Coniston massacres: remembrance

15 August · Remembrance

Content note: This page discusses massacres, colonial violence and loss of life.

Coniston was a series of massacres across Central Australia in 1928, involving Warlpiri, Anmatyere and Kaytetye people. This calendar uses 15 August as a single remembrance date. It marks the first killing recorded in the University of Newcastle’s account of the initial expedition; it does not mean that all the massacres happened on that day.

Why this calendar uses 15 August

The University of Newcastle’s Coniston (1) entry records the first expedition between 15 and 31 August 1928 and identifies a killing at Coniston on 15 August. The broader history continued beyond that expedition. The Central Land Council describes the series as taking place between August and October 1928.

A single calendar marker cannot represent the date of every killing, and not every location can be assigned an exact day. The selected date is a reference point for remembrance and learning, rather than a claim that the whole history began and ended in one incident.

A series of killings across Country

The massacres followed the killing of dingo trapper Fred Brooks at Yurrkuru, also known as Brooks Soak. Police-led expeditions under Constable George Murray travelled through Aboriginal Country. The Newcastle research discusses drought, pressure on water and food, colonial occupation and accounts from Aboriginal people alongside official records.

The killing of one man did not justify violence against families and communities. Accounts of the numbers killed differ, and the Central Land Council has described an estimated one hundred victims. This page avoids presenting an uncertain total as an exact count or treating the official record as a complete record of loss.

Descendants, truth-telling and remembrance

In August 2018, families gathered at Yurrkuru for a community commemoration organised around the ninetieth year since the massacres. The Central Land Council’s report records their call for wider recognition and for children to learn this history. That gathering took place on 24 August; it was a commemorative event, not evidence that every killing occurred on that date.

Descendants’ work demonstrates that this is family history with continuing meaning. Learning can include publicly shared community accounts and the documentary Coniston, with attention to its content guidance and authorised access.

Remembering with care

Remembrance centres the people killed, their families and descendants, and continuing Aboriginal life and connection to Country. A date in a calendar is a starting point for learning, rather than a complete account of the people or places involved.

In schools and workplaces, explain the content before inviting people to participate. Do not ask Aboriginal students or colleagues to speak for everyone, disclose family experiences or defend the historical record. Use age-appropriate material and allow people to step away. Avoid re-enactments, graphic imagery and activities that turn violence into entertainment.

Read the sources critically, including who created them and whose testimony they preserve. Where records differ, name the uncertainty. A perpetrator’s account is not automatically more reliable than a survivor’s or descendant community’s account. Seek current, publicly available community guidance when planning local remembrance.

Sources and further reading

The links below provide historical research, First Nations perspectives and official records. Historical sources may contain distressing material, outdated language, and names or images of people who have died.

Online sources

Coniston (1). University of Newcastle, Colonial Frontier Massacres research project. Records the initial expedition and the 15 August date used for this calendar.
https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/detail.php?r=708

Coniston Massacre families gather to tell the truth. Central Land Council, 23 August 2018. Families’ remembrance, the August–October history and the 2018 commemoration.
https://www.clc.org.au/coniston-massacre-families-gather-to-tell-the-truth/

William Murray and the Coniston massacre. Australian War Memorial. Additional historical background.
https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/85/article-four

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