William Pinkerton (1810–1893) was an early English settler in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He became a major rancher and landowner. He was known for violent retaliation in 1848 against a band of Nauo Aboriginals on his land who had killed one of his shepherds. It was known as the

Waterloo Bay Massacre The Waterloo Bay massacre, also known as the Elliston massacre, was a clash between European settlers and Aboriginal Australians that took place on the cliffs of Waterloo Bay near Elliston, South Australia, in late May 1849. Part of the Austra ...

History

Pinkerton arrived in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1838. By 1840, he had a considerable land holding called 'Studley' on the

River Torrens The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...

, on which he was grazing sheep, cattle, horses and pigs. In 1843, Pinkerton took up land near

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as bo ...

. He also had land in the

Light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

district, and on the

Eyre Peninsula 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. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

around Mount Wedge and Lake Newland. A number of places in

bear Pinkerton's name - Pinkerton Plains and Pinkerton Flat in the Light district, and Pinkerton Creek near Quorn. Relations with the Aboriginal people, who had occupied the territory for 10,000 years, were strained. Pinkerton had often violent encounters with the local Aboriginal people. In 1848, a battle broke out on Pinkerton's Eyre Peninsula station with the local Aboriginal people, who were most likely Nauo. One shepherd on Pinkerton's station was killed with a

waddy A waddy, nulla-nulla or boondi is an Aboriginal Australian hardwood club or hunting stick for use as a weapon or as a throwing stick for hunting animals. ''Waddy'' comes from the Darug people of Port Jackson, Sydney.Peters, Pam, ''The Cambrid ...

. A mythic account said that his head was cut off and baked in a camp oven. This murder is said by many to have provoked what became one of the most notorious and debated acts of frontier violence, the

. Another shepherd on the same station was attacked by Aboriginal people. He fired a shotgun in retaliation, wounding one Aboriginal person. Later that year, Pinkerton's overseer killed an Aboriginal man on the station. This was part of a wider battle being waged throughout the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula at this time. It appears that later in life, Pinkerton left

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He died in 1893 in

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in the

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References

*http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/a/n/Richard-F-Sanders/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0045.html *''Pastoral Pioneers of South Australia'', vol. 2, p. 261. *''Out of the Silence: The History and Memory of South Australia's Frontier Wars'', Robert Foster, 2011, pp. 88, 208. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkerton, William Settlers of South Australia 1810 births 1893 deaths