Site NameOrara River, near Seelands
Aboriginal Place Name
Language GroupBundjalung
Present State/TerritoryNSW
Colony/State/Territory at the timeNSW
Police DistrictGrafton
Latitude-29.631
Longitude152.812
DateBetween 1 Apr 1841 and 30 Apr 1841
Attack TimeDawn
VictimsAboriginal People
Victim Descriptions
Victims Killed20
Victims Killed NotesMore than 20 men, women and children.
AttackersColonists
Attacker DescriptionsGovernment Official(s), Settler(s), Stockmen/Drover(s)
Attackers Killed0
Attackers Killed Notes
TransportHorse
MotiveReprisal
Weapons UsedFirearm(s), Carbine(s), Cutlass/Cutlasses, Blade(s)
NarrativeAccording to historian David Kent, in April 1841, in reprisal for alleged stock theft from Ramornie station on the Clarence River by Bundjalung warriors, CLC Oakes of Clarence PD swore in stockmen as special constables to surround a Bundjalung camp at night and at daybreak charged and killed indiscriminately Bundjalung men, women and children (Kent, 2006, p 36-41). According to Kent a man named Lynch was later charged with the stock theft.
SourcesKent, 2006, pp 36-41. (Sources PDF)
Corroboration Rating*