Police expedition to Coffin Bay to capture murderers of Frank Hawson, 10 & 11 January 1841

Date: 10 Jan 1841
Place: Coffin Bay, Port Lincoln
On 10 January 1841, a police party travelled to Coffin Bay in an attempt to capture the murderers of Frank Hawson. Clamor Schürmannn and two Aboriginal men, Getalla and Menntalta accompanied the expedition. They came upon a group of between 30-40 people. Six men grabbed their spears and ran towards the police group. On seeing they were not being attacked, they dropped their spears and cried out ‘Ngai malpu makka? Ngai makka’ (I am not the murderer, not I), and asserrted that Mangelti and Mingalti were the murderers.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)
Notes:
LocationAccuracy: Close

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Event mentions

  • Police expedition to Coffin Bay to capture murderers of Frank Hawson, 10 & 11 January 1841
    10 Jan 1841 — Coffin Bay, Port Lincoln
    On 10 January 1841, a police party travelled to Coffin Bay in an attempt to capture the murderers of Frank Hawson. Clamor Schürmannn and two Aboriginal men, Getalla and Menntalta accompanied the expedition. They came upon a group of between 30-40 people. Six men grabbed their spears and ran towards the police group. On seeing they were not being attacked, they dropped their spears and cried out ‘Ngai malpu makka? Ngai makka’ (I am not the murderer, not I), and asserrted that Mangelti and Mingalti were the murderers.
    (See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)
    Source: Robert Foster, Skye Krichauff and Amanda Nettelbeck, The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 2024, http://ua.edu.au/south-australian-frontier