It was a significant event in Aboriginal history and race relations in Australia, as well as having continuing legal impact for years afterwards.
The attendants fought back, and police retreated to a hotel on an intersection where they positioned themselves on the veranda armed with rifles.
Further conflict lasted around thirty minutes, where Aboriginal men threw bottles at the hotel or fought police in the intersection.
[5] Two men, Arthur Murray and Sonny Bates were put on trial, which lasted for five years and resulted in their conviction.
[6] In 1991, both convictions were overturned, The High Court criticized the evidence brought forward by Brewarrina police as unreliable.