Table Eight: Aboriginal killings by colonists recorded by G. A. Robinson, 1829-1839

No revisions to date

 

 

 

Date

 

Place

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

Circumstances

 

Source

 

Reliability

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a*

Recherche Bay

1

Soldier

Conflict over kangaroo hunt

Eye witness

Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 84, 713, 807

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

N/a

N/a

Man had tro­phies of ears and noses of those slain

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Cape Grim

1

VDL Company stockmen

Tried to get native women into their hut. Native men objected.

Second hand

Plausible (Aborig.)**

‘Several’ claimed by Chambler­lain p 175 implausible

Friendly Mission p 181

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Febru­ary 1828

Cape Grim

30 (6)

VDL Company stockmen

See Chapter 8

Par­tici­pants

Thirty im­plausible but six plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission pp 175, 183, 196

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 1829

Emu Bay

1

Alexander Goldie and VDL Co stockmen

Unprovoked attack on a native woman

Second hand

Highly Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 192, 235, 603

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

c 1827

Eddystone Point

Several

Edward Mansell, Jack Wil­liams, John Riddle, Thomas Tucker

Retaliation by sealers for natives killing four others

Eye­witness and sec­ond hand

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission pp 192-3, 249, 403, 437 n 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

“The Retreat”, Westbury

19

Paddy Heagon, stockman

Shot them with a swivel gun

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission pp 197-8

 

Date

 

Place

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

Circumstances

 

Source

 

Reliability

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Western Marshes (Quamby Bluff)

1

N/a

Native leader resisted whites but later killed

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 198

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Epping Forest

1

VDL Co stockmen

During native attack, stock­men shot a woman

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 202

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

c 1820

Mount Cameron West

2

Sealers

Raided tribe to abduct women and shot men who resisted

Second hand and eye­witness

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission pp 185, 202, 203–4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Stock­keeper

Kept her for a month and then shot her

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 210

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Thomas John of VDL Co

Enticed native with damper and then stabbed him

Second hand

Plausible

Friendly Mission p 210

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

N/a

Skull found  near stockyard

Sup­posi­tion

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Western Marshes

3

Stock­keeper

N/a

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Middle Plains and Ritchie’s Sugarloaf

‘a tribe’

Lyons and others

Drove tribe into lagoon and shot several, went to R’s Sugarloaf and shot the rest

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 218

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Long Swamp, Western Marshes

Several

Murray or Murphy and others

N/a

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 218

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date

 

 

Place

 

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

 

Circumstances

 

 

Source

 

 

Reliability

 

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Western Marshes

10

Gibson’s stock­keeper

Retaliation for attack on him

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 219

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Western Marshes

9 or 10

Party of 40th Regiment

N/a

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 219

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Kents Group Is

1

Bob Gambell, sealer

 N/a

Third hand

Plausible

Friendly Mission p 246

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

c. 1830

Piper River

1

‘white men’

N/a

Third hand

Implausible, (see FM p 436 n 9)

Friendly Mission pp 246, 436

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Piper River

Several

N/a

Bones on banks of river

Sup­posi­tion

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 248

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Woody Island

1

James Everitt, sealer

Native woman would not get mutton-birds for him

Second hand

Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 249, 279

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Octo­ber 1830

Launceston Road

3

Soldiers

Killed while returning from intertribal war at central lakes area

Par­tici­pants

Implausible – see Ch. 6

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 263

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Octo­ber 1830

Break o’Day Plains

2

Special constables

Killed while resisting arrest for murder

Second hand

Highly Plausible – see Ch. 6

Friendly Mission pp 276, 284, 285

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Bruny Island

1

Soldiers

N/a

Second hand

Plausible

(Aborig.) although location was Bothwell:  Plomley, Clash p 76

Friendly Mission pp 285, 439, 506

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Woody Island

1

James Everitt, sealer

N/a

Third hand

Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 301

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date

 

Place

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

Circumstances

 

Source

 

