John O'Connell Bligh (3 March 1834 – 12 October 1880) was a

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

officer in the British colonies of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He achieved the rank of Commandant of this colonial

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

force from 1861 to 1864. Bligh is probably best known for an incident in Maryborough, where he shot a number of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

along the main street and into the adjoining Mary River. After retiring from the Native Police, Bligh became a police magistrate in the towns of

Gayndah Gayndah () is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the North Burnett Region. In the , the locality of Gayndah had a population of 1,949 p ...

and

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

Early life

John O'Connell Bligh was born in 1834 in

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, England. He was a grandson of Vice-Admiral

William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

, the former

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

and central figure of the

mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

and the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, its name derives from the ...

. Bligh was also a nephew of former Lieutenant Governor, Sir

Maurice Charles O'Connell Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell KCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of colonial New South Wales. Early life Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished caree ...

. He emigrated to

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probably around 1850 and lived with his brother Richard John Bligh who had been Commissioner for Crown Lands and head of the

Border Police A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Guar ...

Warialda Warialda is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Gwydir Shire. It is situated on the banks of Warialda Creek. At the , Warialda had a population of 1,120. Transport The Gwydir Highway runs through town and ...

since 1847. John was appointed Registrar of the Small Debts Court at Warialda in 1852.

Lieutenant in Native Police

Bligh was appointed by the New South Wales Government to the position of sub-Lieutenant in the

on 7 April 1853. He was nineteen years old. Bligh seems to have been posted to the Wide Bay region on a regular basis early on in his career.

Capture of John 'Gilburri' Fahy

He captured a runaway convict named John Gilburri Fahy who had been living with the local Wide Bay aboriginals for over twelve years. In order to arrest Gilburri, Bligh and his troopers handcuffed all the station Aboriginal workers at Barambah pastoral station around a large gum tree overnight to prevent him from receiving any information that the

were nearby. Fahy was sent to

Cockatoo Island Cockatoo Island Wareamah is a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the confluence of the Parramatta River and Lane Cove River in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Cockatoo Island is the largest of several harbour islands that were once ...

prison but was soon assigned to be an interpreter on the exploratory journey of A.C. Gregory.

Further Native Police operations

In 1854 and 1855, Bligh was transferred to the 8th Division of the

based at the Yabba barracks in the

Conondale Range The Conondale Range is a mountain range in Queensland, located between Maleny, Kenilworth, Kilcoy and Jimna. The range is the most westerly part of the Sunshine Coast hinterland and part of the Great Dividing Range. The highest point on the r ...

and at Maryborough. The funding of the Native Police at this stage was uncertain and Bligh had trouble with equipment supplies and the mutinous conduct of some of his Aboriginal troopers. Corporal Donald threatened to hit and handcuff him. Ten days later, Bligh reported that Donald died of dysentery. During this period, he pursued a group of Aboriginal people who had committed "depredations" in the Mary Valley to the coast and massacred them at Teewah Beach. In October 1855, Bligh was sent to the Clarence River area to take charge of the section there as a 2nd Lieutenant. In June 1857, he was appointed to 1st Lieutenant of the Native Police by Commandant Edric Norfolk Vaux Morisset. Bligh was stationed mostly in the Wide Bay-Burnett region or on missions involving the recruitment of troopers for the force around the Clarence River districts. In 1859, he was involved in dispersing Aboriginals attending the Bunya festival in the

. The Aboriginals fled to nearby Manumbar where the proprietor noticed that "the fear of Bligh acts like a hangman's whip" over them. The Governor General of New South Wales appointed John O'Connell Bligh of the Native Police to be a Magistrate for New South Wales on 30 August 1858.

Maryborough incident

In early 1860, Bligh and his troopers, then stationed at Coopers Plain barracks just to the south-west of Maryborough, chased a number of Aboriginals into the town. In broad daylight and in front of the citizens of Maryborough, these Aboriginals were shot down. Several were killed and an unknown number were wounded. At one stage, Bligh requisitioned a boat in order to shoot two Aboriginals who had fled into the Mary River. A meeting was held in the courthouse to collect money for a gift of appreciation to give to Bligh. At a ceremony later organised by the high-profile Maryborough people, Bligh was given a ceremonial sword as a reward for his actions. However, his actions divided the town, with the

Maryborough Chronicle Maryborough may refer to: * Maryborough, Queensland, Australia ** Maryborough Base Hospital * Maryborough, Victoria, Australia ** Maryborough railway station, Victoria * Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of C ...

