Massacre at Darkey Flat, Southern Darling Downs

Date: 1 Jan 1845 – 31 Dec 1845
Place: Darkey Flat, Southern Darling Downs
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
This attack, by owners and station hands at Talgai Station on the Southern Darling Downs, was carried out to prevent the station from becoming the collecting point for other Aboriginal clans. The account given by French (1989, p 99) relates that 'two uninitiated Aboriginal youths from southern New South Wales, in the employ of a local squatter, had raped several women of the McIntyre (Bigambul?) tribe. When the tribal warriors gathered to punish the transgressors, the reprobates informed the settlers at Talgai Station that the McIntyre tribe was planning a raid on the station. The whites promptly carried out a pre-emptive attack, killing several Aborigines: thereafter the McIntyre tribe had good cause for resisting the white invasion.'
Notes:
CorroborationRating: **
LanguageGroup: Geynyan?
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 6

People involved

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Sources

  • Hall, 1925, pp 103-104; French, 1989, p 99.

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Darkey Flat, Southern Darling Downs
    1 Jan 1845 – 31 Dec 1845 — Darkey Flat, Southern Darling Downs — massacre
    This attack, by owners and station hands at Talgai Station on the Southern Darling Downs, was carried out to prevent the station from becoming the collecting point for other Aboriginal clans. The account given by French (1989, p 99) relates that 'two uninitiated Aboriginal youths from southern New South Wales, in the employ of a local squatter, had raped several women of the McIntyre (Bigambul?) tribe. When the tribal warriors gathered to punish the transgressors, the reprobates informed the settlers at Talgai Station that the McIntyre tribe was planning a raid on the station. The whites promptly carried out a pre-emptive attack, killing several Aborigines: thereafter the McIntyre tribe had good cause for resisting the white invasion.'
    Source: Hall, 1925, pp 103-104; French, 1989, p 99.