Significant Dates for Indigenous Australians in April

 

April marks the anniversaries of several pivotal events in the history of Australia’s First Nations people.

 

·       April 1789 – Smallpox Epidemic: A Dark Chapter in Australian History

·       April 1847 – Mass Poisoning of Gubbi Gubbi People, Moreton Bay (Queensland)

·       April 1867 – “The Leap” Massacre, Mt Mandarana (Mackay)

·       10 April 1950 – Birth of Mick Dodson

·       27 April 1971 – Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (Gove Land Rights Case)

·       15 April 1991 – Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: Final Report

·       3 April 2023 – Passing of Galarrwuy Yunupingu

 

 

These events reflect the resilience, resistance, loss and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across centuries.

 

April 1789 – Smallpox Epidemic: A Dark Chapter in Australian History

 

In April 1789, just 15 months after the arrival of the First Fleet, an outbreak of smallpox devastated Aboriginal communities around Port Jackson. Contemporary and later estimates suggest the epidemic may have killed a very large proportion of the local Indigenous population, often cited as up to 50–90% in some areas, with its impact extending as far as the Hawkesbury River, Port Hacking, Jervis Bay and beyond the Blue Mountains.

 

The timing of the outbreak is significant, occurring during a period of increasing tension and resistance as British colonists expanded into Aboriginal lands.

 

Historical records confirm that the First Fleet carried “variolous matter” (material derived from smallpox) for the purpose of inoculation. Marine Captain Watkin Tench recorded its presence. While smallpox virus can survive for extended periods under certain conditions, there remains ongoing debate among historians about whether this material directly caused the outbreak.

 

Some early theories suggested the disease may have been chickenpox, but this has been widely rejected by medical historians. Leading virologist Professor Frank Fenner concluded that the disease was almost certainly smallpox, based on patterns of immunity observed in later outbreaks.

 

Other hypotheses propose that smallpox may have arrived via Macassan traders from present-day Indonesia. However, most historical and epidemiological evidence suggests this is unlikely, particularly given the timing and rapid spread of the disease in the Sydney region.

 

The question of whether the outbreak was accidental or deliberate remains one of the most contested issues in Australian history. Some historians, including Noel Butlin and Henry Reynolds, have raised the possibility that smallpox may have been intentionally introduced, drawing parallels with documented instances of biological warfare elsewhere in the British Empire. However, there is no definitive proof of deliberate release, and many scholars consider the cause unresolved.

 

What is beyond dispute is the devastating impact. The epidemic caused catastrophic loss of life, social disruption and cultural dislocation, leaving many communities without Elders, knowledge holders and kinship structures.

 

This event marked one of the earliest and most profound tragedies of colonisation, the consequences of which continue to echo through generations.

 

April 1847 – Mass Poisoning of Gubbi Gubbi People, Moreton Bay (Queensland)

 

In April 1847, a mass poisoning of Aboriginal people occurred at Whiteside sheep station on the Pine River in the Moreton Bay region of Queensland. The victims are generally identified as members of the Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) people.

 

The incident involved flour deliberately laced with arsenic and left in a hut where it would be found and consumed by local Aboriginal people.

 

Workers at Captain Francis Griffin’s Whiteside station mixed arsenic with flour and placed it in a hut, anticipating it would be taken and eaten. The act is widely understood to have been carried out in retaliation for conflict between colonists and Aboriginal people, including reports that a station worker had been attacked.

 

Estimates of the number of people killed vary significantly. Contemporary reports suggest as few as six to eight deaths, while later accounts and oral histories indicate the toll may have been much higher, with figures of 50–60 people often cited. The true number is unknown.

 

The incident was reported to authorities and an investigation was undertaken, with testimony confirming that arsenic had been deliberately used. However, as with many acts of violence against Aboriginal people during the frontier period, no convictions were recorded.

 

The Whiteside poisoning forms part of a broader pattern of violent dispossession during the colonial expansion in Queensland. It is often compared with the earlier Kilcoy Massacre, where Aboriginal people were also killed after consuming arsenic-laced flour.

