The Forrest River massacre, or Oombulgurri massacre, was a massacre of Indigenous Australian people by a law enforcement party in the wake of the killing of a pastoralist, which took place in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1926. The massacre was investigated by a Royal Commission in 1927 which subsequently determined that 11 people had been killed. Charges were brought against two officers but dismissed for lack of evidence. A local man, Lumbia, was convicted of the killing of the pastoralist Frederick Hay. Although the findings have recently been disputed by journalist Rod Moran, academic historians accept that a massacre did take place but disagree over the number of victims.
Read more about Forrest River Massacre: Background, Massacre Rumours, Wood Royal Commission, Lumbia Trial, Aftermath, Later Evidence, Accusations of False Claims
Famous quotes containing the words forrest, river and/or massacre:
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
—Eric Roth, U.S. screenwriter. Directed by Robert Zemekis. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
“There are knives that glitter like altars
In a dark church
Where they bring the cripple and the imbecile
To be healed.
There’s a woden block where bones are broken,
Scraped clean—a river dried to its bed”
—Charles Simic (b. 1938)
“The bourgeoisie of the whole world, which looks complacently upon the wholesale massacre after the battle, is convulsed by horror at the desecration of brick and mortar.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)