describing it as "one of the most disgraceful acts ever perpetrated by any community, a blot so foul and deep-stained as will leave on this otherwise fair portion of God’s earth the brand of eternal infamy". The

Moreton Bay Courier Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks Surname * Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist * Andrew Moreton, a ...

listed the names of individual Aborigines who had been killed, including Darkey (who was shot down in the street and later roasted) and Young Snatchem (who was driven into the river before Bligh "shot the defenceless, tired, unresisting wretch, in the back"). On 8 July 1861 Lieut John O'Connell Bligh was examined regarding the above incident by the Select Committee on the Native Police Force and the Condition of the Aborigines generally. The Select Committee also questioned other witnesses regarding Bligh's actions in the same incident. The Select Committee asked his opinion of suggested restructure or disbandment of the Force.

Commandant of the Native Police

After the retirement of E.N.V. Morisset, John O'Connell Bligh was appointed Commandant of the

in July 1861. His first major duty as Commandant involved organising the severe reprisals for the

Cullin-la-ringo massacre The Cullin-la-ringo massacre, also known as the Wills tragedy, was a massacre of white colonists by Indigenous Australians that occurred on 17 October 1861, north of modern-day Springsure, Queensland, Springsure in Central Queensland, Austra ...

where, in October 1861, Aboriginals around the

Nogoa River The Nogoa River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises on the Carnarvon Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, in the Carnarvon National Park and flows in a generally north easterly direction towards ...

killed nineteen settlers. Bligh travelled to the area and personally oversaw the operations. Colonists in the Nogoa region such as Charles Boydell Dutton described how these operations consisted of orders to Native Police officers to "disperse blacks wherever they found them." Bligh himself dispersed members of peaceful tribes working for the colonists and galloped his horse over an Aboriginal woman causing her extensive injuries. Bligh was the commanding officer of the force as the British expanded into the Northern parts of Eastern Australia into areas such as Bowen, Peak Downs and Mackay. The Native Police under Bligh were instrumental in enforcing colonial rule over the Aboriginals in these areas. For much of the time Bligh administered the force from the barracks at Murrays Lagoon near

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

. It was here in late 1863 that he received a kick to the face from a horse that caused severe facial and head injuries.

Police Magistrate

The reorganisation of the Queensland Police force in early 1864 saw the position of Commandant of the

abolished and the force came under the direct auspices of the new Queensland Police Commissioner,

David Thompson Seymour David Thompson Seymour (5 November 1831 – 31 January 1916) was a soldier and the inaugural commissioner of Queensland Police, in office from 1864 to 1895. Early life and military career Seymour was born on 5 November 1831 at Ballymore Castle, ...

. Bligh was retired from the force and took up a police magistrate position at

. While in this position, Bligh was involved in a

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

that led to his temporary suspension. A local vagrant by the name of Tim Shea who presented ill to the police station was arrested and sentenced by Bligh to six months jail. Mr. Shea died while being transported on an open dray to Maryborough, with multiple bruisings and his tongue bitten through later being observed on his body. Bligh was to be transferred to Clermont for his actions but his powerful family connections in Brisbane prevented this. He later transferred to the gold mining towns of

and Kilkivan.

Death and legacy

Bligh remained as a police magistrate in Gympie until his death in 1880 at the relatively young age of 46. As a result of the kick to the face from the horse in Rockhampton, Bligh lost the sight in one eye and had chronic insomnia issues. He died of an overdose of

chloral hydrate Chloral hydrate is a geminal diol with the formula . It was first used as a sedative and hypnotic in Germany in the 1870s. Over time it was replaced by safer and more effective alternatives but it remained in use in the United States until at ...

at his home in Gympie. Bligh was widower when he died and had several children. A daughter, Lucy, later married Bligh's nephew, John Bligh Nutting, who had also served in Queensland as an officer in the Native Police. Bligh Street in Gympie is likely to have been named after him and given both Gympie and the site of the Yabba Native Police barracks are nearby, the Bligh Street in Kilkivan is also very likely to have been named in his honour.

References

External links

* https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/catalogue_resources/92123.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Bligh, John OConnell 1834 births 1880 deaths People from Gympie 19th-century Australian public servants Accidental deaths in Queensland Aboriginal genocide perpetrators Australian police officers killed in the line of duty British emigrants to Australia Colony of New South Wales people Colony of Queensland people Drug-related deaths in Australia Pre-Separation Queensland Police misconduct in Australia