| Narrative | In January 1930 witnesses had come forward saying that in late 1927 Albert ‘Bert’ Smith and Jim Robinson had caught, shot and incinerated seven Aboriginal men on Christmas Creek Pastoral station in the Kimberley (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Smith was the station manager at Christmas Creek Pastoral Station (260 miles inland from Derby). Smith, a notoriously violent man, and Robinson visited an Aboriginal camp a few kilometres from his homestead and took captive six Aboriginal people (and neck chained them), their names being Comet, Jagabadger aka Jacaticia, Lalvert, Bagga, Maanda and Jolgoo. On that night after being marched eight miles they were chained to the fork of a tree so high up they had to stand all night on toes (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). The next day – after a 10 mile trek - they were again chained high up to trees. Comet was subsequently let go but the other five were never heard of again (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Three days later Smith and Robinson did the same thing with two named ‘Nyella aka Skinny’ and ‘Cheetan’ (who were chained to a verandah post of the blacksmiths). They went out with them on the chain and returned to their station without them (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Newspaper reports suggested the missing men ‘slipped off the face of the earth. They simply vanished’ (The Truth, January 19, 1930, p 1). Depositions taken from workers on Christmas Creek through a very thorough investigation by Detective Bert Flanagan tell a different story. The men had allegedly been spearing cattle on the station, so Smith and Robinson murdered them (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Detective Flanagan interviewed 15 Aboriginal witnesses who all asserted the same story. Bert Smith (armed with a revolver and rifle) caught five men then another two chained them to a fork in the tree for two nights with the chain so high they could not sit down. One witness said ‘they choke’ (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Then the Aboriginal wives were ordered to collect light wood while Smith and Robinson collected large logs. One witness was ordered to fill flour bags with charcoal and tins with kerosene. Every witness said ‘I saw them go out I never saw them come back I think they finished’ (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Another witness could trace the Aboriginal tracks to a burn site but there were no tracks out. ‘We been then looking for whitefellow track and see the track of toe and heel and boots been standing on grass close to where the fire had been.’ ‘I been hearing long time before this Bert Smith been shoot em boys before…’ one said (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). Police had enough evidence to charge him, not for murder as no bodies could be found, but for eight counts of assault. However, when the case went to court, on 25 March 1930, there was only one charge that was heard - the abuse of one man, Comet. Smith had no legal representation, simply denied everything and had five white witnesses who testified they had never seen anything untoward at the station. The jury deliberated for 10 minutes and returned a ‘not guilty’ verdict. The Crown prosecution subsequently withdrew the other seven charges of assault and Smith walked free (SROWA WAPD, Acc 4431/1929). |
