Hundreds of people gathered on Friday at Yurruku – about 250km northwest of Alice Springs – to commemorate those who died during the Coniston massacre in 1928.
Following the murder of a dingo trapper by a Warlpiri man, more than 60 Aboriginal men, women and children were shot and killed in revenge killings led by Constable George Murray.
Frances Kelly, chairman of the Central Land Council, believes it would be appropriate to remember all the Indigenous people killed during European settlement with memorials and a public holiday similar to Anzac Day.
“We’re missing an opportunity,” he told NITV News, “the remembrance of our people who were killed in cold blood.”
Mr Kelly said all Australians could not move forward as “one mob” until historic crimes committed against Aboriginal families were widely known.
“People want harmony together,” he said. “We want to come together as one people.”
After a plaque was unveiled at Yurrkuru in 2003 the story of the massacre was told using re-enactments and historical footage in the 2013 documentary Coniston.
