Sometime between September and November 1848, nine Aboriginal people, comprising old men, women and children were killed on Avenue Range Station, and an attempt made to burn their bodies. Investigations by the Protector of Aborigines led him to believe that they had been shot by the station owner, James Brown, and his hutkeeper, Eastwood. James Brown was charged with murder, but Eastwood fled the colony. Attempts to secure witnesses were unsuccessful and the case against Brown was dropped.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)