MYALL CREEK AND BEYOND SYMPOSIUM
Friday 8 June 2018 - 9.00am – 5.00pm
Oorala Lecture Theatre, Oorala Aboriginal Centre, UNE
The Myall Creek and Beyond symposium at the Oorala Aboriginal Centre, UNE will include a keynote lecture by leading indigenous historian Bruce Pascoe as well as sessions exploring the national significance of the massacre from historical, legal and cultural perspectives.
Symposium presenters will include Lyndall Ryan from the University of Newcastle; Jane Lydon from University of Western Australia; Peter White from Sydney Living Museums; barrister and author Mark Tedeschi; legal historian Cameron Moore from University of New England; Tasmanian contemporary artist Julie Gough; Yugembeh Museum CEO Rory O’Connor and Dr Fabri Blacklock from UNSW. Speakers will provide a range of perspectives on these events.
Members of the local Aboriginal community, UNE students, UNE staff and are able to attend free of charge thanks to the support received from the Oorala Aboriginal Centre at the University of New England. Please register by emailing Tess Cullen at tcullen6@une.edu.au with your name, contact details and student/staff ID number and/or the community you represent and you will be sent a registration form.
Myall Creek Memorial 180th anniversary program:
The four-day program of activities (7-10 June 2018) planned for the 180th anniversary will include:
- Thurs 7 June: a historical exhibition at the Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place about the history of the Myall Creek Memorial;
- Friday 8 June: the Myall Creek and Beyond one-day symposium at the Oorala Aboriginal Centre, UNE exploring the historical, legal and cultural significance of the massacre;
- Friday 8 June: the opening of the contemporary art exhibition Myall Creek and Beyond and an exhibition by Inverell based artist Colin Isaacs at NERAM in Armidale;
- Saturday 9 June: Sounds of the Country concert at the Roxy Theatre in Bingara.
- Sunday 10 June: the Oorala to Myall Creek bus for members of the local Aboriginal Community, UNE students and staff to attend the memorial event.
- Sunday 10 June: the 180th anniversary memorial event at the Myall Creek Memorial near the site of the massacre (near Bingara).
Each year hundreds of people from across the country gather to commemorate the unprovoked massacre of 28 Wirrayaraay women, children and old men by a group of stockmen on Myall Creek Station in 1838. This year marks the 180th anniversary of this horrific event.
Although there were many other massacres of Indigenous people that occurred during the Frontier Wars across Australia, this one had special significance because it was the only time when white men were, arrested, charged and hung for the massacre of Aborigines, following a police investigation.
