Good morning. Our lead story today is a new investigation into coded diary entries from a Western Australian pastoralist. They describe a number of killings of Yamatji people in the 1850s, confirming knowledge passed down through Yamatji Naaguja families for generations. Descendants on both sides say it’s time to break the cycle of shame and silence.
We report from the massive crowd of pro-Palestine protesters who made their feelings about the Gaza crisis clear by marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge yesterday.
And the Hungarian F1 grand prix went down to the wire with Oscar Piastri beaten by just seven tenths of a second.
Australia
‘This is a big moment’ | At least 100,000 rain-soaked Sydney Harbour Bridge marchers, young and old, came in full force on Sunday to protest against Israel’s conduct in Gaza and to speak out about the children starving there. Anne Davies writes that the turnout highlights a failure of judgment by the usually slick NSW premier, Chris Minns.
Exclusive | In a submission to the party’s election postmortem, the Young Liberals are urging the Coalition to distance itself from Sky News – and blame a “Maga mirage” for Peter Dutton’s election rout.
Housing crisis | New data has laid bare how a lack of stable long-term housing means more Australian families are seeking crisis accommodation options to escape the grip of homelessness.
‘Ecosystem engineers’ | Almost 150 brush-tailed bettongs have been released at a sanctuary at Mount Gibson near Perth, in a move aiming to help the endangered species both survive and thrive.
So long, Irene | Home and Away actor Lynne McGranger has won the Gold Logie award for most popular personality on Australian television as she ends her 32-year run playing Irene Roberts.
World
Gaza crisis | Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians at a food site while the family of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza accuses Hamas of starving him. The British government will evacuate seriously ill and injured children from Gaza to the UK for treatment under a scheme to be announced within weeks.
Russia-Ukraine war | A Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi has ignited a raging fire, as the two sides traded strikes in one of the deadliest weeks in recent months.
US politics | An irate Donald Trump has told Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL!” after a Senate standoff over confirmations; White House officials rushed to defend Trump after a shaky economic week; and bizarre public appearances have again cast doubt on Trump’s mental acuity, Adam Gabbatt writes.
Royal family | As a biography of the Duke of York claims “punches were thrown” in a heated argument, Prince Harry has denied he gave Prince Andrew “a bloody nose” at a family gathering in 2013.
Child rescued | A New Zealand woman was arrested after travelling on a bus with a two-year-old girl trapped in her luggage, after the bus driver became concerned about a bag moving during a stop.
In-depth
The coded diary entries of Major Logue, an early settler of the Geraldton region of Western Australia, flash up on the microfilm archives of the Battye Library in Perth. On 4 April 1852, he wrote in scrawling longhand that he and a group of other men had set out after breakfast in search of “the natives who had taken the cattle”, eventually finding and crawling up to a campsite. Then, in a modified version of the Freemason’s code, he wrote: “fired both barrels of my gun and wounded one fellow in the rump. Thomson and Dicky shot one dead.”
The diary entries tell a bloody story of Australia’s frontier, and one which colonial families in the Geraldton region have only just begun to come to terms with. Guardian Australia is exploring these stories in a new series called The Descendants.
Full Story
The Descendants episode 1: decoding a massacre
Colonial pastoralist Major Logue is a figure of note in the city of Geraldton, Western Australia. But his diaries, written partly in code, reveal a dark and confronting chapter of Australia’s past – a history that Yamatji people already know all too well. In this two-part special Full Story, Sarah Collard speaks to Lorena Allam about decoding the truth behind Logue’s diaries – and how descendants of colonial violence are coming together to heal from the horrors of the past.
Not the news
Brandon Jack’s Pissants are a group of Australian rules players relegated to the fringe of an unnamed footy team. They cushion themselves against humiliation and ego death by getting wasted, obsessing about their dicks, and treating women like disposable props. So, is the former AFL player’s debut novel a critique or a celebration of toxic masculinity? As Catriona Menzies-Pike writes, this is a book that cannot decide.
Sport
Motorsport | Lando Norris won a battle with his McLaren teammate, Australian driver Oscar Piastri, to take victory in a thrilling Hungarian F1 grand prix.
AFL | The Brisbane Lions put a horror show behind them to thrive on the big stage, Jonathan Horn writes.
Swimming | The US women set a world record in the medley relay at the swimming world championships, while Summer McIntosh won her fourth gold; and backstroke queen Kaylee McKeown pulled off another golden double.
Cycling | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins the final stage and the yellow jersey in the Tour de France Femmes.
Rugby union | Bundee Aki has revealed his wife gave birth to their daughter in the back of a car in New Zealand on the same day as the first Lions Test victory against Australia in Brisbane.
Media roundup
Scientists have developed a world-first mRNA vaccine in NSW that protects cows against foot-and-mouth disease, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Victoria’s government is failing to enforce its own health guidelines for school canteens, the Age reports. An artificial reef is at the heart of plans to help revive fishing in South Australia after the toxic algae crisis, the Advertiser reports.
What’s happening today
NSW | A trial is set to begin for a western NSW health district accused of breaching duty of care under workplace health and safety laws.
NT | The Garma festival wraps up today.
WA | The Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum 2025 begins today in Kalgoorlie.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
