Site NameBentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place Name
Language Group, Nation or PeopleKaiadilt
Present State/TerritoryQLD
Colony/State/Territory at the timeQLD
Police DistrictBurketown
Latitude-17.046
Longitude139.496
DateBetween 1 Jan 1918 and 31 Dec 1918
Attack TimeDay
VictimsAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
Victim DescriptionsAboriginal
Victims Killed11
Victims Killed NotesMen, women, children
AttackersColonists
Attacker DescriptionsSettler(s)
Attackers Killed0
Attackers Killed Notes
TransportHorse
MotiveOpportunity
Weapons UsedFirearm(s)
NarrativeAccording to Tim Bottoms, 'In 1914 a man named John McKenzie made an unauthorised attempt to settle on Bentinck Island' (Bottoms, 2013: 169). Dibirdibi (Roma Kelly), a Kaiadilt descendant from Bentinck, told linguist Nicholas Evans what her parents told her, which was that 'During his short time on Bentinck Island, McKenzie systematically tried to eliminate the Kaiadilt, riding across the island on horseback, and shooting down everyone but the girls he intended to rape' (Kelly and Evans, 1985, p. 45). From oral sources Norman Tindale compiled a detailed genealogy from which he estimates that in about 1918 eleven people were killed 'by a white raid' (Tindale, 1962b, p 305). Kelly and Evans estimate this to be 'about 10% of the Kaiadilt population' (Kelly and Evans, 1985, p 45). Tindale gives details of McKenzie's time on Bentinck and Sweers Islands in another article (Tindale, 1962a, pp 266-7).
SourcesBottoms, 2013, p 169; Kelly & Evans, 1985, pp 44-45; Tindale, 1962a; Tindale, 1962b (Sources PDF)
Corroboration Rating***