| Narrative | Prior to the poisoning, 300 Aboriginal people lead by Purtkeun, one of five Yowen gundidj
clan leaders, raided Tarrone Station. Dr James Kilgour of Tarrone Station mustered 40 colonists from neighboring runs and attacked a camp, killing three or four Yowen or Tarrone gundidj people (Clark, 1995 p 43). According to Ian Clark (1995, pp 43-44): 'In October 1842, Dr John Watton, medical officer who had charge of the Mt Rouse protectorate station, investigated a case of alleged poisoning at James Kilgour's station' at Tarrone, 19 kilometres north of Port Fairy. Three Aboriginal men, three women and three children died from poisoning. Watton reported to Chief Protector GA Robinson, that 'it appears that the then overseer, Mr Robinson had sent away into the bush to some natives ... a quantity of what was supposed to be flour. Of this they partook, and were immediately seized with burning pains in the stomach, vomiting, sinking of the abdomen and intense thirst (which are the symptoms usually produced by arsenic); on the following morning three men, three women and three children were dead' (Watton cited in Clark, 1995, p 44). 'The bodies were burned, and Watton could not find any white witnesses. Despite the fact that Watton established that [overseer] Robinson had received a large quantity of arsenic just before the incident, there was not enough proof to convict Robinson or his associates' (Clark, 1995, p 44). 'On March 17, 1843, Superintendent La Trobe informed the Colonial Secretary in Sydney of the reported poisoning at Kilgour's station, noting that attempts to discover the responsible parties had proved ineffective' (La Trobe cited in Clark 1995, pp 44-45). GA Robinson recorded in his diary on 29 August 1842 that Kilgour lost his licence for reporting false information concerning the Aborigines (Clark, 1998c, p 89). |
