La Grange expedition

Discovery of the remains of the explorers Messrs Panter, Harding & Goldwyer, from the Inquirer and Commercial News, 1864

The La Grange expedition was a search expedition carried out in the vicinity of La Grange Bay in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1865. The Kimberley is one of the nine Regions of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Led by Maitland Brown, the expedition searched for three settlers who had failed to return from an earlier exploring expedition. Maitland Brown ( 17 July 1843 &ndash 8 May 1905) was an explorer, Politician and pastoralist in colonial The three men were eventually found dead, having been speared and clubbed to death in their sleep by Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. A number of Indigenous people were subsequently killed by members of the expedition in a controversial incident that is often now referred to as the "La Grange Massacre", although the fairness of this term remains a matter of some debate.

1 Background
2 The search
3 The "La Grange Massacre"
4 Aftermath
5 Notes
6 References
7 See also

Background

In 1864, an expedition was organised to investigate the story of a convict named Henry Wildman, who claimed to have found gold near Camden Harbour. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year A convict is "a person found guilty of a Crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison" sometimes referred to in Slang Henry Wildman (born 1838 date of death unknown was a Convict transported to Western Australia in 1862 whose apparently false claims to have found Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The expedition found no gold, but good pastoral land was found, and as a result a small pastoral venture was later established at Roebuck Bay. Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. In November 1864, three settlers, Frederick Panter, James Harding and William Goldwyer, set out from the settlement to explore the land around La Grange Bay. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Frederick Kennedy Panter (1836– 13 November 1864) was a Policeman, pastoralist and explorer in colonial Western Australia James Harding (1838 – 13 November 1864) was a pastoralist and explorer in colonial Western Australia. William Goldwyer (August 1829– 13 November 1864) was a police officer and explorer in colonial Western Australia. The expedition party had provisions to last only two to three weeks, so when they had not returned three weeks later, another settler, Lockier Burges, set out to find them. He tracked them as far as the mangrove swamp around La Grange, but there lost all trace of them. Mangroves (generally are Trees and Shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the Tropics and Subtropics.

When news of the missing men reached the Government of Western Australia in Perth, a search party was immediately organised, with Maitland Brown appointed leader. The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1890 although it has been amended many times since then Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Maitland Brown ( 17 July 1843 &ndash 8 May 1905) was an explorer, Politician and pastoralist in colonial There was some speculation that the three men had been killed by natives, and there were calls for their deaths to be avenged. George Walpole Leake, for example, wrote:

"They have fallen in the service of their fellow-subjects, and it is our bounden duty to ascertain how and where they have fallen: and if by violence, avenge them. "¹

For this reason the expedition is sometimes referred to as a "punitive party".

The search

A boat, the Clarence Packet was chartered, and the party left Fremantle on 16 February 1865. Fremantle (commonly known as Freo is a Port City in Western Australia, located southwest of Perth, the state capital at the mouth of Events 1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year On 25 February, the Clarence Packet anchored at the mouth of the De Grey River. Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Members of the party visited Walter Padbury's station for news on the missing men, but there was none. Walter Padbury ( 22 December 1820 &ndash 18 April 1907) was an Australian pioneer and philanthropist A ranch is an area of landscape including various structures given primarily to the practice of ranching the practice of raising grazing livestock such as Cattle The party then spent nearly two weeks waiting for a native named Dutchmanchum to be found. Dutchmanchum was said to speak the language of the tribes in the Roebuck Bay area, so he was desired to guide the party. When Dutchmanchum was eventually brought in, he related a story that three white men had been attacked and murdered at a river called Boola Boola in the vicinity of La Grange Bay. Over the next few days, a number of other Aborigines were encountered that corroborated Dutchmanchum's story.

On 13 March, the party sailed for Roebuck Bay, anchoring off Cape Villaret on the 18th. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Events 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor Four days later, Brown took a number of members of the party over the Race Course Plains, where they captured five more Aborigines. These Aborigines again corroborated Dutchmanchum's story, and one of them, Lear-a-ban, stated that some Aborigines who were involved in the killings were camped near Cape Latouche Treville. Brown then decided to seek out these Aborigines.

Brown's treatment of the Aboriginal people encountered up until then had been harsh, and at this point he wrote in his journal that he was prepared to arrest any Aboriginal people whom he thought guilty of the killings, but added:

"But I trust that throughout the whole trip there will be no necessity for capture — that not only amongst this lot, but also amongst all others we may meet, the guilty natives, if such there are, will either attack us or resist us in such a manner as will of itself justify us in exterminating them. "

The Clarence Packet was directed to proceed to Cape Latouche Treville, and Brown's landed party set out for the location on 27 March. Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Three more Aboriginal people were captured that day, and a large group the following day. Brown thought some of these men guilty of involvement in the attack, and sent ten of them aboard ship. One of the natives, Karimba, said that he could guide the search party to the remains of the murdered men, but after leading them to Boola Boola, he was unwilling to reveal any more, and guided them back and forth through the thickets for most of a day. Karimba had also managed to call to an Aborigine to bring men to rescue him, and the party found themselves being followed by a large group of armed Aborigines.

