Attack at Hornet Bank Station
Event details:
Location
Hornet Bank Station
Date
October 29, 1857
Nature of Event
Attack on Europeans/Others
Minimum number of people killed
11
Names of people killed and details
John Fraser (23), Martha Fraser (43), David Fraser (16), James Fraser (6), Elizabeth Fraser (19), Mary Fraser (11), Ann Jane Fraser (9), Charlotte Fraser (3), Henry Nagle (27) (tutor), Bernado/Benmado (hutkeeper), and R.S. Newman (30) (shepherd)
Perpetrators
Aboriginal People
description of event
“FRIGHTFUL MURDERS BY THE BLACKS AT THE UPPER DAWSON RIVER
It is with feelings of unfeigned sorrow that we have to record another case of wholesale slaughter, by the aboriginal natives, at the Hornet Bank, on the Upper Dawson River, the station of Mrs. Fraser, which occurred on the morning of Thursday, the 29th ultimo, on which occasion eleven of our fellow creatures were murdered in cold blood, under circumstances of extreme barbarity.
The following particulars of this dreadful occurrence have been furnished by Master Fraser, a youth of fifteen years of age, and the only survivor of twelve persons, who were on the station at the time. It appears, that before sunrise on the morning of the day above mentioned, the head-station was surrounded by upwards of 100 blacks, fully armed, and that the first intimation the survivor had of their presence was the sound of voices in one of the outer apartments, and suspecting that it came from the blacks, he immediately rose from his bed and armed himself with a gun, when several of the miscreants rushed into the room, and while in the act of presenting it at one of them, he was struck with a waddie at the back of his head, and laid prostrate on the floor. He then managed to secrete himself under the bed, while the work of destruction went on in the other apartments. The blacks then quickly dispatched the other sons of Mrs Fraser, of the respective ages of twenty-two, sixteen, and seven years, while in their beds, before the unfortunates were aware of the proximity of such dangerous and remorseless enemies. The wretches then murdered Mr. Nagle, the tutor to the family, who was formerly in the office of the Englishman newspaper, in Sydney.
Having, as they thought, deprived the whole of the males of life, the villains then enticed the unfortunate mother and her helpless daughters out of the house, promising that they would do them no harm and telling them not to be afraid. The sequel proved how little their treacherous promises were to be relied on; for no sooner had they made their appearance outside the house, than they were treated in the same brutal manner as the infidel Sepoys did the ladies and children in India, and were afterwards cruelly murdered. The ages of the daughters respectively were twenty, eleven, seven, and four years. Still thirsting for blood, the wretches then proceeded to a hut, about fifty yards distant from the house, and there murdered a man named Newman, and a German named Bernangle, under similar atrocious circumstances.
Having accomplished this fearful work of death, the miscreants plundered the house of nearly everything they could conveniently carry away, and departed, driving before them a flock of sheep in the direction of another sheep station, but it is not at present known whether they committed any more outrages on this occasion.”
Cause/REason:
Thomas Boulton (superintendent of Euroombah station) alleged that the cause was the NMP camp on Euroombah/Hornet Bank and the Police taking women and men to labour for them: 'Not long after Mr. Ross arrived here, he thought proper to make Hornet Bank his quarters. Accordingly, he passed here on his way to that station with his detachment of Native Police, and five or six gins. three of the latter belonging to a tribe of blacks in this neighbourhood. Some time afterwards, during my absence from home, Lieut. Ross took a mob of blacks up to Hornet Bank, entirely against the Messrs. Frasers' wishes as well as mine. I believe they were taken up there for the purpose of working as servants for the police, i.e., drawing water, cutting wood, bark, &c.; getting up their horses and making themselves generally useful to them. Matters went on in this way, however, tolerably well until the police began to make free with the women belonging to the blacks in question, which led to frequent collision between the latter and the police. One or two facts, amongst many of a similar nature, I will here mention, as they came under my own observation. A blackfellow named Caragejie went to the Police Camp at Hornet Bank one evening, and demanded that his gin, who was in their hands, should be restored. After taking her away, she returned to the Police Camp, and on his applying for her a second time he was bound with hands and feet together with two pair of handcuffs, by the police, and so kept until the next morning. On another occasion, some half-dozen policemen, without an officer, came down here in the evening from Hornet Bank, drew rations as usual from the store, and retired for the night a short distance from my house, with exception of one man, whom I allowed to sleep in the house. About midnight, I was awakened by a wild blackfellow coming to my window and shouting out the name of his gin, with other words, which I did not understand. I got up and, suspecting that his gin was with the police, I sent the man above mentioned to desire his comrades at once to send back the gin in question, which was done. I took the first opportunity to acquaint Mr. Ross with this affair but he merely laughed at it. However, he thought it proper to warn him that if such gross conduct on the part of his men were repeated, I would make it my business to report the same to headquarters, as I was determined not to allow such things to go on *** the station. Once again, I heard the police ordering the blacks to fetch water for their use as usual: the blacks hesitated, when two policemen presented pistols at, and threatened to shoot, them if they did not immediately comply. This disgraceful state of things continued for several months, during which time the police and blacks were in the habit of hunting together on the Euroonbah Run, and robbing the shepherds' huts. I should not have known that any of these thefts had been actually committed, — though I long suspected it — had I not been told that such was the fact by the late Mrs. Fraser, whose information on the subject was derived from the gins kept by the police.' (North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser 12 January 1858, p3)