Australian War Memorial Logo
Search

Donate Today

  • Collection Open Information Close Information
    • Official Histories & Unit Diaries
    • Understanding the Collection
    • Research at the Memorial
    • Donating to the Collection
    • National Collection Loans
    • Projects
  • People
  • Visit
  • Commemorate Open Information Close Information
    • Last Post Ceremony
    • Honour Rolls
    • Anzac Day
    • Remembrance Day
    • Customs & Ceremony
    • Speeches
  • Learn Open Information Close Information
    • Schools & Teachers
    • Memorial Articles
    • Encyclopedia
    • Understanding Military Structure
    • Podcasts
    • Glossary
    • Magazine
  • Get Involved Open Information Close Information
    • Donations & Bequests
    • Corporate Partnership
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer at the Memorial
    • Friends of the Memorial
    • eMemorial Newsletter
    • Grants, Scholarships & Residencies
    • Research Papers
  • Shop Open Information Close Information
    • Memorial Shop
    • Images, film and sound
    • Lone Pine Seedlings

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Magazine
  3. 85
  4. William Murray and the Coniston massacre

Main navigation

  • Schools & Teachers
    • School visits
    • Classroom Resources
    • Virtual Excursions
    • Memorial Boxes
    • Publications
    • Education Programs
    • The Simpson Prize
    • Professional Learning
    • Classroom Showcase
  • Understanding Military Structure
  • Australian military history overview
  • Podcasts
  • Glossary
  • Boy soldiers
  • Understanding Military History

William Murray and the Coniston massacre

Author

Tom Rogers

Image of old 1930 ute parked in front of old shack

Coniston homestead, with Randal Stafford on the right, c.1930. Courtesy National Archives of Australia, NA: M4435, 155

In 1928, a returned soldier of the First World War was the perpetrator of a massacre of Aboriginal people at Coniston Station in Central Australia. Some have claimed that Sergeant William Murray’s service played a role in the killings. But is it possible to draw such a straight line?

Historian Tom Rogers considers this question in the latest issue of Wartime. He argues that the overlooked period between 1919 and 1928, when Murray was a policeman surrounded by the violent culture of the frontier, provides a stronger explanation of the killings than his war service.

German prisoners of the Australians at Broodseinde Ridge all on horseback

German prisoners of the Australians at Broodseinde Ridge, 1917. Members of the Light Horse carried out various duties on the Western Front, including policing and guarding prisoners. E00875

Murray’s time in the AIF did not follow the usual trajectory of a mounted infantryman. His squadron of the 4th Light Horse was one of the few sent to the Western Front after the withdrawal from Gallipoli. There, its members saw action as mounted troops in traffic control and as prisoner guards, and served in front-line trenches, dismounted as they had been on Gallipoli.

By contrast, the attacks around Coniston were in many cases carried out against unprepared Aboriginal families. A small number of mounted men, led by Murray, would ride into the camps with guns drawn. Decades later, one survivor recalled: “When I was a little girl I saw my people shot at—all because they lived off this country and because they were Aborigines. Some of our parents and grandparents hid us in caves. During the day we’d go without water and hide from the whitefellas. At night our parents would sneak out to the soakages to get water for us to drink.”

Many of the oral histories from the region were told in the powerful 2012 film Coniston, directed by Francis Jupurrurla Kelly and David Batty. The film’s website can be viewed here: http://coniston.pawmedia.com.au/the-documentary.

 

To read Rogers’ article in Wartime 85, purchase the magazine here.

Author

Tom Rogers

Last updated: 30 March 2021

  • Back to Issue 85
1 The Donations and bequests

Donations & Bequests

Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future.

Find out more
2 Visit Transcribe.awm.gov.au

Transcribe

Help preserve Australia's history by transcribing records from the National Collection. Enhance accessibility and discoverability for all Australians.

Find out more
The placesofpride

Places of Pride

Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia.

Find out more
Visit the Australian War Memorial

Visit the Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is open for visitors as we work to expand our galleries. Entry is free and tickets are not required.

Find out more
Canberra Highlands in Grayscale

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS

The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Location map of The Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial building

The Australian War Memorial

Fairbairn Avenue
Campbell ACT 2612
Australia
View on Google Maps (opens in new window)
Google Map data ©2025 Google
Australian War Memorial Logo
  • Go to AWM Facebook
  • Go to AWM Trip Advisor
  • Go to AWM Instagram
  • Go to AWM Youtube

Footer

  • About
  • Contact
  • Venue Hire
  • Media
  • WM Magazine
  • Donate Today
  • VG Portal

The Australian War Memorial

Fairbairn Avenue

Campbell ACT 2612

Australia

 

Opening Hours

10 am to 4 pm daily (except Christmas Day)

 

In preparation for the daily Last Post Ceremony,

galleries are progressively closed from 3:40 pm.

 

Public entrance via Fairbairn Avenue, Campbell ACT 2612

Sign up to our newsletter

Subscribe

Legal

  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Freedom of information

Copyright 2025 Australian War Memorial, Canberra. All rights reserved