Gippsland massacres

The Aboriginal people of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, known as the Gunai/Kurnai people, fought against the European invasion of their land. The technical superiority of the Europeans' weapons gave the Europeans an absolute advantage. At least 300 people were killed, but other figures estimate up to 1,000; however, it is extremely difficult to be certain about the real death toll as so few records still exist or were even made at the time. Diseases introduced from the 1820s by European sealers and whalers also caused a rapid decline in Aboriginal numbers. The following list was compiled from such things as letters and diaries.

1840 - Nuntin- unknown number killed by Angus McMillan's men1840 - Boney Point - "Angus McMillan and his men took a heavy toll of Aboriginal lives"1841 - Butchers Creek - 30-35 shot by Angus McMillan's men1841 - Maffra - unknown number shot by Angus McMillan's men1842 - Skull Creek - unknown number killed1842 - Bruthen Creek - "hundreds killed"1843 - Warrigal Creek - between 60 and 180 shot by Angus McMillan and his men1844 - Maffra - unknown number killed1846 - South Gippsland - 14 killed1846 - Snowy River - 8 killed by Captain Dana and the Aboriginal Police1846-47 - Central Gippsland - 50 or more shot by armed party hunting for a white woman supposedly held by Aborigines; no such woman was ever found.1850 - East Gippsland - 15-20 killed1850 - Murrindal - 16 poisoned1850 - Brodribb River - 15-20 killed

Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick wrote in a letter home to his relatives in England in 1846:

Refer to an article by a Gippsland journalist, Andrew Rule, published in The Age.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/04/26/1019441303552.html