Central Western NSW Conflict 1815-1824
The establishment of the colonial settlement of Bathurst on Wiradjuri country in 1815 and the expansion of the colony over the Bathurst Plains led to war between the Wiradjuri people and the colonisers in the 1820s. Bathurst and the neighbouring settlements were administered by Commandants, who tried various and unsuccessful measures to respond to the conflict.
Establishment and Governance
In 1815, Governor Macquarie ‘toured’ the region west of the Blue Mountains and chose a site for the town of Bathurst, located 150 kilometres west of Sydney on Wiradjuri country (). He instructed the rest of his touring party ‘to use [the Aboriginal people] kindly, to put no restraint on their movements but to let them go and come when they thought proper’ ().
Once Bathurst was established as a settlement it was governed by a series of Commandants. Commandants were appointed by and reported to the Governor and Colonial Secretary (, ).
The first two Commandants were pastoralists (, ) while the third, Major Morrisett, appointed in 1823, was from a military background ().
The Governor and Colonial Secretary instructed Commandants to ‘conciliate Aboriginal people’ and ‘treat them with kindness ().
In 1823 the colony expanded further through the foundation of an Agricultural Establishment at Wellington Valley (, ).
The Commandant there, Percy Simpson, was also instructed to encourage a ‘friendly intercourse with the Blacks.’ He was told ‘whenever they apprehend stray cattle or Runaways, small presents are to be made to them of wheat, Tomahawks or Fish hooks.’ Simpson was instructed to ‘punish very severely any ill treatment of them’ ().
In 1823, Simpson wrote that he had built good relationships with Aboriginal people in the area, and that one child had chosen to live at the camp ().
Expanding settlement and relationship with Aboriginal people
At first, Bathurst was only a small government depot with several soldiers and convict workers stationed there. In 1818 the settlement was expanded, with ten settlers granted ten 50-acre parcels at Bathurst (, ).
In the early 1820s, a ‘more generous policy of land grants’ resulted in large population growth and expansion of pastoral land (, ). In 1820 there were 114 Europeans at Bathurst and by 1822 there were 1,267 ().
Escalating conflict and legal responses
The settlement continued to expand throughout 1822 and 1823, taking over more land. The Wiradjuri people responded to this dispossession with raids on stations, resulting in cycles of retaliatory violence between the Wiradjuri people, pastoralists, overseers and convict workers (, , , ).
Many of the colonial reports about Aboriginal people focused on their spearing of livestock, although there were also instances of alleged murder (, ). In some instances, it was acknowledged by authorities that violence by Aboriginal people may have been provoked by the actions of colonists ().
Violence by colonists included killing Aboriginal people () as well as sexual violence against Wiradjuri women.
These conflicts across the Bathurst Plains resulted in the deaths of Aboriginal people, settlers and convicts, although the precise numbers of deaths are in dispute ().
Several Wiradjuri warriors came to be known for their leadership of the organised raids on settler stations and property, and violence, most notably Windradyne, also known as ‘Saturday’ by colonists. Windradyne was seen as responsible for series of attacks on outstations east of Bathurst where cattle and sheep were killed ().
As the conflict escalated, local officials focussed on capturing Aboriginal people seen as leading the attacks (). In December 1823, the Colonial Secretary approved a reward for the capture of Windradyne (, ). He was violently arrested in early 1824 and ‘sentenced to a month’s imprisonment in irons’ ().
Some government officials tried to use the legal system to respond to the conflict and violence.
In January 1824, Commandant Simpson introduced Regulations for the Agricultural Establishment in Wellington which prohibited Aboriginal women from being in the camp and stated that any ‘ill treatment or violence offered to the Black Natives’ would be treated as a ‘great offence’ ().
There were also formal inquests into the deaths of people suspected of being killed by Aboriginal people (, ).
In some instances, British people who killed Aboriginal people were also subject to the law, however they were not convicted.
In December 1823, pastoralist Thomas Miller was arrested and sent to Sydney for killing a Wiradjuri man ‘without a cause or provocation’. Former Commandant William Lawson reported that Aboriginal people had ‘demanded justice’ for the killing and said that ‘if they did not get satisfaction they would kill Tom Miller or some of his children’ (). However, the only witnesses were Aboriginal people who were unable to give evidence in court () and there is no record of a trial having taken place ().
In 1824, five non-Indigenous men went on trial for manslaughter after killing three Aboriginal women near 8 Mile Creek Swamp. The defendants argued that their attack was permitted by an 1816 proclamation which allowed settlers to take up arms against ‘hostile’ Aboriginal people. Although the judge disagreed with this argument, the jury found the men not guilty ().
Further escalation and demand for military response
The conflict continued to escalate into a guerilla war campaign, led by Windradyne and others (), resulting in pastoralists temporarily abandoning the outer sheep stations. The Wiradjuri united with people from the south coast and the Blue Mountains against those dispossessing them from their lands. News of the conflict, including violence by settlers, was reported throughout the colony ().
In June 1824, Governor Brisbane sought approval from Britain to ‘raise a Troop of Colonial Calvary’ () and by July 1824 calls were growing for Governor Brisbane to provide a military force to drive the Wiradjuri peoples into a ‘state of subjection’ (, ).
Ultimately Governor Brisbane responded to the violence with the declaration of martial law in August 1824 (see SUB0250).
For more information
Towards Truth focuses on the laws and policy of this period. However, many other people have written about the conflicts on the Bathurst Plain. Further information can be found in the Discussion and Analysis Documents.