Buried beneath the idyllic beaches and picturesque gorges that dot Western Australia’s far north lies a dark history that can only be found in the depths of national libraries and online databases or recalled orally.

Readers are advised that this story contains distressing content and includes a photo of deceased people.

The Kimberley region was the scene of around 30 massacres which claimed the lives of around 500 Aboriginal people.

But only three of these sites have been officially memorialized.

Disputes between the early cattle industry and traditional owners resulted in often violent conflicts, in which Aboriginal people were disproportionately killed between the mid-1800s and early 1900s.

Today, descendants of those injured and killed in border conflicts are demanding formal recognition.

In Warmun, 2,800 kilometers north of Perth, the “whipping tree” has long been a place of anxiety for the local population of Gija, who remember seeing relatives, from generation to generation, attached to it and whipped by local police.

Gija ranger Roberta Daylight said her great-grandmother was whipped under the tree by police officers when she was eight months pregnant, after being accused of stealing flour.

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Ms Daylight said her injuries later claimed her life and she died alone in a nearby field.

“They kind of trapped her and tied her up,” she said.

“They tied her to this tree for three days, she had to deal with this pain.

“And she wasn’t the only one who was physically injured near that tree.”

Last month, Ms Daylight and Gija rangers cut down the tree and replaced it with a plaque, transforming the site into a place of healing.

“It was overwhelming,” she said.

Ms Daylight said she would like to see more recognition in the Kimberley region.

“We have many massacre sites,” she said.

“It will be a good thing to boost their morale and make them feel recognized.

“Walk together, but make white people understand that black people are still suffering.”

Peak group wants more memorials

The Kimberley Land Council, the region’s main native title organisation, has advocated for government support for memorializing the sites.

Chief executive Tyronne Garstone said he believed the commemoration played a key role in “revealing the truth”.

“As a country, Australia has never delivered justice to these Indigenous groups for past wrongdoing,” he said.

“I think we need to look more holistically rather than just saying, ‘We need to recognize the massacres.’

“We have to record them, we have to tell the truth.”

Mr Garstone said it was a necessary step towards reconciliation.

“These are true stories that need to be told and taught in our schools about how Australia became Australia.

“We need to reflect and recognize that there is another side to Australia’s history.”

Owner-led traditional recognition

Bill Pascoe, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, worked with a team of researchers and historians to create an Australia-wide “massacre map”.

The interactive map records massacre sites and allows viewers to click on a location to see how many First Nations people and settlers died.

Dr Pascoe said it was an important project.

“If you had asked the average person if they thought the colonial frontier was a violent place and time, or if they had heard of a massacre, many of them would probably have given a pretty vague answer ” he said.

Dr Pascoe said he believed the memorialization process should be led by traditional owners and their concerns should be recognised.

“People have different reasons for wanting to commemorate it, to erect memorials, to have ceremonies or, quite the contrary, they don’t want it to be made public,” he said.

Vanessa Whittington is an academic in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University whose PhD focused on how visitors respond to Aboriginal cultural heritage and Australia’s protected areas.

She concluded that there was a general reluctance to acknowledge Australia’s border disputes.

“We can suggest that this is because non-Indigenous people really don’t want to talk about these things,” Dr Whittington said.

She said many of her students were unaware of the conflicts and commemorating them could help raise awareness.

“It would be educational for Australia, both domestic and international tourists, to see these kinds of events performed.”

Telling the truth in tourism

The Kimberley is a tourist hotspot, attracting tens of thousands of travelers and backpackers from around the world each year.

Bill Tatchell, general manager of Australia’s North West Tourism, said many travelers were visiting the region without fully understanding the border conflict.

He believes tourism offers traditional owners the opportunity to tell their stories.

“We have an opportunity to engage and immerse ourselves in what’s out there today.”

Mr Tatchell said understanding the history was an important part of visiting the area.

“We’re not talking about ancient history here,” he said.

WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti said the government was committed to supporting organizations to protect heritage sites, through the Preserve, Promote and Protect Our Aboriginal Places program.