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 men 1840 - Boney Point - "Angus McMillan and his men took a heavy toll of Aboriginal lives" 1841 - Butchers Creek - 30-35 shot by Angus McMillan's men 1841 - Maffra - unknown number shot by Angus McMillan's men 1842 - Skull Creek - unknown number killed 1842 - Bruthen Creek - "hundreds killed" 1843 - Warrigal Creek - between 60 and 180 shot by Angus McMillan and his men 1844 - Maffra - unknown number killed 1846 - South Gippsland - 14 killed 1846 - Snowy River - 8 killed by Captain Dana and the Aboriginal Police 1846-47 - 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 killed 1850 - Murrindal - 16 poisoned 1850 - Brodribb River - 15-20 killedGippsland 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