In colonial pastoral terms, Arnhem Land was dominated by Florida Station (1884-1893) leased by John Arthur Macartney (of Macartney & Mayne fame) after which some of the same land became incorporated into Florida Station (1903-1908) leased by the Eastern and African Cold Storage Company. Generally, the area was known as Murwangi to Yolngu people.
When Arafura Station was owned by Eastern & African Cold Storage Co, the company employed groups to ride around shooting Aboriginal people. Merlan (1978, p 87) wrote that 'This was
probably one of the few authenticated instances in which the aborigines were systematically hunted. For a time the company employed
2 gangs of 10 to 14 blacks headed by a white man or half caste to hunt and shoot the wild blacks on sight. When interviewed in 1957 George Conway mentioned that he had been hired to lead a hunting expedition into Arnhem Land in 1905 or 1906, and that his party had killed dozens of Aborigines.'
According to Dewar's research (1995, p 9): 'A further attempt was made to develop a pastoral industry when Arafura Station was taken up by the African Cold Storage Supply Company in 1903 in central Arnhem Land. Arafura Station was not a commercial success (Bauer 1964, 157) and the company was liquidated in 1908. The station is remembered today for the extreme violence of its managers. Accounts have been collected from both Yolngu and non-Aboriginals who remember the massacres of Yolngu in the area (Bauer 1964, 157; Dreyfus & Dhulumburrk 1980, 19-20; Read and Read 1991, 19-24; Van der Heide 1985, 15, 16, 52, 53).'
Jack 'the Gulf Hero' Watson was a Manager of Florida Station. He had been at Lawn Hill in Queensland as an employee of Frank Hann and was notorious for killing Aboriginal people, such as at the
Skeleton Creek massacre.
In addition to Conway and others, Joe Bradshaw was employed at Arafura by the Eastern & African Cold Storage Co. Joe Bradshaw was the general manager for a time (Northern Territory Times and Gazette, 17 March 1905, p 3) and spent many years in the Victoria River Downs area, including on Bradshaw Station, where there were many massacres.
According to C.E. Gaunt, Jack Watson was responsible for killing many people while he was on Florida:
'After the Randalls left, Jack Watson "The Gulf Hero," as he was known to old timers, took charge and became manager...
To return to Florida, when managing that place when the abos. stepped over the line, Watson threw the lead at them, and threw it to kill. He had the blacks of Blue Mud and Caledon Bays good hombres, but he had to wipe out a lot to make them so.
In all the early days of Florida there was not a white man attacked or killed by blacks. The men of Florida knew how to handle blacks and then the Missionary came on the scene and made a rascal out of the abo. Then the trouble and killing of whites started. This is cold facts. Eventually Florida Station was abandoned, the chief cause being loss of stock by blacks. This was after Watson left' (Northern Standard, 6 Jul 1934, p 4).
It is difficult to isolate individual incidents, but Conway said that he killed dozens during only one expedition of one of the two gangs mentioned. In a quote relating to an expedition through Yolngu country to Caledon Bay, Conway notes that Yolngu camps were very large 'Some of their camps contained two or three thousand people' (Willey, 1964, p 103). It is reasonable to think at least 200 people were massacred by the killing 'gangs' at Florida and Arafura under Conway, Bradshaw and Watson.
