WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

unable to hold back. The Wiradjuri resistance only lasted a short time and by the end
of 1824 the Bathurst frontier was again peaceful (Connor 2002).
Similarly, in southeast Queensland, Dundalli, a Ningy-Ningy man whose traditional
land included the Bunya Mountains, conducted acts of retribution for tribal elders
during the 1850s against an already dispersed European settlement. His actions,
including the spearing of settlers and the raiding of stocks and supplies, threatened the
economy of the colony rather than preventing its spread. Using his knowledge of the
rugged range country around Brisbane and the mangroves and estuaries of the coastal
hinterland, Dundalli evaded capture until he was eventually caught, indicted for
murder, found guilty and hanged in 1855 (Connors 2005).
Likewise in southwest Victoria, settlement had already dispersed in the districts
around the Mt Eccles lava flow from which the Gunditj-mara people launched their
punitive raids, known as the Eumeralla Wars. While the clashes severely hampered
the activities of the surrounding settlers, it did not stop settlement. The skirmishes
between Aboriginal people and Europeans were some of the most prolonged and
violent in Victoria's history. Eventually the native police subdued the resistance (DEH
2004).
In north Queensland during the 1860s, the Kalkadoons (Kalkatungu) fought a war of
resistance in the country between Mount Isa and Cloncurry for six years. The
Kalkatungu used their knowledge of the rugged mountain terrain and deep gorges to
evade capture, but the landscape had not acted as a barrier to European settlement.
Stations were already dispersed throughout the region. The most famous conflict
between the Kalkatungu and the settlers is known as Battle Mountain, which saw the
only old-style European cavalry charge in Australia's history (Lowe 1994). The
Kalkatungu positioned themselves on a 'boulder-studded hill' that was too steep to
climb for the Europeans on horseback, and the men were 'forced to dismount and run
for cover as spears rained down' (Newbury 1999, Coulthard-Clark 1988). The
Kalkatungu only had traditional weapons and they were no match for the trooper's
firepower.
In considering the body of literature on frontier conflict, from the first colony in New
South Wales, north into Queensland and south through Victoria and beyond, the story
is a similar one. Aboriginal resistance was most successful where the landscape of
their traditional lands provided protection. The Nyikina whose traditional lands
included the Fitzroy River floodplains had been decimated by disease and violent
confrontations within a short time of the first wave of settlement. Unlike the Bunuba,
this group simply lacked a refuge and stronghold from which to launch their
resistance. But the Napier and Oscar Ranges not only gave the Bunuba protection,
they also physically barred the way to prospective pastoralists. Control of the
mountain passes, like Windjana Gorge, meant control of the colonising project and for
13 years the Bunuba held back the rolling frontier.
Many named and unnamed Aboriginal people participated in the Bunuba resistance
over that period. Ellemarra, considered a powerful and charismatic man by both his
own people and the European settlers, led the Bunuba resistance until his death in
1894, after which time his nephew, Jandamarra took over leadership. Other Bunuba
men including Byaburra, Luter, Bool, Muddenbudden, Lilamurra, Bundejan and
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