The week before Elijah Doughty's body was found, Kalgoorlie's two main Facebook community pages were humming along as usual, with residents reporting crime and suspicion of crime, and others remarking about "darkies" and "non-reflectives".

"There is going to be revenge of some sort very soon! And all the do gooders will wonder why people are getting pissed off," one man wrote.

Another wrote: "How many human bodies would it take to fill the mineshafts around Kalgoorlie? A: We're one theft closer to finding out!"

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Only two days later, on Monday, Elijah Doughty, a 14-year-old Indigenous boy, was allegedly struck by the driver of a ute while riding a motorcycle.

There had been ominous messages a week earlier. After a woman had posted about two Indigenous boys breaking into a ute, a man had commented on one of the pages:

"Feel free to run the oxygen thieves off the road if you see them."

Another wrote: "Everyone talks about hunting down these sub human mutts, but no one ever does."

When the news of Elijah's death hit Facebook, one commented:

"Good job you thieving bastard. Don't think you'll be touching another bike anytime soon ahaha. About time someone took it into their own hands hope it happens again."

By Wednesday these Facebook posts had been deleted, and by Thursday morning one of the pages has been closed down and the second has been effectively muzzled by no-nonsense moderators. By Thursday night it too had been closed down.

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Hack was sent dozens of screenshots by members of the Indigenous community who say they have been complaining about these community pages for months, and calling for them to be shut down. They want these posts re-published to show the subject of their grievances.

On Tuesday, 200 people protested outside the Kalgoorlie Courthouse after hearing the alleged offender had been charged with manslaughter. Twelve police officers were hurt and five police cars damaged when they were pelted with glass bottles and rocks.

In their minds, Tuesday was not only about the death of Elijah, but about this constant goading. Jacqueline Spurling, an Indigenous woman born-and-raised in Kalgoorlie, says some protesters were yelling "Where are you now you keyboard warriors, hiding behind your computers".

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Debbie Carmody, another senior figure in the community, says she and others met with federal authorities on Wednesday and demanded the pages be shut down. By Thursday night, both of the pages had vanished.

Murray Jackamarra, an Indigenous man who has lived in Kalgoorlie for 10 years, said many had feared something like the death of Elijah would happen. The comments had been getting worse, he said, and he had quit the page "after too many sleepless nights".

"The page was meant to be a community thing," he said.

"The only ones that get talked about are Aboriginal people."

'Who are these people?'

The #JusticeForElijah protest has drawn on Black Lives Matter and American race relations and become a focal point for national grievances. But for the people in Kalgoorlie, it's rooted in the specific and everyday experience of being an Indigenous person in a Goldfields mining town.

"My daughter came back from school saying her friend showed her other posts about how 'let's kills them all now and that way we don't have to deal with them ever again. For generations they won't be able to breed again'," Jacqueline Spurling told Hack.

"She's absolutely devastated, and even I was walking around town today thinking, who are these people? It's a horrible feeling."

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The fact Elijah was allegedly hit while riding a motorbike is significant. There had been a reported spate of dirt bike thefts, and this had been a topic on the pages. In the year to July 2016, there was an increase of 406 vehicle thefts. Much of this happened in a remarkable two-week crime surge over summer, when 192 offences were reported to police.

Elijah's own bikes had been stolen, and he was reportedly riding a stolen bike when he was killed.

"The motorbike stealing part started about 18 months ago and in the last 18 months that's all we hear about all the time," Jacqueline said.

"That's what they put on [the page] every single day."

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Jacqueline says this constant chatter about crime has fuelled a perception that all Aboriginal children are criminals. In the echo chamber of Facebook, the perception became consensus.

"We need a vigilante, like The Punisher," one man wrote in July.

Another wrote:

"What about we get some white cops from America .... lol .... Not really funny but might work."

The same person also wrote:

"Things will never change unless there is annual cull."

'It has changed and divided the town'

Kalgoorlie-Boulder has a population of about 30,000. The number of people on the two main Facebook pages have at least doubled since 2013 to about 18,000 members each.

The pages have been dominated by non-Indigenous voices. According to the 2011 census, only about seven per cent of the town was Indigenous.

"The town was never like this when we grew up," Jacqueline said. "We grew up in a town where everyone mixed with everyone else."

"I don't know at what stage it did change, but it has changed and divided the town."

"When I went through all these Facebook pages, I went through the posts, and it was the same people posting every time.

"There were 10-15 maximum but they got a crowd of 17,000 who look at their posts."

"It's a small group but they've got a large voice."

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The size and influence of these Facebook groups have been amplified by the relative isolation of the town about six hours drive east of Perth. Everyone knows everyone, and almost everyone is on at least one of the pages. This has implications for jury selection, with defence lawyers successfully applying to have trial by judge alone, based on the submission the jury had been tainted by Facebook.

In early 2014, Kalgoorlie Magistrate Andrew Maughan granted a suppression order for an alleged offender due to concerns the jury pool could be contaminated. A newspaper report had been posted on one of the pages, and the unnamed offender had been identified in the comments section.

The Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper then ran an interview with police warning social media users about prosecution for contempt of court. Police also spoke about "the risk of reprisal".

"Their family members or friends might seek out the person," Inspector Dom Wood said. "Then the police are now tied up with possibly more serious consequences."

Members of the community complained to police for months leading up to the death of Elijah, but were told police had no power to shut down the pages, according to Jacqueline.

But this past week authorities have taken a stronger line.

Yesterday Acting Commander Darryl Gaunt said anyone posting racial comments on any case could expect a visit from police.

He also said he had no doubt comments posted on the pages had inflamed the situation.

Last night, Hack spoke with the founder and moderator of one of the pages. He said the situation was tense and otherwise declined to comment.