These brothers grew up revering their great-uncle Bill. Then the full story came out

Alistair, Malcolm and Ross McKinnon are the great-nephews of Northern Territory constable Bill McKinnon, who shot and killed an Aboriginal man, Yukun, at Uluru in 1934. They have joined calls for truth telling about Australia’s colonial past. Composite: Christopher Hopkins/Tamati Smith/Victoria Hart/Guardian design

Warning: This article contains historical records that use racist and offensive language, and descriptions of events that will be distressing to some readers. It also contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

Malcolm McKinnon remembers poking around under Great-Uncle Bill’s big old house in Brisbane while the adults were having afternoon tea. Once he found a pile of rusty old chains. Some had big loops, one was a breastplate of some kind. He thought they looked strange.