Massacre at York (1)

Date: 1 Jul 1832 – 26 Nov 1832
Place: York (1)
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
A letter by the amateur ethnographer Robert Lyon (also known as Robert Lyon Milne) to the Colonial Secretary, Lord Goderich, protests at an attack on Nyungar people at York in 1832. Lyon wrote, 'The local government seem to have returned to the intelligent principle of governing the native tribes without a knowledge of their language - or rather have determined to let the settlement take the chance of an interminable war. No proclamation appeared; & since the above was written, one of the chiefs a man who by his example & his influence has saved more lives and property than all His Majesty's forces in Western Australia - has been dangerously wounded by some white savage. Notwithstanding this, I have succeeded, under divine providence in effecting a cessation of hostilities. So soon as I came from Carnac I went into the bush alone unarmed & met Yellow Gongo [Yellagonga] chief, a King of Mooro, whose district comprehends Perth & the country to the north of the Swan. He gave me assurances of peace & friendship, & presented me with a womera & a spear. Since then they have refrained even from molesting the stock. How long this calm may continue, God only knows. The settlers & soldiers at York have committed a horrible action: They went at night to an encampment of the natives &, while they were sitting round their fires poured the shot among them - men, women & children. Their cries were dreadful' (Lyon, 1832, p151).


This letter is cited in Martens, 2022 as 'Lyon to Goderich, 1 January 1833, NA: CO 18/11, f. 150'. Green quotes the same letter from an extract in the Perth Gazette, January 1833 (Green 1984 p 120 and note 2, p 196).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: *
LanguageGroup: Nyungar
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 6

People involved

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Sources

Event mentions

  • Massacre at York (1)
    1 Jul 1832 – 26 Nov 1832 — York (1) — massacre
    A letter by the amateur ethnographer Robert Lyon (also known as Robert Lyon Milne) to the Colonial Secretary, Lord Goderich, protests at an attack on Nyungar people at York in 1832. Lyon wrote, 'The local government seem to have returned to the intelligent principle of governing the native tribes without a knowledge of their language - or rather have determined to let the settlement take the chance of an interminable war. No proclamation appeared; & since the above was written, one of the chiefs a man who by his example & his influence has saved more lives and property than all His Majesty's forces in Western Australia - has been dangerously wounded by some white savage. Notwithstanding this, I have succeeded, under divine providence in effecting a cessation of hostilities. So soon as I came from Carnac I went into the bush alone unarmed & met Yellow Gongo [Yellagonga] chief, a King of Mooro, whose district comprehends Perth & the country to the north of the Swan. He gave me assurances of peace & friendship, & presented me with a womera & a spear. Since then they have refrained even from molesting the stock. How long this calm may continue, God only knows. The settlers & soldiers at York have committed a horrible action: They went at night to an encampment of the natives &, while they were sitting round their fires poured the shot among them - men, women & children. Their cries were dreadful' (Lyon, 1832, p151).


    This letter is cited in Martens, 2022 as 'Lyon to Goderich, 1 January 1833, NA: CO 18/11, f. 150'. Green quotes the same letter from an extract in the Perth Gazette, January 1833 (Green 1984 p 120 and note 2, p 196).
    Source: Blight 2024 https://maryblight.com/2024/02/25/massacres-on-noongar-boodjar-from-1830-onwards/; Martens 2022 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2022.2072351; Green 1984; Lyon, 1832 https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2030106908/view