I think we need a new enquiry into the Coniston massacre.

Joe,

While it's peripheral to the main topic of the article, I think your rejection of "women's business" is misguided. Indeed, a quick glance at whistler's link to Bell's classic ethnography 'Daughters of the Dreaming' strongly supports a separate female ritual domain.

Like the proscription on speaking the names of deceased people, my understanding is that such practices varied among Aboriginal societies across Australia. Perhaps your experience as a European man of missionised Ngarrindjeri people isn't the whole picture, particularly as it applies to Central Australia?

Amanda Midlam,

What do you think would be achieved by a new enquiry into the Coniston Massacre? I was under the impression that the facts of the mass murder are quite well-documented.

hi Amanda, thanks for your article. An enquiry conducted under governance which discriminates against women is counterproductive because governance which discriminates against women is at cause in the first place. An enquiry conducted under governance enabled by agreement between women's and men's legislatures, courts and corporate committees would be appropriate, fair and productive to all interests.

No, CJ, I'm saying that private land business undertaken by women in patriarchal/patrilineal/virilocal societies in Australia are, even now, probably still being carried out. Those people have land-healing/increase obligations, regardless of where they are, or of whether or not they are women.

In parts of Australia where increase ceremonies were unnecessary, and/or where societies were matriarchal/matrilineal, or bilineal, there was no basis for such activity.

One day, I am confident that at least one anthropologist in Australia will have the courage and integrity to risk his/her patronage links, and his/her career, and say so. But perhaps not in my lifetime.

Joe

Joe,

With the greatest respect, I'll go with the ethnography - which is clearly at odds with your theories, since "women's business" is frequently described as collective ritual activity engaged in by women, and from which men are excluded. Also, I'm not aware of any truly matriarchal (as opposed to matrineal) societies anywhere, including Australia.

But as I said, "women's business" is peripheral to the article, anyway.

The facts of this series of murders are well-docmented (although little known). However the only enquiry was a travesty. And that's the situation that still remains today. The official finding was self-defence. Do we want to live with that in 2010? If we don't address this what does it say about us as a nation?
I really do think that unequivocably we have to say that the massacres and the enquiry were wrong. Cold-cases seem to be popular and this one left a lot of evidence. Let's deal with it.