In 1838, the Myall Creek Massacre occurred when stockmen killed at least 28 Wirrayaraay people, primarily women and children, at Myall Creek Station in New South Wales, Australia. This event is significant as it led to the only convictions for such frontier killings in Australian history, highlighting the violent impact of colonization on Indigenous populations. The massacre sparked debates about justice and the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Australia.

The event and subsequent trials influenced Australian colonial literature and poetry exploring themes of frontier justice, indigenous dispossession, and moral reckoning. Poets such as Judith Wright and Oodgeroo Noonuccal addressed the complexities of identity and the impact of colonization on indigenous cultures in their works.