William Goldwyer [SEP] occupation
William Goldwyer
William Goldwyer (August 1829–13 November 1864) was a police officer and explorer in colonial Western Australia. While exploring in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1864, he was killed by Australian Aborigines.
Born in England in August 1829, William Goldwyer emigrated to Western Australia and was appointed a night warder to the Convict Establishment in March 1853. From 1855 to 1857 he was a mounted constable at Dandaragan, and later became Sergeant of Police there. Fluent in Aboriginal languages and renowned for his bushcraft, he
La Grange Massacre", although the fairness of this term remains a matter of some debate.
Background.
In 1864, an expedition was organised to investigate the story of a convict named Henry Wildman, who claimed to have found gold near Camden Harbour. The expedition found no gold, but good pastoral land was found, and as a result a small pastoral venture was later established at Roebuck Bay. In November 1864, three settlers, Frederick Panter, James Harding and William Goldwyer, set out from the settlement to