| Narrative | This incident is the first recorded frontier massacre in Australia. According to David Collins (Collins in Fletcher 1975, p 326), 'At the Hawkesbury, … a settler there and his servant were nearly murdered in their sleep by some natives from the woods, who stole upon them with such secrecy, as to wound and overpower them before they could procure assistance. The servant was so much hurt by them with spears and clubs, as to be in danger of losing his life. A few days after this circumstance, a body of natives having attacked the settlers, and carried off all their clothes and provisions, and whatever else they could lay their hands on, the sufferers [on 1 September 1795] collected what arms they could, and following them, seven or eight of the plunderers were killed on the spot' (Collins in Fletcher 1975, Vol.1, p 326). Historian Ian Turbet notes that this 'was the largest recorded number of Aborigines killed in a single encounter since the arrival of the First Fleet' (Turbet, 2011, p 81). According to historian Stephen Gapps, Parramatta magistrate Richard Atkins also recorded the massacre, and said that six Bediagal were killed (Gapps 2018, p.109). |
