With Secrecy and Despatch

Overview

On April 17, 1816, a massacre occurred near Appin, a small rural town one hour's drive southwest of the Sydney CBD. Then Governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered his soldiers to attack an Aboriginal camp, either shooting its occupants or driving them over a gorge, to their death. Official records say 14 people were killed, but many Indigenous historians will tell you the total was much higher.

This tragedy might have been erased from many a history textbook, but if you head to Campbelltown Arts Centre anytime between now and 12 June, you'll see that members of the local Dharawal community remember it all too well. They've collaborated with curators Tess Allas (Australia) and David Garneau (Canada) to put together an exhibition titled Secrecy and Despatch.

The show marks the massacre's 200-year anniversary and, at the same time, reflects on Australia and Canada's parallel colonial histories. It features newly commissioned pieces by six leading Aboriginal Australian artists, namely Vernon Ah Kee, Julie Gough, Tony Albert, Frances Belle Parker, Dale Harding and Genevieve Grieves, and four First Nations Canadian artists: Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Adrian Stimson, Marianne Nicolson and Jordan Bennett.

"Campbelltown Arts Centre is committed to sharing the history of the area the centre is situated in, Dharawal country, a community rich in diversity, and at a point in time where acknowledgement of past tragedy is crucial to our collective future," said director Michael Dagostino.