 

Both incidents are recognised in the Colonial Frontier Massacres Project database, which documents sites of frontier violence across Australia. 

 

This event stands as a stark reminder of the violence that accompanied colonisation and the absence of justice for Aboriginal victims.

 

April 1867 – “The Leap” Massacre, Mt Mandarana (Mackay)

 

The events at Mount Mandarana, commonly referred to as “The Leap,” are remembered as one of the most tragic episodes of frontier violence in Queensland.

 

In the 1860s, as colonists expanded into the Mackay region, conflict intensified with the Yuwibara people, whose lands were being forcibly occupied. Following reports of cattle spearing at Balnagowan station, the Queensland Native Police launched a punitive expedition.

 

According to oral histories and later accounts, a large group of Yuwibara people were pursued to upper reaches of Mount Mandarana, where they were forced at gunpoint to fall to their deaths from the cliffs. 

 

Estimates of those killed vary, and while figures of around 200 are often cited in oral tradition, precise numbers are not confirmed in historical records.

 

Contemporary reporting frequently justified such actions as necessary for colonial expansion, reflecting the barbaric attitudes of the time.

 

The events at “The Leap” form part of a broader pattern of frontier violence against First Nations groups that resulted in widespread loss of life, displacement and enduring intergenerational trauma.

 

10 April 1950 – Birth of Mick Dodson

 

Professor Mick Dodson, a Yawuru man from Broome, is one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous leaders and advocates.

 

He became the first Indigenous Australian to graduate in law from Monash University in 1974 and went on to work in Aboriginal legal services before becoming a barrister specialising in native title.

 

Mick Dodson has held senior academic roles, including Professor of Law at Australian National University and Director of its National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Internationally, he has contributed to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

 

He was named Australian of the Year in 2009 and continues to be a powerful voice for justice, rights and recognition.

 

27 April 1971 – Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (Gove Land Rights Case)

 

The case of Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd was the first major legal challenge seeking recognition of Aboriginal land rights in Australia.

 

The Yolngu people of the Gove Peninsula opposed bauxite mining on their traditional lands, arguing that they held communal native title.

 

Justice Richard Blackburn ruled against the Yolngu claimants, finding that native title was not recognised under Australian law at the time.

 

While the Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd case was unsuccessful, it was highly significant as it directly influenced the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and helped lay the groundwork for the landmark Mabo decision, which ultimately recognised native title in Australian law.

 

15 April 1991 – Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: Final Report

 

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) examined 99 Aboriginal deaths in custody between 1980 and 1989. The Commission's final report was published on the 15th of April 1991

 

The Commission found that the high number of deaths was primarily due to the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system.

 

It made 339 recommendations aimed at:

• Reducing incarceration
• Improving custodial care
• Reforming policing practices
• Strengthening engagement with Aboriginal communities

Thirty-five years later, many recommendations remain only partially implemented, prompting ongoing calls for meaningful reform.

 

A key outcome was the establishment of a national monitoring program by the Australian Institute of Criminology in 1992, which continues to report on deaths in custody.

 

The report remains a landmark in Australian legal and social history.

 

3 April 2023 – Passing of Galarrwuy Yunupingu

 

Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu AM, a Gumatj leader of the Yolngu people, passed away on 3 April 2023.

 

A central figure in the Yirrkala Bark Petitions, he played a pivotal role in the early movement for land rights recognition.

 

As Chairman of the Northern Land Council, Yunupingu was instrumental in advancing land rights and self-determination. He was widely respected as a national leader and was also a signatory to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

 

Galarrwuy Yunupingu’s passing marked the loss of a visionary leader whose legacy continues to shape the ongoing pursuit of self-determination and justice.  

 

Conclusion

 

April is a month of reflection and remembrance for Indigenous Australians, encompassing both profound loss and significant progress.

 

From the devastation of disease and frontier violence to landmark legal challenges and the leadership of influential figures, these events continue to shape the ongoing journey toward truth and recognition.