A Dark Chapter in Australia's History
In June 1838, on Myall Creek Station near present-day Bingara in northern NSW, a group of 28 Aboriginal people – mostly women, children and elderly men – were brutally murdered by a gang of stockmen. They had sought the protection of the station, trusting in its safety.
What followed was unprecedented in Australian legal history. Twelve men were tried for the murders. The first trial ended in acquittal – but the colonial government pressed on. In a second trial, seven of the men were found guilty and hanged. It was the first time in Australian history that white men had been hanged for the killing of Aboriginal people.
For many, it should have been a moment of reckoning. Instead, it became a wound that the community tried to bury.
Silence in Bingara – and One Man Who Refused It
For more than a century after the massacre, the subject was largely taboo – locally in Bingara and across Australia. The killings and the hangings were seen by many as a stigma, something to be left in the past and never spoken of.
Then, in the 1960s, a Bingara man named Lennard Payne began to take a serious interest in what had happened at Myall Creek Station. For Len, it wasn't enough to stay silent. He believed that the site deserved a memorial – a permanent, public acknowledgement of the people who had been murdered there, at the cattle yards beside the creek.
This was not a popular view. Influential people in the district saw a memorial as a source of shame, something that would drag an uncomfortable past back into the light. Len Payne became, in many ways, an outcast for his beliefs. He had little support. But he never gave up.
A Man Before His Time
Today, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see what Lennard Payne understood long before the rest of us caught up: that acknowledging the truth of our history – including its darkest chapters – is not a source of shame. It is an act of courage, and an essential step toward reconciliation.
Len carried his passion for the memorial for decades. Sadly, he passed away before his dream was realised. But his tireless advocacy laid the groundwork for what was to come.
Rightly, a plaque has been placed at the site acknowledging his efforts – a small but meaningful recognition of a man whose vision helped change how Australia thinks about its past.
The Memorial Today
The Myall Creek Massacre Memorial now stands at the original site on Myall Creek Station, just a short drive from Bingara. Each year in June, people travel from across Australia to gather there – to remember, to reflect, and to acknowledge the significance of what happened in 1838 and what the long fight for the memorial represents.
It has become one of the most important sites of reconciliation in the country.
Rodney's Personal Connection
As Rodney of Rodney's Relics – and as a Bingara local – this history is close to my heart. In my book Bingara, Our Town, Our People – Volume 2, I devoted a full chapter to Lennard Payne. He was a man before his time, and his story deserves to be known far beyond the Bingara district.
If you'd like to read more about Len Payne and the many remarkable people who shaped this part of New England NSW, you can find Volume 2 in our store:
👉 Bingara, Our Town, Our People – Volume 2
Visit the Memorial
If you're ever in the Bingara area, the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial is well worth a visit. It is a place of quiet reflection and profound historical importance. Details on visiting can be found through the Myall Creek Memorial Committee website.
We can gift wrap and post to anyone in Australia – just use their address when checking out. Rodney of Rodney's Relics absolutely guarantees returns/refunds for anyone unhappy with their purchase. Call our Bingara main street shop on 0428 241 500 with any questions.