Native Police camp. From here Native Police under William Dana (not to be confused with his brother Henry Dana) set out on a controversial expedition in search of the 'white woman', now generally thought to be mythical, held captive by Bungaleena in Kurnai country. Mr De Villiers and Mr Warman of a independent search party claimed Dana and the native police massacred people at Snowy River. One side of the partisan media at the time had called for the Native Police to find the white woman by force, while another side funded the independent expedition to find her by peaceful means. Police later claimed, and de Villiers only found evidence for, 1 murder. Witnesses mentioned more of varying numbers. What really happened is shrouded in contrary claims, missing police reports, claims of falsification, biased accounts, vested interests and career aspirations and rivalries. There is a difference also between how many were killed in the incident at Snowy River and on the expedition generally. Around 11 years after the events, CCL Tyers, W Dana's superior, said at least 50 Aboriginal people were killed by the parties searching for the white woman.
Sources
ID
ta5e1
Source
Fels, M H Good Men and True: The Aboriginal Police Of The Port Phillip District 1837-1853 PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne, 1986