Eventually, Karimba was sent on board ship, and two other Aboriginal people, who were thought most likely to have been involved in the killings, were brought on shore to act as guides. These guides led them directly to the site of the killings. The three white settlers were found all dead. Two of them, Panter and Harding, had obviously been speared and clubbed to death in their sleep, as they still had their handkerchiefs tied over their eyes. The nature of Goldwyer's death was harder to interpret, but there were no signs of a struggle. The dead men's journals indicated that they had fought a number of battles with natives, and that they were expecting further hostilities.

Brown had the bodies wrapped and packed for removal to the ship. While this was being carried out, the two guides tried to escape and were shot dead by Tommy, one of the native assistants brought with the party to act as guides.

The "La Grange Massacre"

Instead of returning to the ship, the expedition continued to examine the country. Brown described this as further "exploration", but most scholars now agree that the evidence points to a punitive expedition. On 6 April 1865, Brown's party became engaged in a conflict with a large group of Aboriginal people. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Most accounts state that the party walked into an ambush, but at least one account² asserts that they attacked a native camp. Regardless of the cause, the outcome is not in dispute: at least six, and possibly as many as twenty Aboriginal people were killed, whereas the expedition party suffered no injuries.

Aftermath

The search party returned to Perth in May 1865. Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Panter, Harding and Goldwyer were given a public funeral. It was the largest ever seen in Western Australia; the funeral train consisted of some 750 people, and thousands of spectators lined the streets on the way to the East Perth Cemetery, where the men were buried. East Perth is a suburb of Perth Western Australia, located next to the Perth CBD

Maitland Brown returned home to public acclaim, both for successfully finding the men, and for avenging their deaths. Indeed, many settlers felt "the requital Mr. Brown had inflicted on the murderers utterly inadequate"³. The English Government, however, expressed the view that "force had been exercised towards the natives without sufficient warranty"⁴ and urged the necessity of maintaining friendly relations with the Aborigines. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Maitland Brown died in 1904 and was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery, but in 1911 his remains were removed from Karrakatta and reinterred with the remains of Panter, Harding and Goldwyer at East Perth. Year 1904 ( MCMIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting on Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Shortly afterwards, Pietro Porcelli was commissioned to create a memorial to Brown. Pietro Giacomo Porcelli ( 30 January 1872 – 28 June 1943) was the Italian-born sculptor responsible for many statues in The result was the Explorers' Monument, a bronze head and shoulders statue of Brown, on a granite base to which is attached plaques portraying the murdered men and describing the circumstances of their death. The Explorers' Monument is a monument located on The Esplanade in Fremantle, Western Australia. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus A statue is a Sculpture in the round representing a person or persons an animal or an event normally full-length as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. During the 1990s, the biased nature of the original plaques were recognised, and another plaque was added that describes the circumstances of the murders from the point of view of the Aboriginal people. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999

Notes

The Inquirer, February 8, 1865; quoted in Forrest (1996). Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Scates (1989).
Perth Gazette and W. A. Times, May 19, 1865; quoted in Forrest (1996). Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Secretary of State to Governor Hampton, August 10, 1865; quoted in Forrest (1996). The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia 's Monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Dr John Stephen Hampton (c 1806– 2 December 1869) was Governor of Western Australia from 1862 to 1868 Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

References

Brown, Maitland (1865). Journal of an Expedition in the Roebuck Bay District, under the Command of Maitland Brown, Esq. , in Search of Messrs. Panter, Harding, and Goldwyer. Reprinted from the "Perth Gazette and W. A. Times," of May 19, and 26, 1865.
Burges, Lockier Clere (1913). The Pioneers of the Nor'-West Australia. Constantine and Gardner, Printers and Publishers, Geraldton.
Cowan, Peter (1988). Maitland Brown: A View of Nineteenth Century Western Australia. Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle, Western Australia. ISBN 0-949206-27-X.
Forrest, Kay (1996). The Challenge and the Chance: The Colonisation and Settlement of North West Australia 1861–1914. Hesperian Press, Victoria Park, Western Australia. ISBN 0-85905-217-6.
Francisco, David (1928). The Panter-Harding-Goldwyer relief expedition of 1865: being a copy of a diary kept by one of the members of the expedition led by Mr. maitland Brown to the Roebuck Bay District in search of Messrs Panter, Harding and Goldwyer, whose murdered bodies were found at their camp on Lake Ingedana. Royal Western Australian Historical Society.
Scates, Bruce (1989). A Monument to Murder: Celebrating the Conquest of Aboriginal Australia in Layman, Lenore and Tom Stannage (eds), Celebrations in Western Australian History (Studies in Western Australian History X), University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia.

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