THE MCKENZIE MASSACRE ON BENTINCK ISLAND

$17.50

A story told by Elders and illustrated by students of Mornington Island State School.

28 pages

 

In 1911 a man named McKenzie obtained a government lease, which according to Queensland law, gave him titlehold over Sweers Island and a large portion of Bentinck island. This book reproduces the story told about McKenzie by Roma Kelly in the 1980s. She tells of the brutal massacre led by McKenzie in 1918 at Rukuthi, for which he was never punished. It is an important story that should be told.