the pinjarra incident blurb

8/11/2019 The Pinjarra Incident Blurb

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Year Nine SOSE June 2014

The Pinjarra Incident

On the morning of October 28, 1834, Governor Stirlingand 25 other settlers and soldiers followed the Murray River

south east, and arrived at the BindjarebNoongars camp.

The party took up key positions on both sides of the

river surrounding the camp. Captain Ellis and a number of

his men rode towards the group to make sure that it was the

Bindjareb tribe. When this happened, a signal was given to the rest of the party and

they charged the camp and opened fire upon the surprised Noongars, many of whom

grabbed their spears and began to fight back. Stirling and his men continued to fire

upon many of the Noongars as they attempted to cross the river and head for the

hills. The fighting continued for over an hour, with the result that there were many

wounded on the Noongars side. There were some injuries in Stirlings party withonly

one deaththat of Captain Ellis, who was grazed by a spear, causing him to fall off

his horse, hitting his head on a rock as he fell.

The number of deaths on the Bindjareb Noongars sidehas been debated for many

years. Stirling wrote in his diary that around 15 were killed; another report put the

number at 25 to 30. Although denied by Stirling, most accounts acknowledged that

women and children were amongst the dead. Oral (spoken) histories handed down

amongst the Bindjareb gives a much higher casualty figure, up to 150 people.

Bindjarebare the

Aboriginal people from

the area around

Pinjarra/Mandurah


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Questions

Use the diagram on page ___ of textbook and the story to help you answerthese questions.

1) How many Europeans took part in the event?

________________________________________________

2) Did they give a warning before firing?

3) What aim did the Europeans have in going to the Noongar camp?a) Friendly visitb) Discussionc) Revengeto killd) It was not a planned visit

4) Why do you think this answer (for question 3)What evidence is there from the story or diagram?

5) How did the Aboriginal people react?


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Questions

6) What kind of information could we look at to find out more about thisevent?

7) How many Europeans died and how?

8) How many Aboriginal people died and how?

9) In your books, write and answer the following question withat least 2 paragraphs; Was the Pinjarra Incident a Battle or aMassacre?

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