Southern Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1838 - 1844), Friday 23 April 1841, page 2


THE MILMENRURA MURDERS.

A letter was received in Town, on Monday last, with a sight of which we have been favored by Major O'Halloran, stating that Dr Penny had received intelligence from one of the natives at Encounter Bay, as to the spot in which the re-mains of Captain Barker; the celebrated Australian explorer-murdered several years ago-were deposited. On going down the Murray, Dr Penny found at the spot, to which he had been directed not Captain Barker's remains - but those of four more of the passengers of the Maria, thus making twenty-three out of twenty-four, of which number the passengers and crew were composed,

whose remains have now been discovered. A complete list of the names of these ill-fated per-sons, not having as yet been published, is given below:-

PASSENGERS.—Samuel Denham and Wife Children—Thomas Denham, Andrew Denham, Walter Denham, Fanny Denham, Anna Den-ham; George Young Green, and Wife, Thomas Daniel, and Wife, James Strutt, Mrs. York, Mrs. Smith; Mr Murray. —William Smith, master.

SEAMEN.—John Tegg, John Griffiths, John Deagan, James Biggins, John Cowley, Thomas Rea ; George Leigh, boy; James Parsons, Cook.

The melancholy fact that the remains of only one is now missing is a sufficient proof of the

ruthless barbarity and unrestrained ferocity, of the hostile Milmenrura Murderers. Dr Penny,

it seems, met some of the tribe on his journey, who had European money in their possession,

which he received from them, and which he is to deliver up to his Excellency the Governor.

Since the above was in type, we have been favoured by the Private Secretary with the follow-ing official communication upon the subject :—

Adelaide, April 19,1841.

SIR,—I feel much gratified by your favour of

the 8th instant, and am glad that my report has met with his Excellency's approval. I beg leave to forward to you for the information of his Excel-lency the Governor his account of three days and

a half that I have been down the S.E. branch of Lake Alexandrina, during which time I found four more bodies of the crew of the "Maria" not previously discovered and obtained eleven pounds

in gold and silver, and a coin valued four shillings from the Tonkinya tribe. The place where the remains were found is called Noongong, and is the

point nearly opposite where the two natives were executed. There was no other white person with me, but a crew of eight natives of our tribes. The behaviour of most of these, under the circumstances

in which we were placed, was higly creditable, and may serve to show how unfounded are the prejudices of those who affirm that no faith or re liance can be placed on the native character.

Saturday, April 10th—One of the natives having told me last night that he knew where a white man had been buried by the natives, some time since, who was drowned in swimming across the branch ; and thinking, from the short distance at which he described the place to be, that it was the body of Captain Barker, and expecting to re-turn the same day, started from the Goolwa at day break, in the boat under my charge, with a crew of eight natives, with only a small quantity of biscuit and sugar. Having a favorable wind, we soon went beyond the distance at which I antici-

pated the place to he, but as it was, they said, not far, and Peter told me that his brother would get me some money, I determined to run on so far only, that I could return next day. We arrived at the place—Nooogong—about five o'clock, and having chosen a secure place for remaining the night, walked over the point to a small creek be-yond, where, in the midst of a a small plain, un-der a prominent rock, perforated in a singular way, there were four European bodies, three men and one woman ; one of the men was drowned, the rest had fallen victims to the natives. The remains of the woman were dried, and pre-sented the appearance of a mummy. I covered them up in a more decent manner. Whilst this was doing, there were about twenty natives with their families at a gun shot distance. The natives who were with me, were very much shocked, and did nothing but cry "poor white man—poor white lubra !" and begged me to shoot at these people, and they were very angry that I would not do it. Peter's brother, who sometimes stays with this tribe, came over when he saw who we were. He said this tribe—the Tenkinyra—had some money, and that one of the lubras had it in a stocking, at a point farther down, and he would get it in the night, if I would run down then with the boat, to meet him by daylight. As the weather had every appearance of being stormy, I declined doing so, when he said he would try and get some from those there, if I would look out for him about daylight. Having gone up to the top of the point, early in the morning, I soon saw Peter's brother running across the plains towards us, with some of the rest running after him ; when they saw me they stop-ped, and put their waddies behind the bushes. Peter's brother run down to the boat with the money, and having sent my gun to the same place, the natives came up and went there with me to have some biscuit. I gave them the only shirt and blanket I had, for eleven pounds, four shillings in specie. I questioned the party, who consisted of two of the Milmenrura tribe, and thirteen of the Tenkinyra and Toora tribes, through my natives, as to the murder, which they confessed to have perpetrated, but showed apparent regret for their crime. I gathered from them, that they had brought the whole people up a long way, showed them water, fished and carried their children for them a long time. That, when they came to the point, they could not take them any further, as their country ends there, and the piccannini Mur-ray, begins. They then claimed some clothes and blankets for their trouble, but the white people refused to give them yet said, if they would take them to Adelaide, they should have plenty. This they could not do, so they began to help them selves, and, this being resisted, ended in the mur-der of the whole. The white men did fight for some time, but they broke their arms with waddies and speared them. They were also jealous of the next tribe into whose territory they would then have passed, and who being in the habit of visiting Adelaide, could have taken them up and obtained the reward promised to them, Sunday and Mon-day the weather was so heavy that they could not pull the boat against the wind. I got them to go out and track along the shallows, during both these days. We arrived at the Goolwa about one o'clock on Tuesday, having no food since Monday at day break, and the rain and wind so great that we could not approach birds, nor the natives catch fish, and being without shirt or blanket. On Monday four natives left me, but I persuaded one of them to come back, the others told me not to mind as they would not run away. They were working up to their arms in water all the two days.

Wishing to know what his Excellency may direct to be done with this money.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

RICHARD PENNY.

GEO. HALL, Esq.

Private. Secretary.