Almost two centuries on, many families in Western Australia's south-west are still waiting for proper recognition of one of the state's bloodiest days.

Key points: Numbers vary over how many Aboriginal people were killed in the Pinjarra massacre

Numbers vary over how many Aboriginal people were killed in the Pinjarra massacre In the late 1990s, the Shire of Murray voted to not recognise the events as a massacre

In the late 1990s, the Shire of Murray voted to not recognise the events as a massacre But the council says signage about the massacre is likely with a new memorial

When you drive in to Pinjarra, south of Perth, there are no signs pointing to where Indigenous families lost their lives at the hands of settlers in the 1834 Pinjarra massacre.

But locals are hopeful change will come about soon.

Numbers vary over how many Aboriginal men, women and children lost their lives by the banks of the Murray River.

Notes from Governor James Stirling and Captain John Septimus Roe say there were around 15 to 20 Bindjareb Noongar people killed during the massacre, while some traditional owners put the figure at more than double that, along with one colonial officer.

Community elder Franklyn Nannup said growing up in Pinjarra, he was never taught about the massacre in school, with stories passed on through family instead.

Community elder Franklyn Nannup wants to see a proper memorial installed in Pinjarra. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

"It was a really taboo subject for our mob to talk about. Knowing it was taboo meant knowing it was something wrong, something evil," he said.

Mr Nannup said he would like to see a proper memorial installed in Pinjarra.

"Especially after the big fight we've had over the years trying to get something, it should be deserving of that," he said.

"I hope it's something we can go and look at from time to time, something our future generations can see and appreciate.

"It is something that is important to me, and it is for most of our mob down here."

Changing attitudes, new plans

In the late 1990s, the Shire of Murray passed a resolution to not recognise the events of 1834 as a massacre.

Shire president David Bolt said a much deeper understanding had grown over the years of the event's impact, with the shire recognising the "massacre" name since 2006.

"The cultural awareness of the time wasn't what it is today, the education wasn't what it is today," he said.

Shire of Murray president David Bolt says the Pinjarra massacre was a "dark period". ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

"In Aboriginal views clearly it was a massacre, and in any normal person's terms, clearly the people here were fighting soldiers and police [who had] guns and they weren't really able to protect themselves.

"Whoever's definition it is, clearly it was a massacre for the Aboriginal people.

"The Pinjarra massacre is a pretty dark period in terms of the region here."

The council gave in-principle support to a Pinjarra memorial last year, with the Noongar community leading the project, supported by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and other groups.

Cr Bolt said signage about the massacre was likely to come along with the memorial.

Flowers have been left at the existing Battle of Pinjarra Memorial Park. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

"It's really up to the families to decide what they would like to see because of the sensitivity of the site," Cr Bolt said.

"Anecdotal feedback is people want to see the site recognised more.

"The community are telling the council they would like to see something happen there.

"School children go down there and often clean it up, the local primary schools towards their education curriculum, learn about the massacre. Throughout that process, families have become more aware about what it means.

"We have got a way to go to make sure it is fitting and deserving."

Push for bigger memorial to show 'the truth'

A rock with a plaque sits in the Battle of Pinjarra Memorial Park — referencing a name left over from the old days — with text omitting mention of the massacre.

Those pushing for a bigger memorial are waiting for names, stories and a place for learning.

The plaque at the Battle of Pinjarra Memorial Park does not use the word massacre. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

"You have it on the war memorial, why can't we have it here?" Pinjarra Massacre Site Working Group member and Murray Districts Aboriginal Association chair Karrie-Anne Kearing said.

She said the fight for recognition had simmered for years.

"Before me my grandmother was in the fight, then after her was my father, it was a big push for him," Ms Kearing said.

"What we've got here is a rock and then a small plaque.

"We want signage to say what this place is, we want it acknowledged for what it is.

"We would like the list of names and the stories of what happened here, the truth."

Ms Kearing said the working group was starting back up, with politics being sorted out among locals and hopes for the ball to start rolling within the year.

Karrie-Anne Kearing says the fight for recognition of the massacre has gone on for years. ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

"I hope that we have something by the next memorial," she said.

"I'm hoping it stops with me, and not for my kids to keep going with it. My grandmother, my dad, my auntie, I hope that it's done in my time."

Remembering the past as wait continues

For now, the annual Bindjareb Boodja: Back to Pinjarra Commemoration serves as an annual temporary memorial to the past.

Ms Kearing's brother Theo is one of this year's event organisers, and head of performance group Bindjareb Middars.

Theo Kearing says the annual event helps locals "hold their head a little higher". ( ABC News: Jessica Warriner )

Ms Kearing and Mr Kearing's parents established the event back in 1991, with a crowd returning to the riverside park each year.

"It's a way of getting acknowledgement. It makes a lot of people in town stand a little taller, hold their head a little higher," Mr Kearing said.

"All the hard work pays off to see smiles on the faces of some of the elders."

Mr Kearing was hopeful a future commemoration would come with a more permanent reminder of the area's history.

"Even though it's this little carpark across the road from a cemetery and a trotting track, all traditional people that know about it pull up here on their journey south or from south to north," he said.

"If you saw signage anywhere outside or inside of town to acknowledge what's here, that's the start of the small process of people wanting to know, wanting to come down and learn.

"It's cliche, but it's like throwing a pebble in a swamp. It's the ripple effect. What seems like a small thing could turn into something we're all looking forward to."