Stand Up

Remembering the 1816 Appin Massacre

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The Massacre of men, women and children of the Dharawal Nation occurred near here on 17th April, 1816. Fourteen were counted this day, but the real number will never be known. We acknowledge the impact this had and continues to have on the Aboriginal people of this land. We are deeply sorry. We will remember them.

These were the words encountered in the exhibition With Secrecy and Despatch at the Campbelltown Arts Centre in 2016. The artist Cheryl L’Hirondelle had created a life-scale multi-media replica of the memorial site at the Cataract Dam, Appin, which commemorates the 1816 massacre. The bronze plaque, on which these words are etched, appeared as a screen image set into a black plinth. A projected image formed the backdrop, showing the plaque as it is found at the memorial site surrounded by rocky hollows overgrown with lush vegetation. The illusion was completed by the use of real-time interactive technology. As viewers read the words on the plinth, an image of their body emerged in the projected landscape as a ghostly trace. If the viewer slowed down their movements or better yet, stood still, their reflection became clearer and more present in the image of the memorial site.

The Campbelltown Arts Centre is located on the southwest fringe of Sydney, in proximity to Appin. Initiated by the Winga Myamly Reconciliation Group, the memorial site abuts the cliffs where in 1816 an atrocity occurred. Aboriginal men, women and children were shot at and driven over the gorge by a military detachment led by Captain Wallis. The Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, had given instructions to clear the country of ‘the hostile natives’. Macquarie... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline

Cheryl L’Hirondelle, nîpawiwin Dharawal ohci (standing up for the Dharawal), 2016. Installation views. Video loop, processing code, Kinect camera, data projection, plinth, screen, light, audience participation. Commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre. Courtesy Campbelltown Arts Centre. Photograph Simon Hewson.

Genevieve Grieves, Remember, 2016. Installation view. Fabric flowers, woven basket, video projection, audio. Commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre. Courtesy Campbelltown Arts Centre. Photographs Simon Hewson.