Were Morant and Handcock murderers or 'scapegoats of the empire'?

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Were Morant and Handcock murderers or ‘scapegoats of the empire’?

The legend that Morant and Handcock were Australians wronged by the British army is, indeed, a legend.

As commented by Australian historian Dr Craig Wilcox, Australia’s only soldiers ever to have been shot by a firing squad following a court martial, Lieutenants Harry ‘The Breaker’ Morant and Peter Joseph Handcock were justly dealt with. The myth regarding the harsh, unjust treatment of both men and the association between the Morant legend and Australian nationalism is seemingly naïve and doubtful. However conflict of Morant’s personality remains prominent amongst historians. The revival of the Morant legend is owed to the Bruce Beresford film, based upon nationalistic writings influenced by personal agenda such as George Witton’s Scapegoats of the Empire. The realities and truths of Morant’s life differ substantially to the legend. Morant and Handcock were not scapegoats but heartless murderers. Harry Morant and Peter Handcock were unstable men, held a desire accompanied with revenge to kill the Boer prisoners and carried out the unwarranted killing of an innocent German missionary.    

Harry ‘the Breaker’ Morant, ‘a scapegoat of his own unstable character’ and P.J. Handcock, a ‘victim’ of his brutal actions, were not scapegoats. Their distasteful personas shed light on their common misinterpretations by Australians. Morant and Handcock were indeed advocates of cold-blooded murder.

Morant and three other officers (P.J. Handcock, G.R. Witton and Lieutenant Picton) apparently decided to shoot any Boer prisoners who fell into their hands. Morant was charged three times with having done so.

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Harry Morant occupied the image of a reckless bravado, thief, compulsive liar, male chauvinist, ‘frequently a drunkard brawler, (and) a bully totally without conscience.’ Handcock, a self confessing liar still qualifies as a murderer, ‘Handcock seems also to have killed a local missionary and even one of his own men.’ Morant and Handcock were not scapegoats, simply rogues. Morant personified his ‘liar’ image, claiming to be the son of Admiral Sir George Digby Morant rather than the actual son of union master Edwin Murrant. The Breaker’s morals and beliefs are dubious for a man held in high regard. He confessed and ...

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