Central Land Council
in this section
CLC Press Releases
- 14 Augyust 2008 2008
- Communities have their say on intervention ›› more
- 31 July 2008 2008
- Fairfax news in bad taste ›› more
- 24 July 2008 2008
- election: accountability needed ›› more
- 17 July 2008 2008
- Royal commission needed into NT funding ›› more
- 11 July 2008 2008
- Simpson Desert: the last land rights claim under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act ›› more
- 8 July 2008 2008
- Sacred site damage at Wilora ›› more
- 30 May 2008
- Seal the Mereenie Loop Road Now ›› more
- 27 May 2008
- Angela Pamela Negotiations ›› more
- 9 May 2008
- Angela Pamela and the native title process ›› more
- 18 February 2008
- Coalition should support permit system ›› more
- 15 February 2008
- Politicians threaten to derail fresh start ›› more
- 22 January 2008
- Police ignorance upsets Lajamanu community ›› more
- 26 November 2007
- Optimism for a fresh consensual approach on Aboriginal affairs ›› more
- 21 November 2007
- Concerns over Central Petroleum tactics ›› more
22 September 2003
The Central Land Council says the Commemoration Day, to be held this week, for the Coniston Massacre 75 years ago will promote reconciliation and provide some finality for Aboriginal people who have been affected by the massacre.
CLC director David Ross said it was also an excellent opportunity to raise public awareness of a little known piece of Australian history.
"We have been asked by Aboriginal people for many years to do something to acknowledge the tragic events of 1928," he said.
" When Constable Murray and his posse set out in August and September 75 years ago to investigate the murder of dingo trapper Frederick Brooks, they left a large number of innocent people dead and the survivors horrified. Many people scattered far from their country and some never returned out of fear of further reprisals.
"There are still some old people who remember the events and the story has been told and retold among Aboriginal people in Central Australia ever since. The incident is still extraordinarily painful to people even though it was so long ago.
"We are delighted that Constable Murray's relative Liza Dale Hallet will join us for the ceremony and I sincerely hope that people will feel that their ancestors have finally received some justice and peace.
"Acknowledgment of these events in our shared history is critical for the health of our nation. The past informs the present to some extent and a society that continues to bury history under a blanket of denial can never really come to terms with race relations or its national identity," Mr Ross said.