Charles Christian Dutton | |
---|---|
Born | |
Disappeared | 1842 Colony of South Australia |
Cause of death | Presumed homicide |
Occupation | Pastoralist |
Known for | Disappearance and presumed murder |
Charles Christian Dutton (presumed died 1842) was a pastoralist in the Colony of South Australia who disappeared, believed murdered by Aboriginal people, while driving cattle from Port Lincoln to Adelaide in July 1842.
Dutton was born in England, a son of John Dutton. In the 1830s he ran a store in Singleton, New South Wales with his brother Henry Pelerin Dutton (c.1803 – 30 January 1870); the partnership broke up in 1837. [1] H. P. Dutton (for a time reported as "Henry Pelham Dutton"), then ran a property on the nearby (St.) Patrick's Plains, became insolvent in 1844, and took up a pastoral lease in Queensland. Henry was the father of Queensland politician Charles Dutton.[ citation needed ]
Charles Dutton arrived in South Australia on the Abeona from Hobart in March 1838. He may have gone back to England then returned with his wife Ellen, née White, on the Dorset in January 1839. In Adelaide he was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court, and acted for a time as sheriff.[ citation needed ]
Dutton managed a cattle station named "Pillaworta", near Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula, on behalf of pastoralist Charles Driver. In July 1842 he decided to abandon it through fear of the local Aboriginal people, either the Nauo or Barngarla people, who were making hostile raids. Having taken his wife and children back to Adelaide by ship, he picked up a scratch team of Graham, Cox, Haldane and Brown (a former Adelaide policeman) to drove his cattle overland to safety near Adelaide. For the first day they had Lieutenant Hugonin of the 96th Regiment of Foot as an armed escort. Setting forth with 250 cattle in the direction of present Port Augusta, Dutton and his associates were never seen again, and no trace was ever found. There were indications are that the entire party of five men were killed by Barngarla warriors somewhere near present Whyalla. [2]
There had been an attack by Aboriginal people on the nearby farm of Rolles Biddle, a Quaker cousin of Samuel and Frederick White, associates of Herbert B. Hughes. Biddle was killed, along with Mrs Stubbs and shepherd James Fastins on 29 March 1842. [3]
Several months later, when Dutton's party did not arrive as expected, search parties were launched. The most immediate, setting out in September 1842, was a determined party of four young pastoralist volunteers comprising the brothers G.C. Hawker and J.C. Hawker, William Peter, and James Baker. [4] [5] Governor Grey considered that this volunteer party was too small and ordered police inspector Alexander Tolmer, plus four troopers, to accompany them, but Tolmer fell out with the independent "gentlemen" and so returned to Adelaide, while the pastoralists not only continued on to Port Lincoln, but also chartered a vessel for a coastal search. Governor Grey then ordered the petulant Tolmer back into the search, but under the command of Edward John Eyre, supported by Thomas Burr. None of these searchers found any trace of the five men, although some of their cattle were later found wandering.[ citation needed ]
An unknown number of Aboriginal people were killed by soldiers in retribution for the presumed killings of the colonists. [6]
Dutton Bay (now Mount Dutton Bay) near Port Lincoln, was named after him. [7]
Charles Christian Dutton was married to Ellen Dutton, née White, ( –1853). Their children included:
His widow married again, in Port Lincoln on 3 September 1845, to Thomas Bond Hawson.[ citation needed ]
Sydney businessman John Alexander Dutton (c.1800 – 13 February 1849) was also a brother. Another possible relation was Rose Ann Dutton (d. 20 October 1836). She married John Laurio Platt (1784 – 20 May 1836) in Heligoland around 1815; they later moved to New South Wales in the Providence under Captain Herd, settling in Sandgate in 1822. [9] Platt was a pioneer of the Patrick's Plains area near Singleton, New South Wales. [10]
They were not immediately related to the well-known family of Frederick Hansborough Dutton (1812-1890), founder of Anlaby Station in South Australia.
Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngala people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located approximately 280 km (170 mi) as the crow flies from the state's capital city of Adelaide.
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
The City of Port Lincoln is a local government area located on the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It consists of one suburb - Port Lincoln. It is surrounded on land by the District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula, which also has offices in Port Lincoln.
The District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula is a local government area located on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district covers the southern tip of the peninsula, except for the small area taken up by the City of Port Lincoln.
Matthew Moorhouse was an English pioneer in Australia, pastoralist, politician, and Protector of Aborigines in South Australia. He was in charge of the armed party that murdered 30-40 Maraura people, which may have included women and children, now known as the Rufus River massacre.
Alexander Tolmer was a South Australian police officer and Police Commissioner. He was educated at Plymouth, Rouen, Maidstone and Hawkhurst. He migrated to South Australia in 1840 where he was made sub-inspector by Governor George Gawler.
The Eyre Peninsula Railway is a 1,067 mm gauge railway on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Radiating out from the ports at Port Lincoln and Thevenard, it is isolated from the rest of the South Australian railway network. It peaked at 777 kilometres in 1950; today only a 60 kilometre section remains open. It is currently operated by Aurizon.
Robert Cock was one of the first European explorers of the Adelaide region of South Australia following the establishment of the colony in December 1836.
Louth Bay is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after the bay named by Matthew Flinders on 26 February 1802 which itself is derived from a place in Lincolnshire. At the 2006 census, Louth Bay had a population of 408.
The Sir Joseph Banks Group is an archipelago in the Australian state of South Australia located in Spencer Gulf about 20 kilometres (12 mi) off the eastern coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consists of 21 islands of which eighteen are in the Sir Joseph Banks Group Conservation Park while the surrounding waters are in the Sir Joseph Banks Group Marine Park. It is considered to be an important seabird breeding site.
William Spence Peter was a pioneer pastoralist of South Australia and New Zealand, and a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 1868 to 1891.
Wooltana Station most commonly known as Wooltana is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in outback South Australia. It lies on what were formerly the lands of the Pilatapa.
Lipson Cove is a tranquil sandy bay in the Australian state of South Australia on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula overlooking Spencer Gulf. It features in the 2012 book 101 Best Australian Beaches by Andy Short and Brad Farmer.
The Rufus River Massacre was a massacre of 30–40 Aboriginal people that took place in 1841 along the Rufus River, in the Central Murray region, after three consecutive ambushes with "overlanders" on the recently opened overland stock route, which followed an old Aboriginal route. The massacre occurred after an official party, including Protector of Aborigines, Matthew Moorhouse, along with police, was sent out by the Governor of South Australia, George Grey.
Mikkira Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in South Australia.
Edward Bate Scott was a pioneering colonist of South Australia who accompanied Edward John Eyre on several journeys and had a later career with the South Australian Police Force.
Herbert Bristow Hughes, generally referred to as "H. B. Hughes", was a pioneer pastoralist in the colony of South Australia.
The Nauo people, also spelt Nawu and Nhawu, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the south-western Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Nauo language became extinct by the twentieth century, but efforts are being made to revive it.
Early Experiences of Colonial Life in South Australia is a book by John Wrathall Bull originally published as "Early Experiences of Colonial Life by An arrival of 1838" as weekly instalments in The Advertiser, repeated in its associated Chronicle and Weekly Mail.
Spilsby Island is one of the largest islands in the Sir Joseph Banks Group in Spencer Gulf, South Australia. It is privately owned, has no permanent human residents and is grazed by sheep. The island was used for the breeding of sheep by James Hunter Kerrison, then for the breeding of horses, sheep, pigs and cattle by W. E. Scruby in the early 20th century. Shearers travelled to the island to shear the sheep. The island's soil has been enriched by the deposition of guano by seabirds. Land allotments and a few shacks are concentrated along the northern coast of the island. Butterfish Bay is on the northern coast and Hawknest Bay is on the eastern coast.