Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins attends Myall Creek massacre commemoration
Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue chief minister Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins has joined descendants of the Wirrayaraay people to participate in the annual commemoration of the Myall Creek massacre near Bingara in northern NSW.
Rabbi Jeremy Kamins at the ceremony
Rabbi Kamins joined NSW Agriculture Minister and local MP Adam Marshall, NSW Shadow Police Minister and Shadow Arts and Heritage Minister Walt Secord; and Shadow Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Harris at the event.
Friends of Myall Creek co-chair Keith Munro publicly acknowledged Rabbi Kamins’ attendance at the event.
The massacre occurred 183 years ago – on June 10, 1838. At the time, a group of stockmen led by a squatter rode into Myall Creek Station and murdered 28 unarmed Aboriginal men, women and children. Unfortunately, the murders were not unique to the time. What was unique was that this would be the first time that Europeans were successfully prosecuted for perpetuating atrocities against the Indigenous population. Eleven of the 12 involved were charged with murder. Initially found not guilty, seven were rearrested and tried again, found guilty and hanged on 18 December 1838. This sparked controversy throughout the colony, and condemnation in the Sydney press.
This year’s official speaker was Professor Lyndall Ryan, who is leading a mapping project documenting the more than 300 known massacres which took place between 1788 and 1930.
It was Mr Secord’s third official visit to the commemoration. In 2017, he was a keynote speaker. “This is about truth-telling and facing our nation’s brutal history,” Mr Secord said.
Walt Secord, Jasmine Knight-Smith and Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins
The June 13th event coincided with the unveiling of the Myall Creek Stage 2 precinct funded by the State Government through Create NSW’s Regional Cultural Fund.
