A new podcast series is confronting a dark and long-silenced chapter of Australian history, sparked by the discovery of a settler's coded diaries. The revelations challenge national narratives and have prompted descendants of those involved to embark on a difficult journey of truth-telling.
The Coded Legacy of Major Logue
In the city of Geraldton, Western Australia, the name Major Logue has long been associated with colonial pastoralism. However, as detailed in a special two-part series of Guardian Australia's Full Story podcast, his personal diaries tell a far more sinister tale. Written partly in a secret code, these documents have been deciphered to reveal grim accounts of frontier violence against Indigenous people.
The work of decoding and contextualising these entries has been undertaken by Sarah Collard, Guardian Australia's Indigenous affairs reporter, and Lorena Allam from the Jumbunna Institute at UTS. Their investigation lays bare a history of massacre and conflict that the Yamatji people of the region have known intimately for generations, but which has been absent from mainstream historical records.
Breaking the Colonial Silence
In a powerful and personal movement, descendants of some perpetrator families are now directly challenging what they term 'colonial silence'. For these individuals, the process of truth-telling is not an abstract historical exercise; it is a real, local, and deeply personal reckoning with their own family legacies.
There are no established guidelines or rulebooks for this painful process. As the podcast explores, confronting this past can lead to denial and indifference from some quarters. Yet for others, it represents a profound form of liberation and a necessary step towards healing. These descendants are joining with Indigenous communities to acknowledge the horrors of the past and seek a shared path forward.
A Path to Healing and National Reckoning
The podcast episode issues a clear warning: it contains historical records featuring racist and offensive language and descriptions of distressing events. This content underscores the brutal reality of Australia's colonial expansion. The interactive report, 'The killing code: strange symbols in a WA settler’s diaries lay bare frontier atrocities', provides further depth to the story.
One poignant example discussed is of brothers who grew up revering their great-uncle Bill, only to later discover the full, unsettling story of his actions. This personal conflict mirrors a national one. The series, titled The Descendants, forms part of Guardian Australia's ongoing coverage aimed at fostering a more honest national conversation about history, memory, and justice.
The Full Story podcast is available to subscribe to for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, offering an essential listen for those engaged in understanding the complex layers of colonial history and contemporary reconciliation.
