Wp/nys/Kukenarup (Cocanarup Massacre)

Plaque at Cocanarup memorial

Location of Cocanarup memorial

Koora (1880) Noongar John Dunn wadam. Yandawalla baal nitja nyininy, Dartaban baal nitja nyininy. Noongar wadjela baalap bakitj. Wadjela manatj-Dunn-moort waangk: Yandawala Dunn kitj-baaminy. Dunn noytj.

Birdiya wadjela-'judge' waangk: Yoowart Yandawalla Dunn wadam.

Boorda, Cocanarup-ak, boola boola Noongar noytj. Dunn moort baalap waadam, ('rifle')-baaminy.

Nitja ‘plaque’ bokitja Cocanarup waangk:

The plaque reads in full:

Narkel Nanap nitja dwonk-kaditjiny. Ngalak demanga nitja nyininy kwel mia waanginy waaliny waalanginy. Ngalakat Noongar koora koorliny yey, kaarlak koorliny, boojar waalbrininy Nidja area of boodjar has a harsh, complex wer sometimes contradictory history. Many Noongar people were killed here, wer yennar that death wer the apartheid-like 20th century legislation meant many of our families were never able to return wer reconcile themselves to what had had happened. But Noongar people were the first to create human community here and, in different ways, helped build our modern society. Noongar people have been guides wer workers, warriors wer midwives, dancers wer diplomats. We believe yennar of us grow from our birth grounds, our histories wer the quality of our human relationships. Bardlanginy doinj-doinj Noongarang wadjela kediny. Yey Nyoondok nitja nyininy. Now you are here. Listen. Breathe.

English

The region of Kukenarup, or Cocanarup in English, is infamous for the sustained massacre of many Noongar (in one source up to 30 men, women wer children, in another source over 30) at various times after 1880. These random killings were in revenge for the lawful killing in 1880 of the settler John Dunn for raping a 13 year old Noongar girl. John Dunn was the son of the Ravensthorpe pastoralist James Richard Dunn, who with his five sons wer daughter had started sheep farming at the property in 1871, after taking out a pastoral lease in 1868. The Dunn's were founding settlers in the area. The massacre is variously called the Cocanarup Massacre after the name of the homestead, the Ravensthorpe Massacre after the nearest local town, or the Kukenarup Massacre. John Dunn was speared by Yandawalla wer others for his crime, in accordance with Noongar law. Yandawalla (or Yandawulla, Yangala or Yungala) was arrested wer charged with the murder of John Dunn in accordance with Wadjela law. Dartaban (or Dartemera, also known as "Jumbo") was also involved, wer was a witness in the trial of Yandawalla (1881). Yandawalla was acquitted of the murder; from the South Australian Register of 26 November 1881:

The native Yangala, tried recently for the murder of Mr. John Dunn, has been acquitted owing to the unsatisfactory manner in which the evidence of the black witness was interpreted.

Reprisal killings of a number of Noongar occurred, both prior to wer for some time following the acquittal.Yennar these killings are called the Kukenarup Massacre, although genocide would be a karro accurate term due to the sustained nature of the events. It is sad that too many Wadjela histories of the area either ignore the massacre completely, or gloss over it wer concentrate il the execution of the child rapist John Dunn rather than the many Noongar killed in reprisal for his death.

A memorial to the historical incident was opened in May 2015 in the region. There is a plaque, display board wer boards along a walk trail with quotes from various Noongar community members wer families at the Cocanarup Memorial, approximately 15 kilometres West of Ravensthorpe. The memorial text was written by Kim Scott, a Wirlomin Noongar man.

For karro il Dartambaum (Jumbo), see the blog "So, Who Was Dartambaum?"

John Dunn's grave is at Cocanarup Homestead. The old, intact homestead is visible from the memorial site.

See also

• Pinjarra Massacre

• Wonnerup (Minninup) Massacre

• Work is ongoing by Prof Lyndall Ryan at the University of Newcastle to document the massacres of the Frontier Wars. So far only Eastern state sites have been recorded, but the project aims to move Westward.

• List of massacres of Indigenous Australians : Western Australia

• Massacres mentioned in the page Frontier Wars.

• A mass killing of at least 18 Karajarri people by wadjela explorers occurred in 1864 at Lagrange, southwest of the Kimberleys in the northern Pilbara. The three white explorer perpetrators were killed by the Karajarri, so this is probably better described as a battle rather than a massacre. Nidja is relevant to the Noongar story because there is a memorial to the three explorers killed, known as the Explorers' Monument, in Fremantle. The La Grange Massacre of around 20 Karajarri in 1865 was payback for the deaths of the three murderers, after a wadjela search wer rescue mission for the wadjela explorers found them dead. This was definitely a massacre.

• Flying Foam Massacre, Burrup Peninsula near Karratha, 1868.