Charles Christian Dutton (presumed died 1842) was a pastoralist in the

Colony of South Australia A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

who disappeared, believed murdered by

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, while driving cattle from

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in July 1842.

Origins

Dutton was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, a son of John Dutton. In the 1830s he ran a store in

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

with his brother Henry Pelerin Dutton (1803 – 30 January 1870); the partnership broke up in 1837. 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 A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Henry was the father of Queensland politician Charles Dutton. Charles Dutton arrived in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

on the ''Abeona'' from

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, and acted for a time as

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Likely massacre on Eyre Peninsula

Dutton managed a

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

named "Pillaworta", near Port Lincoln 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. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

, on behalf of pastoralist Charles Driver. In July 1842 he decided to abandon it through fear of the local Aboriginal people, either the

Nauo 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. Countr ...

Barngarla The Barngarla, (historically also spelled as Parnkalla or Pangkala), are an Indigenous people of South Australia and the traditional owners of much of Eyre Peninsula. Their language, Barngarla is a Yura language and part of a revival effo ...

people, who were making hostile raids. Having taken his wife and children back to Adelaide by ship, he picked up a

scratch team A scratch team is a team, usually in sport, brought together on a temporary basis, composed of players who normally play for different sides. A game played between two scratch teams may be called a scratch match. The earliest instance of the term ...

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 The 96th Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1798. Under the Childers reforms it amalgamated with the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot to form the Manchester Regiment. History Formation The regiment was raised in Meno ...

as an armed escort. Setting forth with 250 cattle in the direction of present

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

, Dutton and his associates were never seen again, and no trace was ever found. There were indications that the entire party of five men were killed by Barngarla warriors somewhere near present

Whyalla Whyalla is a city in South Australia. It was founded as Hummock's Hill, and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, and Gawler, and along ...

. There had been an attack by Aboriginal people on the nearby farm of Rolles Biddle, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

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.

Search parties

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. Governor Grey considered that this volunteer party was too small and ordered police inspector

Alexander Tolmer Alexander Tolmer (1815 – 7 March 1890) 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 Govern ...

, 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 Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

, supported by

Thomas Burr Thomas Burr (1813–1866), surveyor and mine manager, was a British explorer and Deputy Surveyor General of South Australia 1839–46. Early life in England Born 1813 in England, probably at Kent, Thomas Burr's father was George Dominicus Burr ...

. None of these searchers found any trace of the five men, although some of their cattle were later found wandering.

Retribution killings

An unknown number of Aboriginal people were killed by soldiers in retribution for the presumed killings of the colonists.

Legacy

Dutton Bay (now Mount Dutton Bay) near Port Lincoln, was named after him.

Family

Charles Christian Dutton was married to Ellen Dutton, née White, ( –1853). Their children included: *Charles William Dutton (1839 – December 1916) was from 1865 manager of Yaluna and Strawberry Hill stations for W. R. Mortlock, later also Coffin Bay and Waratta. He married Matilda Jane Swaffer (c. 1845 – November 1924) on 16 January 1862. *Emma Pillawarta Dutton (1840 – ) married James Gall on 4 June 1863. *Julia Eliza Dutton (1842 – 27 June 1916) married Edward Daniel Swaffer (c. 1842 – 4 November 1930) on 30 January 1865. His widow married again, in Port Lincoln on 3 September 1845, to Thomas Bond Hawson. Sydney businessman John Alexander Dutton (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 Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

around 1815; they later moved to New South Wales in the ''Providence'' under Captain Herd, settling in Sandgate in 1822. Platt was a pioneer of the Patrick's Plains area near

Singleton, New South Wales Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River (New South Wales), Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 202km (126 mi) north-north-west of Sydney, and 70 km (43 mi) north-west of Newcastle, New South Wales ...

. They were not immediately related to the well-known family of

Frederick Hansborough Dutton Frederick Hansborough Dutton (2 April 1812 – 22 April 1890) was a pastoralist and politician in the colony of South Australia. Early life Frederick Hansborough (sometimes Hansbrow) Dutton was born on 2 April 1812 at Colne, Lancashire, and w ...

(1812-1890), founder of

Anlaby Station Anlaby or Anlaby Station is a historic heritage tourism destination located about 12 kilometres (7 miles) southeast of Marrabel and 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Kapunda in South Australia. The property was originally established in 1839 b ...

in South Australia.

Newspaper article

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Charles Christian 1840s missing person cases Australian pastoralists English emigrants to colonial Australia Massacres in Australia Missing person cases in Australia Settlers of Australia Year of death unknown 19th-century mass murder in Australia