Massacre at Harris Lagoon

Date: 18 Aug 1875 – 20 Aug 1875
Place: Harris Lagoon
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
See also Mt McMinn, Crescent Lagoon, Calder Range and Mole Hill massacres. A range of sources (see below) provide details of this massacre. Following the killing of Charles Johnston by Mangarrayi warriors at Roper Bar on 29 June 1875, two reprisal parties were formed and commenced a six-week campaign of dispersing Aboriginal groups in the region. On 18 August a party departed Roper Bar on foot and attacked an Aboriginal camp at Harris Lagoon, shot people at will and returned to Roper Bar on 20 August. As Roberts noted (fn 13, 2009, np), 'A member of the official party wrote later that the overlanders "dispersed them thoroughly���[and] fully avenged Johnston's death"'. And 'After this, the official party set to work on slaughtering Aboriginals on both sides of the river, upstream from Roper Bar. On 20 August, police reinforcements arrived on a government boat from Darwin and the slaughter continued downstream from the Bar, as far as the river mouth, notwithstanding that those tribes had nothing to do with Johnston's murder. The random kills extended along a 200 kilometer stretch that ran both north and south of the river���The total death toll is impossible to guess, but it was likely in excess of 150 or 200'. Later, in December, 1875 an Aboriginal man, Ural, was tried for the murder of C.H. Johnston and C. Daer, but was not recognised by C.T. Rickards who had escaped the attack at Roper Bar in which Johnston was killed. Ural was released (NTTG December 25, 1875, p 2).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: ***
LanguageGroup: Yanyuwa
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 40

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Sources

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Harris Lagoon
    18 Aug 1875 – 20 Aug 1875 — Harris Lagoon — massacre
    See also Mt McMinn, Crescent Lagoon, Calder Range and Mole Hill massacres. A range of sources (see below) provide details of this massacre. Following the killing of Charles Johnston by Mangarrayi warriors at Roper Bar on 29 June 1875, two reprisal parties were formed and commenced a six-week campaign of dispersing Aboriginal groups in the region. On 18 August a party departed Roper Bar on foot and attacked an Aboriginal camp at Harris Lagoon, shot people at will and returned to Roper Bar on 20 August. As Roberts noted (fn 13, 2009, np), 'A member of the official party wrote later that the overlanders "dispersed them thoroughly���[and] fully avenged Johnston's death"'. And 'After this, the official party set to work on slaughtering Aboriginals on both sides of the river, upstream from Roper Bar. On 20 August, police reinforcements arrived on a government boat from Darwin and the slaughter continued downstream from the Bar, as far as the river mouth, notwithstanding that those tribes had nothing to do with Johnston's murder. The random kills extended along a 200 kilometer stretch that ran both north and south of the river���The total death toll is impossible to guess, but it was likely in excess of 150 or 200'. Later, in December, 1875 an Aboriginal man, Ural, was tried for the murder of C.H. Johnston and C. Daer, but was not recognised by C.T. Rickards who had escaped the attack at Roper Bar in which Johnston was killed. Ural was released (NTTG December 25, 1875, p 2).
    Source: NTTG September 18, 1875, p 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3144448; NTTG December 4, 1875, p 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3144612; NTTG December 25, 1875, p 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3144666; Wilson, 2000, pp 221-222; Roberts, 2005, p 140; Toohey, Roper River Police Station Heritage Assessment Report, 2015, pp 9-11; Roper Bar Land Claim Report, 1982, p 3; Austin, 1992, pp 15-16.