Correspondence with the Colonial Secretary's Office

[written in left margin] Fassifern, County of Churchhill and Ipswich, County of Stanley , Queensland, to wit

Proceedings of a Magisterial enquiry upon view of the bodies, held by me on the third and fourth day of January instant at the head Station Fassifern respecting the death of the three Aboriginals then lying dead in the adjoining Scrub and subsequently adjoined to the times and places mentioned at the foot of the informations of several witnesses taken before me upon oath

[signed] Henry Challinor J.P. 29th January 1861. Ipswich.

Francis Henry Farrington being duly sworn states. I am a carpenter performing a contract for Messrs Hardie & Weinholt of Fassifern. I am working at the head station. I remember the twenty fourth of december last year. About mid-day I heard several shots fired in or about the scrub. It was opposite to where I was working and about three hundred yards off. There were several blacks about the head station. As soon as they heard the firing they looked very frightened and pointed towards the scrub. One of the blacks said to me "Black Police like him come and shoot old man like him camp". Shortly afterwards that is about twenty minutes I saw six troopers of the Native Police and Lieut Wheeler come from the direction of the scrub to the Hardie's house. He dismounted from his horse and gave it to one of the Police. He had a pistol in his hand when he dismounted. He ordered the troopers to camp outside the fence and went into the Hardies house where I was working at the time. I saw Mr. Wheeler give to one of the troopers a piece of paper which he took to the storekeepers and returned with rations. I allowed a blackfellow called Nelson and his gin "Kitty" to sleep in my hut that night as they were afraid to go camp. He said he thought his father was killed for the Black Police had been that day shooting over at the camp and he thought they had shot all the old black-fellows who were there. He said there were four old fellows there. I tried to persuade him they would not shoot them so near the head station but he would not believe me affirming that they were shot. The next morning he wanted to beg an old blanket from me as he thought his own would be burnt. I wanted him to go with me to the camp to look for his blanket and see whether the blackfellows were shot, but he would no go as he was afraid his father was shot. I went and found his blanket. I saw the camp but no blackfellows. The spears of a great many of them were broken. And their shields also. The edge of their tomahawks were beaten flat. And their clothes blankets and "dilleys" were all scattered about. About two hours afterwards I returned in company with Mr Hardie and the overseer _ Jones the Storeeeper _ a labourer called Kirkwood _ and an aboriginal

called "Shepherd Tommy" who lives with Mr Bulbi. Mr Turbayne followed a a few minutes afterwards. While "Turbayne", "Jones" and "Shepherd Tommy" were shooting the black's dogs at the camp. I went into the scrub to drive out the puppies. after I had killed two I went further into the scrub to see if I could see the blackfellows I had heard had been shot. I found three. I saw what I took to be bullet wounds on one blackfellow. This was the first body I saw and was about fourty yards from the camp. I did not examine the other two. One ball seemed to have entered the top of the skull, another the chest, the other was lower down the opposite side. He was lying on his back. One of the bodies had been then burnt. They were all grey headed. One was very much so. Mr Hardie went into the same scrub just before me, but we soon took different directions. Mr Hardie returned from the scrub in about ten minutes. He directed a boy to take up their tin pots. Two blackfellows and a gin followed us to the camp. The gin took up an oppossums rug in which was a puppy when Mr Hardie said "come out of that or you might get shot like the old men" or words to that effect. He afterwards made her kill the puppy. The two blackfellows gathered all the dead dogs into a heap and burnt them with some of the blackfellows clothing. I heard Jones the Storekeeper ask Mr Turbayne "if he had seen him", Mr Turbayne replied "yes" and described to Jones the manner in which he lay. From the description he gave of the manner in which he lay I took it to be the blackfellow who had the appearance of having received the three balls I have before refered to. Mr Turbayne said to Jones in my hearing, "I thought there had been four shot but I have only seen three". I did not hear Jones make any reply. If he made any reply it was it was out of my hearing. This was just before we came away. We were out of the scrub at the time about half an hour. This was on Christmas day. Lieut Wheeler and the Native troopers had left that morning before I went to the scrub the second time. The dogs were Shot about midday.

[signed] Francis Henry Farrington

Taken and acknowledged upon oath on the head Station Fassifern before me on this Third day of January 1861 [signed] Henry Challinor J.P.