Killing of Whitney and Scott (Tennant’s shepherds), between Mount Brown and Mount Arden, 6 February 1846

Date: 6 Feb 1846
Place: Talta, ‘near Mt Arden’
When two of Mr Tennant’s shepherds, Donald Scott and Charles Whitney, and some sheep went missing in February 1846, the shepherds were initially thought to have absconded. Their remains were found in July 1846. Nakhunda Biddeah (aka Bitherri Pirria) and Meiya Mukarta (aka Taikurri Pirria) were tried at the Supreme Court in March 1847 but liberated due to the lack of an efficient interpreter. This case raised concerns about subjecting Aboriginal people who did not understand English, and for whom no interpreter was available, to British law.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)
Notes:
LocationAccuracy: Close

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Event mentions

  • Killing of Whitney and Scott (Tennant’s shepherds), between Mount Brown and Mount Arden, 6 February 1846
    6 Feb 1846 — Talta, ‘near Mt Arden’
    When two of Mr Tennant’s shepherds, Donald Scott and Charles Whitney, and some sheep went missing in February 1846, the shepherds were initially thought to have absconded. Their remains were found in July 1846. Nakhunda Biddeah (aka Bitherri Pirria) and Meiya Mukarta (aka Taikurri Pirria) were tried at the Supreme Court in March 1847 but liberated due to the lack of an efficient interpreter. This case raised concerns about subjecting Aboriginal people who did not understand English, and for whom no interpreter was available, to British law.
    (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