Correspondence Relating to Edward White and the Risdon Cove 'Massacre'
This web-post will be used to display correspondence regarding our thesis that the convict Edward White was lying in 1830 when he claimed that 26 years earlier at Risdon Cove he had been a witness to an event where, ‘there were a great many of the Natives slaughtered and wounded’ and that ‘some of their bones were sent in two casks to Port Jackson by Dr Mountgarrett.’
We contend in our book Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove that historians are wrong to rely on the testimony of Edward White. We provide evidence that the Edward White who testified in 1830 was not even in the colony at the time of the massacre in 1804.
Correspondence Trail No. 1 - [12/11/2021] - Emeritus Professor Lyndall Ryan, historian at the University of Newcastle, kindly responded in late 2021 (prior to our book being published) to some questions posed by one of our contributors, Robert.
On Friday, 12 November 2021, 6:36:45 pm AEDT, Lyndall Ryan wrote:
Dear Robert
Thank you for your email and material information about the Risdon Cove massacre.
For archaeological evidence of the massacre, I would like to draw your attention to the report by Angela McGowan, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Risdon Cove Historic Site 1978-1980’, Occasional Paper No.10, Hobart: National Parks & Wildlife Service, 1985. Among other items, the paper lists a cannon ball found at the site. The paper also gives a comprehensive history of the site after it was formally abandoned in July 1804.
Are you suggesting that Edward White did not exist? Absence of evidence about his arrival at Risdon Cove in 1803, is certainly not evidence of his absence. If he did not exist, how then did he get to give evidence at the 1830 Inquiry? All the people who gave evidence about the massacre had known each other since 1804. It is unlikely that an imposter would have presented evidence.
Yours sincerely, Lyndall Ryan. [our emphasis]
Our response to Item 1 will follow soon (Editor)
Correspondence Trail No. 2 - [5/10/2022] - Roger Karge (co-author of Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove) submitted an online comment at the University of Newcastle Massacre Map’s comments page,
Hello,
I have just co-authored a 2022 book (with Scott Seymour & George Brown - https://www.hidden-histories-tas.org/book-store/p/style-02-gagjj ) called Truth-Telling at Risdon Cove.
We believe our original research confirms that the convict & ‘witness’ Edward White was lying about the events he says he saw on the day of the massacre on May 3, 1804. We believe that we have proven that he was not even in the colony at that time - he arrived in 1806 - so he could not have been a ‘witness’ to the events.
Thus the only two eye-witnesses to the event, who reported, ‘3 natives killed and an unknown number wounded’ and ‘a small boy orphaned’ are the only historically contemporary and reliable sources.
Thus, we believe that, based on the definition of a massacre being ‘at least 6 killed’, this Risdon Cove event is no longer a true massacre but rather an affray or clash.
You do refer to our research in your Risdon Cove entry (the newspaper reference) and we urge you to study our research in detail.
I will send you an August 2022 review by THRA of our book via your email address
- Roger Karge
2B Response from Prof. Lyndall Ryan [7/10/2022]
Dear Roger Karge, Thank you for your email.
I have a copy of your book and the review published in THRA.
Alas, I do not agree with your interpretation of White, which entirely depends on when he arrived in Tasmania. Your reliance on the shipping lists does not prove that he was not at Risdon Cove on the day of the massacre.
As you have found in your own research, convict records were imperfect at least until the mid-1820s. And even then, the names of some convicts slipped through the bureaucratic net.
It is possible that a record relating to Edward White was lost when Governor Collins’ papers were burnt upon his death, and other information may have been included in the missing 3 years of the diary of the Rev. Robert Knopwood.
We do know, however, that White sought the support of long term well known settlers when he requested financial help from Governor Arthur in the 1830s. I was surprised that you simply dismissed these men, who clearly knew White well and readily supported his request.
The conspiracy theory approach to history rarely achieves the desired outcome. Suggesting that White attended the Aborigines Committee before he gave his testimony, is pure fantasy.
Yours sincerely, Lyndall Ryan
Our response to Item 2B will follow soon (Editor)
Readers can visit this page at intervals to keep abreast of any correspondence as it develops.
