| Site Name | Ardgowan Island, Gwydir River |
| Aboriginal Place Name | |
| Language Group | Wiriyaraay or Gamilaraay or Yugambul |
| Present State/Territory | NSW |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | NSW |
| Police District | Muswellbrook |
| Latitude | -29.526 |
| Longitude | 150.334 |
| Date | Between 1 Aug 1838 and 31 Aug 1838 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal People |
| Victim Descriptions | Aboriginal |
| Victims Killed | 9 |
| Victims Killed Notes | Killed: M 9. |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Manager(s), Stockmen/Drover(s) |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | Killed: M |
| Transport | Horse |
| Motive | Opportunity |
| Weapons Used | Firearm(s), Musket(s), Pistol(s) |
| Narrative | In August 1838, Charles Eyles, manager at Crawford's station on the Gwydir River and two stockmen, James Dunn and William Allen, shot and killed nine Gomeroi people on Ardgowan Island on the Gwydir River, and burnt and buried the bodies in a shallow grave. The remains were discovered in February 1839 by two men accompanying Edward Mayne, the Commissioner for Crown Lands in the region (Mayne to Co Sec Thomson, 23-28 Feb 1839, cited in Milliss 1992, p 580-2). Eyles disappeared along with Dunn while Allen was sent by Mayne to Muswellbrook for interview by magistrate Edward Denny Day who charged him with murder. According to Milliss, Allen was never brought to trial (Milliss 1992, p.678). |
| Sources | Milliss 1992, p 580-1, 678. (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | ** |
