Events in this conflict will be added as Australian Wars and Resistance research continues.

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]]> 1824-01-01 1824-12-31 152.747,-31.327 #TLCMapStyle The Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Observer, September 16, 1941, p4. It remains unclear whether the Mr Wilson referred to was the father of Henry Wilson, Mr William Wilson, Overseer of Public Works at Port Macquarie, or Lieutenant William Earle Bulwer Wilson who was Engineer and Inspector of Public Works. They were both in Port Macquarie at the time (pp17-28, Morris, 2005).

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]]> 1825-11-15 1825-11-30 151.14,-32.445 #TLCMapStyle The Australian September 23, 1826, p 3). Governor Darling enclosed Scott's report of the massacre in his dispatch November 1826, ML A 1197, vol.8, p.344. Historian Mark Dunn provides the most recent account of the massacre (Dunn 2020, 167-171). Cotter argues that James Bowman's Ravensworth Estate, neighbouring Lethbridge's, was the 'epicentre' of conflict in the region (Cotter, 2022 p 4).

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]]> 1826-09-01 1826-09-01 151.638,-32.697 #TLCMapStyle Australian and the Monitor, reported that Aboriginal people's dogs had been attacking sheep and that a shepherd on EG Cory's estate at the Paterson River in the Hunter Valley had killed a dog belonging to Aboriginal people (Wonnarua). In reprisal, Wonnarua warriors wounded the shepherd and set fire to grass and wheat on Mr Cory's estate. The newspapers added that 2 mounted police dispatched after the event were ineffective. On 22 March the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser reported that, 'about a dozen black natives have been shot in the neighbourhood of Hunter's River, within 10 or 12 miles of Mr. Magistrate McLeod's estate;' and lamented that no Justice of the Peace was near enough to investigate. It added, 'The natives were in the act of retreating, laden with produce of the maize field, and were so courageous and impudent as to irritate the whites and attack them with spears, when, in self-defence (we believe) twelve of the blacks were left dead on the field.' Two days later on 24 March, the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser connected this incident with Mr Cory's property, saying that flocks had been attacked by dogs and spears were thrown at the shepherd. After retreating to a hut the shepherd was joined by another servant, and they shot and killed 12 Aboriginal people (although it seems unlikely that 2 men could kill so many Aboriginal people in one operation). The incident was clarified fifty years later. On 25 August 1877, the Maitland Mercury recorded that, 'a man who was present, as he admits, when a party had formed for the purpose of punishing the blacks for pulling cobs of maize in the field, and carrying it off in their nets to their camps. Observing some smoke rising from the midst of the Wallalong Brush, they armed themselves with muskets, and reached unobserved to the camp, where a considerable number of men, women and children were. They fired at once upon them, killing some and wounding others. The rest fled through the bush, pursued by the whites, and then the whole of the natives took to the water intervening between the brush and the high land, towards which it gradually deepened, and some of the poor creatures drowned. My informant, now a very old man, while expressing regret as to occurrence, said the worst part of the whole all was, they afterwards discovered, that not one of those who were "wanted" was among them.' (Maitland Mercury, August 25,1877, p10) The witness appears to have been an overseer at the Cory estate in 1827 and waited until Cory in died on 7 March 1873 before revealing his involvement in the massacre.

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]]> 1828-01-01 1828-12-31 150.379,-31.815 #TLCMapStyle The Monitor newspaper, 4 August 1828, p.8, 'Dr Little, of Upper Hunters River,' crossed the Liverpool Range 'and, on coming to a hut, found, to his horror and astonishment, the bodies of some half dozen of black natives, stretched along the earth. From the putrid state of the corpses, it was evident they had been slaughtered a long time. He pursued his journey till he fell in with the white people, stock-keepers and others. He learnt from them, that a large body of blacks had suddenly made their appearance, but whether they paid their visit hostilely, or merely came in great numbers for self-protection, the stock-keepers admitted they could not tell. However, acting in concert, our people commenced a destructive fire of musquetry upon them, and the blacks presently fled. Such were the circumstances of the fight, that some of the black fugitives on being pursued, ascended the trees in hopes of escaping, whence they were brought down by the balls of the assailants.' According to Milliss 1992, p 78-82, at least ten stockmen were involved in the attack on an Aboriginal camp in reprisal for cattle theft. Three stockmen, 'Captain Pike' and two others nicknamed 'The Barber' and 'The Londoner' were 'remarkably active' in the affair. Milliss indicates that more Aboriginal people were killed for it took the stockmen several days to burn the bodies. Despite two letters from other settlers reporting the incident to the Colonial Secretary, the incident was not followed up.

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