Family Feud: Behind the Narrogin Shootings

Shots fired during a brawl last November in a tiny Western Australian town made national news, highlighting a family feud brewing in the town’s indigenous Noongar community and drawing attention to issues of aboriginal disadvantage. In a series of special reports for Crikey, Research Journalism’s Kayt Davies goes beyond the headlines.

Part one: The September prelude
“If there’s a shootout in the near future, another spate of suicides or some other calamitous event involving hundreds of Noongar people, it could well be in Narrogin…”

Part two: What happened that night (Subscriber only)
“To tell this story in context we need more specifics about the fight in September…”

Part three: Hatred and retribution (Subscriber only)
“In the week following the shooting in November, the media reported that there were fears of retribution when relatives gathered for another funeral…”

Part four: Don’t call me racist (Subscriber only)
“Racism is a dirty word, and in Narrogin it gets people’s backs right up…”

Part five: Duelling definitions, money, power and uncertainty
“Murray Riley and the older Kicketts all feel like they’re fighting, not only for their own children but their grandchildren, and their whole communities, as well…”