Massacres of Aboriginal peoples have remained a constant theme in Australian history since W.E.H. Stanner’s call to arms.  With historians faced with the unenviable task of convincing generations raised on the ‘soothing syrup’ of peaceful colonisation, it is understandable in-depth microhistories of massacres fell by the wayside as brave historians battled to demonstrate just how commonplace these incidents were.

The Murdering Gully massacre occurred in 1839 in the south-western district of what is now Victoria, and involved upwards of thirty-five men, women and children slain by local colonists.  Despite eyewitness testimonies clearly identifying several of the perpetrators, all escaped the gallows for their role in the crime.  Whilst the Murdering Gully massacre has been used by many as an example of frontier conflict, no one had developed an in-depth account of the incident.  It therefore remained static in the Australian historical narrative, its silent victims only required to be present during macabre rollcalls of frontier fatalities.  My presentation will explore my experience in developing a methodology which facilitated a microhistory of the Murdering Gully massacre, and how such a diminutive historical scale greatly expands what we can know of our country’s history.