Aboriginal people The
Weraerai and
Kamilaroi peoples are the original inhabitants of the area, and the town's name is said to come from an
Aboriginal word for "rising sun", "long spring", or "water hole". The town was established in the 1850s by British colonists, who eventually forced the local
Aboriginal residents into
missions, and later
Aboriginal reserves. The town, and in particular the
Moree Baths and Swimming Pool, are known for having been visited by the group of activists on the famous 1965
Freedom Ride. That historic journey through northern NSW, led by
Charles Perkins, was designed to bring media attention to discrimination against
Indigenous Australians in rural areas.
British colonisation In 1832, Major
Thomas Mitchell led a large expedition to the district after escaped convict
George Clarke told the colonial authorities of the existence of a great river called the "Kindur" that flowed through the region. Clarke had been a
bushranger, living a mostly tribal lifestyle with a Kamilaroi clan in the area to the south from 1827 to 1831. He had gained geographical knowledge important to the colonists. In January 1832, Mitchell crossed what is now known as the
Mehi River, around ten kilometres east of where the town Moree is now located.
Squatters soon followed in Mitchell's wake, setting up pastoral runs in the vicinity, among which were "Mungie Bundie", established by brothers
John Henry Fleming and
Joseph Fleming in 1837, "Boolooroo", established by Robert Marshall in 1837, "Wee Bolla Bolla", established by
Thomas Simpson Hall in 1838, and "Mooree", which was established by James Cox in 1838, and from which the town gets its name. Conflict
between the colonists and Aboriginal people occurred soon after the arrival of the pastoralists. The Europeans murdered hundreds of Aboriginal people. Both groups of squatters and the
New South Wales Mounted Police conducted
punitive expeditions against the local Kamilaroi in what was termed at the time "a war of extermination". For example, a large
massacre of Aborigines occurred at John Cobb's
Gravesend station in 1837, while in 1838, Major James Nunn and his mounted police killed at least forty at
Waterloo Creek. Some of the surviving Mehi and Gwydir River Aborigines fled east to avoid the massacres, pursued by gangs of colonists, including one led by
John Henry Fleming, a free settler from Mungie Bundie station. In June 1838, Fleming initiated the
Myall Creek massacre. Those Kamilaroi who stayed in the region continued to be killed, including nine who died in a massacre by Charles Eyles at
Pallamallawa, also in 1838.
Township of Moree In 1851, James Brand and Mary Geddes arrived with their Aboriginal servant girl Jane Laney. They built a general store on the banks of the river in 1852, and added a post office the following year. The family sold up and moved to the
Hunter Region in 1857, but James died in 1858. The widowed Mary, left with six children to support, returned to Moree and, in 1861, opened the community's first inn. Moree was gazetted as a town in 1862, with land sales proceeding that year. Moree was one of the destinations of the famous 1965
Freedom Bus ride, a historic trip through northern NSW, led by activist
Charles Perkins, aimed at brining media attention to discrimination against
Indigenous Australians. Urban Australians were made aware of
racial segregation in rural Australia, in particular at the
Moree Baths and Swimming Pool. When the activists tried to desegregate the pool they "were pelted with eggs and rotten fruit". Aboriginal people were also refused entry to pubs and theatres. At the Moree swimming pool, after the Freedom Riders confronted them, the local council and pool management agreed to allow Indigenous children to swim in the pool outside school hours. Tensions between Aboriginal and Europeans have continued, along with discrimination. In 1982, following a large, racially-charged brawl between young white and black men, gangs of white men went around Moree shooting at Aboriginal people. Geoffrey Wilmot, Warren Ledingham, Steven Delamothe and Ian Bowen, armed with semi-automatic rifles and shot-guns, wounded several Aboriginal people, and killed nineteen-year-old Ronald McIntosh. Ledingham and Delamothe were later found guilty of manslaughter. Aboriginal people moved from the Terry Hie Hie reserve, south-east of Moree, in the early 1920s to escape the forced removals by the APB of Aboriginal and "
half-caste" children from their families. They created an informal settlement at Moree known as Top Camp, which existed until 1967. Steel Bridge Camp and Top Camp were both associated with Terry Hie Hie. There were 118 students at the school and some were brought by bus from nearby camps. The residents had formed a Progressive Association in 1951. They had a
public address system and a football club, which played in the district competition. The manager's wife ran a
girl guides troop and there was a boys' club. An
Aboriginal reserve was declared on 17 July 1970 (effective 21 August 1970), and revoked on 20 September 1974. Other reserves and places of Aboriginal significance are at nearby at
Terry Hie Hie, and one called Wirajarai on the Gwydir River.
21st century In 2007 the Moree Plains Council announced plans for a $14m upgrade to the hot thermal baths. == Heritage-listed sites ==