Reliability

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

North east coast

N/a

N/a

Truganini found plenty of bones in the bush

Sup­posi­tion

Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 301

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Bruny Island

1

‘a white man’, Mere­dith’s people

N/a

Second hand

Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 311, 314

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Oyster Bay

1

Mr Wade’s man

Saw him in bush and shot him

Par­ticipant

Plausible

Friendly Mission p 320

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

George Town

Un­specified number

Muster of white men

Came on them at night after they visited Mr Kneale’s farm

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 342

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

N/a

Sealers

Burnt women alive

Third hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 342

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Two stock­keepers

Tied up woman by heels and left her to perish

Eye­witness and sec­ond hand

Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 344, 346

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Stock­keeper

Gave loaded gun to black who shot him­self in mouth with it

Third hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 346

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Huon River

Un­specified

‘white people’

‘shot the na­tives’

Eye­witness

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 373

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early years of colony

Near Hobart

2

‘white men who landed in a boat’

‘shot two blacks dead’

Eye­witness

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 375, 465 n 202

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Doctor’s servant

Brought back arm of man he had shot

Third hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 428

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date

 

 

Place

 

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

 

Circumstances

 

 

Source

 

 

Reliability

 

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

East of Campbell Town

2

‘some white men’

Attack by armed whites on the native road

Eye­witness

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 484

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Eastern Marshes

‘plenty’

‘the white men’

N/a

Second hand

Highly Im­plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 493

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

N/a

‘white people’

Attacking natives at night at their camps

Third hand

Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 501

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Near Bothwell

17

Stock­keepers

Killed seven then followed rest to lagoon and killed ten more

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 503

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Shannon River

3

Mr How­ell’s men

N/a

Eye­witness

Plausible

Friendly Mission p 506

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

c. 1830

South of Bashan Plains

2

Party of white people

After blacks murdered three settlers, pursuit party shot into native camp

Eye­witness

Highly Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 522

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

7

Various white men

Various tales of atrocities told at camp

Eye­witness and second hand

Plausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 553

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late 1831

St Mary’s Plains, near Hampshire Hills

4 (3)

Alexander McKay and two VDL Co men

Shot natives during attempt to capture group

Second hand, third hand

Plausible 3 killed, Plomley FM p 686 n 18

Friendly Mission pp 565, 583, 588, 603, 607, 685–6, 691, 695

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date

 

 

Place

 

 

Number claimed killed

 

 

 

Identity of killer(s)

 

 

 

Circumstances

 

 

Source

 

 

Reliability

 

 

Reference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

1

Stock­keepers

Shot a woman in a cherry tree

Third hand

Highly

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 595

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

2 or 3

Stock­keepers

Their practice to shoot women

Third hand

Highly im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 595

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

N/a

N/a

Stock­keepers

Cut off penis and testicles of natives

Third hand

Highly Im­plausible

Friendly Mission p 595

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Pieman River

1

White men

Shot woman in the head

Second hand

Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 646

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Port Davey

1

Soldier

N/a

Second hand

Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 742

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Along west coast

Numerous

White men

N/a

Second hand

Highly Implausible

(Aborig.)

Friendly Mission p 788

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/a

Nile River, near Ben Lomond

1

Man passing Glover’s farm

Shot black and buried him in tree

Second hand

Implausible

Friendly Mission p 833

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 1830

Little Swan Port

6

Raid on native camp by white settlers

Wood cutters frightened by natives. Returned and raided camp.

Eye-witness

Implausible. Tongerlong-erter invented the story (Aborig.)

Weep in Silence pp 325, 627 n 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 August 1834

Hamilton

1

Shepherd

Natives attacked shepherd and one shot

Second hand

Highly Plausible

Friendly Mission pp 925–6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where number of killings is ‘several’ ‘many’ or ‘a tribe’, the figure of 5 has been allocated.

 

* N/a = not available

** Aborig. = At least one of the informants was an Aborigine

 

Table Eight: Totals

Total number of separate incidents: 53

Maximum number of killings claimed: 188

Total number of plausible killings reported by all informants: 50

Total number of plausible killings reported by Aboriginal informants: 33

 

Sources: N. J. B. Plomley (ed.), Friendly Mission: The Tasmanian Journals and Papers of George Augustus Robinson 1829–1834, Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Hobart, 1966; N. J. B. Plomley (ed.), Weep in Silence: A History of the Flinders Island Aboriginal Settlement, with the Flinders Island Journal of George Augustus Robinson 1835–1839, Blubber Head Press, Hobart, 1987