Site NameConiston (3)
This massacre is part of a group of massacres
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place NameJarra Jarra and other places
Language Group, Nation or PeopleWarlpiri
Present State/TerritoryNT
Colony/State/Territory at the timeNT
Police DistrictBarrow Creek
Latitude-20.968
Longitude133.544
DateBetween 24 Sep 1928 and 15 Oct 1928
Attack TimeDay
VictimsAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
Victim DescriptionsAboriginal
Victims Killed30
Victims Killed Notes
AttackersColonists
Attacker DescriptionsStockmen/Drover(s), Police, Aboriginal Guide(s)
Attackers Killed0
Attackers Killed Notes
TransportHorse
MotiveOpportunity
Weapons UsedFirearm(s)
NarrativeOn 8 September, 1928, news emerged that William 'Nugget' Morton had been attacked by Aboriginal people and had barely survived. Nugget Morton was notorious among both colonists and Aboriginal people. He kept many women, and no Aboriginal men, as 'stockmen' at his homestead (Bradley, 2019, pp 86-88). Kimber records that 'His [Alex Wilson's] Halls Creek wife, an attractive young Aboriginal woman, was taken from him by Nugget who, when Alex protested, took up his stock-whip and whipped Alex so badly that he sliced open his back from shoulder to waist.' (Kimber, 2003-2004, Part Two). Having spoken to Nugget Morton in 1937, Strehlow recorded in his diary that, '"Nugget" was since employing as "stockmen" (he has no male abos working for him) one or two other little native girls, 9 or 10 years of age, whom he had raped. Another little girl he had given to his nephew "Shrimp", who was about 17 years of age' (Strehlow in Bradley, 2019, p 88).
Paddy Willis said: 'Well, Nugget Morton gathered up some women and took them to his camp, taking them from the old people. He used to take women... Well, the old people were worried about their women. They gathered together into a fighting group, before attacking Nugget Morton' (Paddy Willis in Bowen, 2015, p 92).
According to Nugget's account, the reason he survived the attack was that so many were attacking at once that they were in each other's way and none of them could land a blow. An exceptionally strong man, although injured he fought them off, shot one, and made his way to safety.
On 16 September, another pastoralist, Tilmouth, had been droving 1500 bullocks between 2 soaks because of the drought and he too was attacked, and survived after shooting an Aboriginal man, Wangaridge (Kimber, 2003-2004, Part Ten and Bradley, 2019, p 114).
After Mounted Constable Murray returned to Alice Springs from his second clandestine expedition he spent some time at his own station at Barrow Creek, then with Murray, Morton, Wilson and a small Aboriginal boy, embarked on the 3rd Coniston massacre expedition (note that due to the obscurity of the 2nd expedition, some sources refer to the 3rd as the 2nd expedition) over 22 days from 24 September to 15 October.
In an interview with Ernestine Hill, published in 1933, Mounted Constable Murray said that on this expedition he and Morton captured 3 boys and forced them to guide them: 'Morton and I rode out together secured three boys who were innocent and demanded that they guide us to the guilty group. For three days those boys fooled us, leading us miles to wurlies long abandoned and to dry soaks. They were young initiates and dare not disclose the secrets of the older men. During the night they actually burned their feet to raw blisters and pounded their toes to pulp so that they could not walk. We covered their feet with bags and made them go on - but to no purpose. At last I resorted to a ruse. Taking one of them out of sight, I fired twice into the dust. The other in quivering fright agreed at once to track the offenders' (Mounted Constable Murray in Northern Standard, 3 March 1955, p 5).
Morton and Murray's statements about what happened were so similar that Bradley (Bradley, 2019, p116) says they had colluded to agree what they would say. They admit to 3 incidents: First, at Tomahawk Waterhole, 40 or 50 miles north-west of Morton's main camp where 4 were shot. Second, they went back up the Lander to Boomerang Waterhole and to Circle Well and killed two people. Third, on the lower Hanson River Murray and Morton came upon 40 people and killed 8. This totals 14 people killed. There were no prisoners and there was no mention of wounded.
Mounted Constable Murray's report on 19 Oct, said 'unfortunately a number of natives were killed' (Bradley, 2019, p120). Nugget Morton's attitude towards Aboriginal people is demonstrated in his own words: 'The police hadn't done their job half well enough for my liking; for the Government is always frightened of what the city folks will say when someone wants to teach these bush myalls a decent sort of a lesson... You might think thirty-four niggers to be a fair enough bag. Who knows? There might have been some more. But I'm not satisfied yet by a long way' (Morton to Strehlow in Bradley, 2019, p120).
Aboriginal accounts of the 'killing times' include more sites than those reported by Murray and Morton. An account from Sonny Curtis Jappanangka, recorded in Bowman (2015, p 90) indicates that the third expedition pursued people beyond the Hanson as far as Kurundi Station: 'All the bad things had been happening at Jarra Jarra, Hanson River way, before I was born... They run away and some stopped at Greenwood [Station] and some kept going to Tennant Creek... The police and all, one lady, Kitty Napangardi, showed the police trackers where to go... Dad was driving the packhorses and somewhere through, Kurundi Station, he was telling me, some of our people were cutting sugarbag by the side of the road, mind their own business hunting. My old man looked over and saw people, and told the woman, 'Don't tell them they are there.' But she did, she went up the front and told the police - and they shot the poor buggers. They were killing anybody, they weren't looking for people that did the damage over there. They were killing anyone, the government people were. Old people who lived along the Hanson Creek, they were happy, then after the shooting they scattered. But I tell you right now, today even, people are still living in the fear. They are not sure of white people, no trust for them still today...' (Sonny Curtis Jappanangka in Bowen, 2015, p 90).
SourcesBowman, 2015, p 90 https://www.clc.org.au/every-hill-got-a-story/; Bradley, 2019, p121; Kimber 2003-04, Part & Part 10 https://alicespringsnews.com.au/2018/08/15/the-coniston-massacre-remembered/; Making Peace with The Past https://digitalntl.nt.gov.au/10070/660392/0/4 Northern Standard 3 March, 1933, p5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48058883 Robinson, 1945 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-410786254; (Sources PDF)
Corroboration Rating***