Depressed - 150 years of injustice

Last Saturday I had a fairly relaxed day, that is till I took to finishing the reading of Blood on the Wattle (Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and Maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians Since 1788, 3rd Edition; Bruce Elder; isbn: 174110008-9). This spoilt my day. It is depressing, really horrifying what was done in the name of so called civilisation.

I think the real shock was reading about people I thought had been the "good guys" in early (white) Australian history. William Cox built the the road over the Blue Mountains without losing a single convict labourer. We have always seen him as a humane person - he looked after his workers.

"William Cox took six months to complete the construction of the 101 miles of roadway. It was a great engineering feat for that time in history. He had convicts and soldiers assigned to him and although justice was hard in those days, the men were pleased to work for William, which resulted in their freedom, on completion of the task"

Reference: BLUE MOUNTAINS ROAD FROM PENRITH to BATHURST PLAINS

However, that image is shattered by reading of his life in the Bathurst area, land given to him as a reward for the road. On page 58 of Blood on the Wattle is a quote attributed to Cox: "The best thing that can be done is to shoot all the blacks and manure the ground with their carcasses..." disgusting.

Then to read that William Lawson (one of the 3 explorers that crossed the Blue Mts) had similar sentiments. Too much!

On talking to a friend as we wandered along a track in Faulconbridge that was possibly an Aboriginal highway in times long gone, we discussed the horrors that were perpetrated against these people. The feelings reflected the major injustices that were dealt against these people just wanting to survive in their country.

In promoting better times from the past:

Circles in the Blue Mountains.

A possible meeting place?