounded with gunfire and the moans of the dying. No records were kept. Martial Law was the justification of every atrocity and every death. After two months the Wiradjuri were a broken people. They were overwhelmed by the rifle and the musket and the ruthless determination of the settlers.

End of Martial Law

On the 11th December, 1824, four months after its proclamation, Martial Law was repealed. The murderers were never brought to justice. The killings were never officially reported. The white settlers believed that Windradyne was the architect of what they called ‘an uprising’ and they wanted him apprehended. On 28th December, 1824, Windradyne led the survivors of his tribe over the mountains to Parramatta, where, according to white reports,

Previous |  Content |  Next