During mid 1839, possibly in the month of May, thirty five to forty Aboriginal men, women and children were reported to have been killed along Mt Emu Creek, in the vicinity of ‘Glenormiston Station’, located in the south-western region of Victoria . . . 
At the time, Mt Emu Creek was known as Taylor’s River. Public horror and disapproval of this massacre led to Taylor’s River being renamed Mount Emu Creek.
Frederick Taylor had been appointed overseer of the property, then known as ‘Strathdownie’, by G. McKillop and J. Smith in the March of 1839 at which time the local Aborigines had already begun to steal some sheep from the folds.
Taylor was reported to have killed many Aborigines, including involvement in the murder of Woolmudgin, the head of the Watha wurrung balug clan who were based in the Barrabool Hills near Geelong, in the October of 1836; as well as the massacre of 15 Aborigines on the 11th November 1839. There appear to be many more undocumented incidents . . .
Taylor’s actions were cruel, his reputation spread around the district as a man who would take violent measures against the local people. In early 1840, the newly appointed Protector of Aborigines, George Augustus Robinson, heard that Taylor ‘had killed a whole tribe’. According to Robinson’s journal, Taylor had set out with a number of men to attack the Aborigines’ camp. They were reported to have formed a long line with Taylor at the centre. The camp’s occupants were asleep as the line fired upon them. Only a few were reported to have survived – out of a camp of some 35 to 40 men, women and children . . .
They were then reported to have thrown the corpses into a neighbouring waterhole.
Other similar accounts of the massacre included:
Niel Black, the subsequent owner of ‘Strathdownie’ c 1840, wrote in his journal that, according to Blackie, the former overseer, “about thirty-five to forty natives have been dispatched on this establishment and that there is only two men left alive of the tribe”.
Jan Critchett, in her book ‘A Distant Field of Murder’, notes that years later James Dawson was told how Bareetch Churneen, who was also known as ‘Queen Fanny’, had escaped the Europeans, who had murdered nearly all her people, and had been pursued until she reached the banks of Lake Bullen Merri, which she swam across with a child on her back, and thus escaped.
A survivor, Wangegamon, a Djargurd wurrung man, escaped by running to the other side of the creek and hiding in the grass behind a tree. He reported that he witnessed his wife and child being murdered amongst many others of his tribe. Thereafter, the bodies were thrown into the creek – the water stained with blood. Apparently two days after the massacre, he observed two men visit the site. They were horrified at the sight, questioning Taylor as to why he had killed so many women and children. Shortly, afterwards the bodies were burnt. What evidence remained after the fires was later collected, thereby removing all evidence of the atrocity that had occurred.
Though the accounts of the massacre are somewhat varied, what is certain is that it did occur; that Taylor was instrumental in the massacre; that the tribe of men, women and children were slaughtered whilst sleeping; their bodies were thrown into a body of water – whether it be the creek or nearby waterhole; and soon afterwards every attempt was made to remove all traces of evidence.
In late 1839 or early 1840, Taylor fled to India, fearing a government inquiry and prosecution for his role in murdering the Aborigines.
View other important events in this Region’s History . . .
2 Comments
Kevin Brewer
I think you are a little confused. Niel Black (his name was not spelt Neil Black) bough the right of run and half the sheep of Strathdownie in December 1839 and took possession in 1840. Taylor had been manager for McKillop and Smith since the run was first established in April 1839. He had no backers in England, they were his partners and he was a fully paid up partner in Niel Black and Company, along with TS Gladstone, William McAdam Steuart and Alexander Struthers Finlay. The Aborigines were killed by a party led by Fredk Taylor, who absconded from the management of the run when he heard the horses of Black and his companion JC Riddell crossing the ford in Mt Emu Creek and thought it was the mounted police coming to arrest him. The murders were committed not on Strathdownie but further up Mt Emu Creek. The bodies were removed by Taylor from the site of the murder and thrown into a waterhole in the creek within Glenormiston as Black mentions in a letter to his partners in Great Britain, and Black had them removed for burial. having read far mor eof his letters than you, I can assured you he was not a violent man, nor was his main consideration in buying the right of run the appalling treatment of the local Aborigines, but the place itself. Anyone who has been to that place will know what I mean. He never tolerated Aborigines on Glenormiston and always moved them off. he did employ some later. One of his best friends, John Eddington at Ballangeich, who had come out on the same ship as Black, had no trouble with them, often gave them a beast and allowed his children not only to play with their Aboriginal peers but learn the local languages. His sister, who was his housekeeper after Anne Eddington, his wife, died even inoculated the Aboriginal children against smallpox. The story about swimming across Bullenmerri is a common one in contact stories. There is a similar one about a woman swimming Backstairs Passage in South Australia, and another swimming across the lakes at the mouth of the Murray. But in this case, the site of the murder was about 10 miles north of the lake, it would be odd to swim the lake to escape because the other side is easily accessible, more so on a horse and quicker than swimming.
POI-Australia!
We really appreciate your contribution to this topic. We can see that the spelling is incorrect and will rectify ASAP. We thank you for the information you have provided regarding Niel Black, which will assist us in our research.
After carefully reading the post and your comment, it would appear that we are largely in agreeance with each other. We apologise that the post seems to insinuate that Niel Black was directly involved in these cruelties as our research confirms that he, in fact, abhorred any level of violence. We will look at restructuring our information to more clearly present the information.
We would be grateful for any further information or if you could refer us to any primary sources that would aid our research.