Site NameCrampton’s Corner, Maranoa Pastoral District
Aboriginal Place Name
Language GroupGawambaraay or Bigambul?
Present State/TerritoryQLD
Colony/State/Territory at the timeNSW
Police DistrictWarialda
Latitude-28.513
Longitude150.251
DateBetween 1 Jan 1844 and 31 Dec 1847
Attack TimeDay
VictimsAboriginal People
Victim Descriptions
Victims Killed15
Victims Killed NotesKilled: M ‘No less than fifteen’, F; Probable: M F; Possible: M F; Wounded: M F
AttackersColonists
Attacker DescriptionsSettler(s)
Attackers Killed0
Attackers Killed NotesKilled: M F; Wounded: M F
TransportHorse
MotiveOpportunity
Weapons UsedRepeating Rifle(s)
NarrativeThomas Crampton was the first white man to occupy land near Goondiwindi in 1837 and held a working share in the Merewah run, owned by James Howe, a settler from the Hawkesbury and Hunter Rivers. One day Crampton went to check on the cattle at Crampton’s corner and found some Aboriginal men in the tops of some trees armed with spears. He shot and killed ‘no less than fifteen blacks’ (Browne, 1922, pp 22-24; Copland, 1990, pp 18-19).
SourcesCopland, 1990, pp 17-19; Gunn, nd, Letter ‘Goondiwindi and District file’ Royal Queensland Historical Society; Browne, 1922, pp 22-24. (Sources PDF)
Corroboration Rating**