While attention drawn to wartime losses around ANZAC day increases, knowledge of Aboriginal massacres remain relatively unknown.

One of the most recent massacres that occurred less than 100 years ago should be remembered like all other frontier massacres. One man who is bringing these events to light is Chris Owen. He is a writer, Author and historian from Western Australia. We wrote about him in a previous article where he exposed the shocking story of Lawn Hill station which saw up to 40 pairs of Aboriginal ears nailed to the walls of the station homestead.

One of Owen’s recent posts on his Facebook Page outlined a young Aboriginal girl’s personal account of the 1926 Oombulgurri / Forrest River Massacre.

The personal account is from one of the only survivors of the massacre who hid underwater using pandanus grass to breathe. The young girl witnessed men being asked to collect wood before they were shot and burnt before the eyes of women and children. Those women were also shot while the children had their skulls ruthlessly smashed by the party of European settlers that was lead by 2 police officers.

We are highlighting these stories because far too many people have no idea about Australia’s shocking history which has served as a catalyst for the current poor relationship and misunderstanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia. We hope that more education and awareness will lead to a renewed effort to address the inequalities that exist today because of Australia’s brutal colonial history.

Just yesterday we saw Waanyi people wearing shirts with the image of the old Lawn Hill station homestead we used in our previous article as they began takeover action on their land. It goes to show how powerful the truth can be. It really can set us free!

You can play a part by sharing this story and others like it. Make sure to follow future posts made by Chris Owen via his Facebook page: Chris Owen ‘Darkest West Australia’.