Site Name | Bentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria |
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place Name | |
Language Group, Nation or People | Kaiadilt |
Present State/Territory | QLD |
Colony/State/Territory at the time | QLD |
Police District | Burketown |
Latitude | -17.046 |
Longitude | 139.496 |
Date | Between 1 Jan 1918 and 31 Dec 1918 |
Attack Time | Day |
Victims | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People |
Victim Descriptions | Aboriginal |
Victims Killed | 11 |
Victims Killed Notes | Men, women, children |
Attackers | Colonists |
Attacker Descriptions | Settler(s) |
Attackers Killed | 0 |
Attackers Killed Notes | |
Transport | Horse |
Motive | Opportunity |
Weapons Used | Firearm(s) |
Narrative | According 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). |
Sources | Bottoms, 2013, p 169; Kelly & Evans, 1985, pp 44-45; Tindale, 1962a; Tindale, 1962b (Sources PDF) |
Corroboration Rating | *** |