Myall Creek Massacre

Digital Classroom

National Museum Australia

This digital classroom will teach you about one of Australia’s defining moments in history, the Myall Creek Massacre.

In a snapshot:

In June 1838 at least 28 unarmed Aboriginal people were massacred by colonists at Myall Creek in New South Wales. In December of the same year seven of those colonists were publicly hanged at Sydney Gaol. They were the first British subjects to be executed for massacring Aboriginal people. It wasn’t the first or last massacre — there were many more — but the trial of the accused men helped to change the way the law was put into practice in Australia.

Explore this digital classroom to learn about Australian colonial history, the development of the law and how we should remember this event today.

Guiding classroom questions:

  1. Where is Myall Creek?
  2. How many people were murdered during the Myall Creek massacre?
  3. What happened to the colonists that massacred the Wirrayaraay people?
Teachers Click Here

Many of these resources and activities have been developed in consultation with NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to ensure that the program meets NSW curriculum outcomes for Stages 3, 4 & 5.