Libby Connors - Warrior: A Legendary Leaders Dramatic Life and Violent Death on the Colonial Frontier

Here is their spirit, in the heart of the land they loved...

Sixty-four years after Dundallis execution, a settler by the name of Robert Lane spoke to the Brisbane Courier about the tensions in the town. I was ordered to get out of the city, he recalled, as the blacks might be hostile. I was going up Eagle St when the drop fell, and the yells of the Blacks in the bushes where our railway now runs could be heard distinctly.

It was the fourth time since 1842 that colonists had believed that white settlement in the north might come under attack. In August 1843 Multuggerah of the Yaggera had sent a warning to his brother, the squatter John Campbell, that he should not travel to the Darling Downs, for it was to be war now in earnest... their intention was to spear all the commandants, then to fence up the roads and stop the drays from travelling, and to starve the jackaroos (strangers).

Three years later, in the aftermath of Dundallis attack on Gregors station, the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, who had spent several months in the field with Aboriginal guides and enjoying the hospitality of northern pastoral stations, wrote anxiously to his good friend David Archer, the time of hostility and war is approaching fast.

The third occasion was the night of 28 November 1849 when it seemed that most of the township of Brisbane believed that the Mianjin were about to attack, and convinced the officer in command to call out the local military detachment to defend them. It was a sign of how in awe Europeans were of Aboriginal physical fitness and fighting power. When the much-travelled attorney-general arrived in town to prosecute the soldiers for their illegal action, he did not ridicule the locals as northern hicks with vivid imaginations. On the contrary, he admitted that since his arrival in Brisbane [he] had seen sufficient numbers of natives about the town to make him believe that if they had really formed themselves into a body for an united attack on the inhabitants, there might be good grounds for alarm.

The northern settlers knew Aboriginal people were capable of waging war. As Arthur Halloran, commissioner of crown lands for Wide Bay, had written to his superiors in 1854, if they knew their own strength, this place would very soon be abandoned.

The Brisbane frontier was one of Australias longest, lasting more than forty years, commencing in 1824 at Redcliffe and continuing until 1865 and later around the northern part of Moreton Bay. It was also an urban frontier, as Europeans called upon the paramilitary force of the Native Police to wrest control over their suburbs. These events were central to the foundation of another Australian colony yet they are not remembered in any official way.

Until we recognise how much blood was spilt securing Australian lands will we really have reconciliation? Dundalli was one of many Aboriginal men who died to protect his country, who passed the test of character that war demands, who drew on mateship, courage and endurance to survive. It seems extraordinary that none of Australias war memorials recognise their extraordinary bravery. There could be no better embodiment of heroism than fighting against armed and mounted men as they invaded your lands, as Dundallis people had to do on so many occasions over more than four decades.

Dundallis was a special kind of valour in the midst of colonial violence. This violence wasnt only out there on the pastoral plains; it was also present in the urban spaces, in the courtrooms and on the beaches. In death and in life, Dundalli was an exemplar of traditional law. His actions help to illuminate the complex nature of Australias geographical and cultural frontier. Exploring his life sheds light on the local Aboriginal peoples systems of law and government and their means of law enforcement; in other words, their political sovereignty and how that inhibited the spread of colonial society across the landscape.

If the Australian legend can be applied to Australians fighting overseas wars, then it can equally be applied to men like Dundalli who fought for this country against foreign invaders.

The only known images of Dundalli are believed to be the work of Silvester Diggles. This pen and ink sketch was made following Dundallis trial in November 1854. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND, NEG. NO. 11307

A wood engraving published in the Illustrated Sydney News, 16 December 1854, page 440.

Durundur homestead, painted by Charles Archer in 1843. The bark roofing was provided by the local Dalla people. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND, REF. CODE 4624/1

Paddy, a head man of the Dalla, sketched by Ludwig Leichhardt while he was staying at the Archers Durundur Station. MICHAEL AIRD, QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

Charles Archer in 1853, ten years after he first arrived at Durundur. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND, NEG. NO. 13851

Thomas Archer standing, second from left, with his younger brothers some 24 years after he unsuccessfully pursued Dundalli through wetlands east of Caboolture. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND, NEG. NO. 8875

The Blackall Range, with bunya trees in the foreground. This is Dalla country, where Dundalli grew to adulthood. PHOTO COURTESY OF NEIL ENNIS

Obi Obi Creek in the Blackall Range, 1890s. SUNSHINE COAST LIBRARY

A rock gorge of the Blackall Range, Kondalilla National Park, 1924. SUNSHINE COAST LIBRARY

Kondalilla Falls (formerly Bon Accord Falls) in the Blackall Range, 1930. According to the Queensland Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing, kondalilla is an Aboriginal word meaning rushing waters. SUNSHINE COAST LIBRARY

Willy McKenzie of the Jinibara in the 1950s. His tribal name was Gaiarbau, and his recollections, which were recorded in 1957, are a rich source of information on traditional Aboriginal life. SUNSHINE COAST LIBRARY