Massacre at Leopold Ranges - West Kimberley

Date: 1 Jun 1892 – 31 Aug 1892
Place: Leopold Ranges - West Kimberley
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
On 8 June 1892 Kerralin, Meralmaddie, Merrigal, Yemin, Jinkymarra and a man named Packer, an ex���station hand from Lillamaloora Station, speared Robert Henry, Robert Allen and Thomas Henry with Robert Allen and Thomas Henry killed. A police party led by PC Armitage took over a month to find Packer and shoot him. They then shot another seven Aboriginal men and arrested one more. PC Armitage, who had previously been arrested in late 1889 for unlawful killing, pointedly stated 'the natives were camped in a very rough place and it was a matter of impossibility to effect the arrest of them alive' (Owen, 2016, pp 231-233).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: ***
LanguageGroup: Bunuba, Nyikina
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 7

People involved

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Sources

  • ''Two men murdered and third wounded by natives on the Leopold Ranges - Police Corporal Holmes, Derby, [Thomas Henry; Robert Allen; William Amitage; Robert (?) Goodridge; Thomas Yates; Robert Henry; 'Barrier Station;' Ernest Black]', SROWA, AN 24, Cons. 527, File 939/1892; Owen, 2016, p 296-297; Western Mail, June 18, 1892, p42 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33075265.

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Leopold Ranges - West Kimberley
    1 Jun 1892 – 31 Aug 1892 — Leopold Ranges - West Kimberley — massacre
    On 8 June 1892 Kerralin, Meralmaddie, Merrigal, Yemin, Jinkymarra and a man named Packer, an ex���station hand from Lillamaloora Station, speared Robert Henry, Robert Allen and Thomas Henry with Robert Allen and Thomas Henry killed. A police party led by PC Armitage took over a month to find Packer and shoot him. They then shot another seven Aboriginal men and arrested one more. PC Armitage, who had previously been arrested in late 1889 for unlawful killing, pointedly stated 'the natives were camped in a very rough place and it was a matter of impossibility to effect the arrest of them alive' (Owen, 2016, pp 231-233).
    Source: ''Two men murdered and third wounded by natives on the Leopold Ranges - Police Corporal Holmes, Derby, [Thomas Henry; Robert Allen; William Amitage; Robert (?) Goodridge; Thomas Yates; Robert Henry; 'Barrier Station;' Ernest Black]', SROWA, AN 24, Cons. 527, File 939/1892; Owen, 2016, p 296-297; Western Mail, June 18, 1892, p42 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33075265.