Musquito (c. 1780, Port Jackson – 25 February 1825, Hobart) (also rendered Mosquito, Musquetta, Bush Muschetta or Muskito) was an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

resistance leader, latterly based in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

New South Wales and Norfolk Island

Musquito of the Gai-Mariagal clan, was born in Hawkesbury/Broken Bay region of Sydney. Musquito engaged in violent raids on British settlements in the Hawkesbury and Georges River areas in 1805. The

Sydney Gazette ''The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' was the first newspaper printed in Australia, running from 5 March 1803 until 20 October 1842. It was a semi-official publication of the government of New South Wales, authorised by Govern ...

reported that he committed to further raids "in good English"; on 9 June 1805 the colony authorities authorised his arrest. He was captured by local

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

people in July 1805 and gaoled in Parramatta, but not charged. Governor

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence an ...

exiled him and a fellow "principal" in the raiding, "Bull Dog", to the convict colony on

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together w ...

. As part of the evacuation of Norfolk Island, Musquito was sent in January 1813 on the ship ''Minstrel'' with other convicts to Port Dalrymple in what was then called Van Diemen's Land.

To Van Diemen's Land

In 1814, Musquito's brother Philip convinced governor

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

to allow Musquito to return to Sydney, but Musquito remained in Van Diemen's Land. Musquito worked as an Aboriginal tracker of bushrangers. For his services as a tracker of bushrangers, Musquito was promised repatriation to Sydney by lieutenant-governor William Sorell in 1817, but this did not occur. By February 1818 he was a servant of the prominent and wealthy settler and entrepreneur, Edward Lord, and some sources say that in October 1818 he helped track and kill bushranger Michael Howe. Ostracised by the convicts, and disillusioned by Sorell's broken promise to return Musquito to Sydney, Musquito decided to leave the settlement for the bush.

The "tame gang", raids and execution

Musquito formed the "tame gang", of 20 to 30 companions, and joined the

Oyster Bay tribe Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all ...

(of Great Oyster Bay). In November 1823 and later in 1824, Musquito and the tame gang raided farms on the east coast of Tasmania and killed several stockmen. In August 1824, he was captured and wounded by Tegg (also rendered Teague), an Aboriginal boy. Musquito was charged with aiding and abetting the murder of a

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Aust ...

an farm hand named Mammoa and settler George Meredith's servant, William Hollyoak, at Grindstone Bay, and tried in December 1824 along with a comrade called "Black Jack". Musquito was found guilty of the death of Hollyoak, but not of Mammoa, and was sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out at Old Hobart Gaol on 25 February 1825. Historian

Naomi Parry Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bor ...

describes the evidence arrayed against Musquito for aiding and abetting as "dubious" and says that after his death it "remained unclear whether Musquito committed any murders". Musquito's contemporary Henry Melville called the conviction a "most extraordinary precedent" and Gilbert Robertson said it provoked further violence.

References

From schools

External links

Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{authority control Indigenous Australian bushrangers Australian outlaws 1780 births 1825 deaths 19th-century Australian people Van Diemen's Land people

New South Wales and Norfolk Island

To Van Diemen's Land

The "tame gang", raids and execution

See also

References

External links