Massacre at Langhorne's Ferry/Rufus River, Murray River (1)
In a letter dated 12 July 1841, Matthew Moorhouse, Protector of the Aborigines in South Australia, noted several incidents between the Maruara people at Langhorne Creek and unnamed overlanding parties from Sydney to Adelaide. In December 1839, 'the drays of a cattle party were attempted to be taken at [Langhorne Creek] by a group of Natives. Ten men on horseback all supplied with firearms were on the banks of the River at the time, and repelled the Natives at once by firing upon them. The Natives retreated as soon as they saw one of two of their tribe shot, but were followed for about 15 miles by those on horseback and firing kept up the whole time' (Moorhouse, cited in Burke et al, 2016, p 158).
CorroborationRating: **
LanguageGroup: Marrawarra
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 6
People involved
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Event mentions
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Massacre at Langhorne's Ferry/Rufus River, Murray River (1)1 Dec 1839 – 31 Dec 1839 — Langhorne's Ferry/Rufus River, Murray River (1) — massacre
In a letter dated 12 July 1841, Matthew Moorhouse, Protector of the Aborigines in South Australia, noted several incidents between the Maruara people at Langhorne Creek and unnamed overlanding parties from Sydney to Adelaide. In December 1839, 'the drays of a cattle party were attempted to be taken at [Langhorne Creek] by a group of Natives. Ten men on horseback all supplied with firearms were on the banks of the River at the time, and repelled the Natives at once by firing upon them. The Natives retreated as soon as they saw one of two of their tribe shot, but were followed for about 15 miles by those on horseback and firing kept up the whole time' (Moorhouse, cited in Burke et al, 2016, p 158).