| Site Name | Avenue Range station, near Guichen Bay |
| Aboriginal Place Name | |
| Language Group | Wattatonga |
| Present State/Territory | SA |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | SA |
| Police District | Kingston |
| Latitude | -36.942 |
| Longitude | 140.14 |
| Date | Between 1 Sep 1848 and 30 Sep 1848 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal People |
| Victim Descriptions | Aboriginal |
| Victims Killed | 9 |
| Victims Killed Notes | an old man, 'blind and infirm', 3 women, 2 teenage girls, 3 female children |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Settler(s), Stockmen/Drover(s) |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | Foot |
| Motive | Opportunity |
| Weapons Used | Firearm(s), Musket(s) |
| Narrative | In September 1848 settler James Brown and two employees at Avenue Range station near Guichen Bay, shot and killed eight Wattatonga people and burnt the bodies. The body burning was witnessed by a white man who reported the massacre and then disappeared along with an Aboriginal man who was also a witness. Brown was arrested and charged with murder and the employees absconded. The Aboriginal witness was probably killed before he could be subpoenaed to give evidence at the trial. As a result Brown was never tried and the case was dropped (Foster et al, 2001, pp 78-80; Foster, 2009, pp 1-15). |
| Sources | Foster and Nettelbeck, 2001, pp 78-80; Foster, 2009, pp 1-15. (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | ** |
