Allegations that Aboriginal people were beaten by workers on Witera station for stealing sheep, October 1861

Date: 1 Oct 1861
Place: Thompson’s station at Witera
A man reported that Aboriginal people were physically assaulted by Thompson's Witera station. He claimed the owner gathered in Aboriginal people for a 'big breakfast', and that six or seven people were allegedly surrounded by station workers and beaten with a big stick allegedly for having stolen some sheep. One of them, he alleged, was 'beaten until he was nearly dead'. Police investigated but could not prove the allegation.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)
Notes:
LocationAccuracy: Close

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Event mentions

  • Allegations that Aboriginal people were beaten by workers on Witera station for stealing sheep, October 1861
    1 Oct 1861 — Thompson’s station at Witera
    A man reported that Aboriginal people were physically assaulted by Thompson's Witera station. He claimed the owner gathered in Aboriginal people for a 'big breakfast', and that six or seven people were allegedly surrounded by station workers and beaten with a big stick allegedly for having stolen some sheep. One of them, he alleged, was 'beaten until he was nearly dead'. Police investigated but could not prove the allegation.
    (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