Around April 1845, Pityarri was shot by a sailor who was one of four men left to guard the wreck of a whaling ship in Streaky Bay. Dogs belonging to the sailor attacked a group of Aboriginal people who killed the dogs. The sailor alleged he fired in self-defence, killing a man named Pityarri and wounding another. The Aboriginal version of events was provided by Nauo man Yunbalta who was in the vicinity at the time.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)