Why did the myall creek massacre happen?
The Myall Creek Massacre happened for a few reasons. 1) The people committing the offence after their trial admitted they did not know it was illegal to kill aboriginal people. 2) The people involved in the massacre had been exposed to Aboriginal murders in many circumstances so were hardened in their own feelings and thoughts regarding Aboriginal people. 3) The Aboriginal People of Australia were sytemically discriminated against in such a way that they were not even recognised as human beings by law. They did not have to be paid for work carried out, they could not vote (until the 1960s), Since they were not Christian they were not legal members of the community as they could not testify since they could not be sworn in. With no link to European lifestyle Aboriginal were almost universally seen as a nuisance at best, as less than beasts of the field, and at worst as some kind of evil being that needed to be removed from the face of the earth. Basically it could be said that the Myall
