McKay’s party confront a party of Aboriginal people near Beltana, three shot and killed, 27 November 1863

Date: 27 Nov 1863
Place: Werrionta Creek, near Beltana
On 27 November, a party of forty to fifty Aboriginal people stole sheep from Capt McKay's run near Beltana. A second shepherd, Frew, was attacked near Werrionta Creek. Six or seven men sought refuge in the station kitchen and fired upon the party. McKay, the overseer Matheson, and one other man tracked them Werrionta Creek where they were found cooking the sheep. When attacked with waddies and boomerangs, McKay said they were forced to use firearms, resulting in the death of three Aboriginal people and the wounding of others.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)
Notes:
LocationAccuracy: Approximate

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  • McKay’s party confront a party of Aboriginal people near Beltana, three shot and killed, 27 November 1863
    27 Nov 1863 — Werrionta Creek, near Beltana
    On 27 November, a party of forty to fifty Aboriginal people stole sheep from Capt McKay's run near Beltana. A second shepherd, Frew, was attacked near Werrionta Creek. Six or seven men sought refuge in the station kitchen and fired upon the party. McKay, the overseer Matheson, and one other man tracked them Werrionta Creek where they were found cooking the sheep. When attacked with waddies and boomerangs, McKay said they were forced to use firearms, resulting in the death of three Aboriginal people and the wounding of others.
    (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