On 12-13 September 1843, the Battle of One Tree Hill was fought in Australia between the British under Arthur Hodgson and the Aborigines under Multuggerah during the Australian Frontier Wars.
Why did it happen?
In 1840, Brisbane was the most northerly outpost of Australia to be settled by Europeans. This area of Queensland was dominated on all sides by an alliance of Aboriginal tribes that could muster 1,500 warriors to defend their lands. Over the next few years, settlers from New South Wales began to migrate into Queensland and establish large sheep and cattle stations. After 60 Aborigines were poisoned at Kilcoy Station in 1842, the Aboriginal leader Multuggerah declared war on the settlers on 24 August 1843 and conducted a series of raids against them and their livestock. On 11 September, 14 settlers met at Half Way House and agreed to send a convoy of three drays (wagons) filled with supplies, pulled by bullocks (castrated male cattle) and accompanied by 18 armed men to Darling Downs to gain the support of Commissioner Stephen Simpson. Through his spies, Multuggerah got word of what the settlers were planning and sent a large force of warriors to ambush the convoy at Mount Table Top (One Tree Hill) near Toowoomba.
Who was involved?
The British forces at One Tree Hill numbered 38 settlers – 18 armed men accompanying the convoy and 20 men stationed at Half Way House Inn. Of the 18 men who accompanied the convoy, 14 were armed with muskets, while the remaining four were station workers. The Aboriginal force at One Tree Hill numbered 100 warriors who were armed with spears, boomerangs, waddies, and rocks. The Aborigines planned to ambush the British convoy as it passed through the Helidon Scrub between Mount Table Top and Mount Davidson. To achieve this, they would hide in the scrub and position logs over the road to block the bullocks pulling the drays. Once this had been achieved, “By loudly shouting and hurling spears from this position whilst remaining unseen, Multuggerah’s warriors could imbue a sense of terror without exposing themselves to any serious threat of being shot” (Kerkhove & Uhr, 2019, p.141).
What happened?
On 12 September, as the British convoy of 18 settlers, 3 drays, and 24 bullocks advanced past Mount Davidson, they were stopped by a barricade of logs placed across the road. When the settlers attempted to dismantle the obstacles, the Aborigines who were hiding in the bush emerged to shout and throw spears at the convoy, killing some of the bullocks. The British settlers then fled along Flagstone Creek towards Half Way House Inn. After combining forces with the people at the Inn, the 38 settlers then marched towards Mount Table Top and pitched camp 2 kilometres from the mountain at nightfall. The following day, after tracking the Aboriginal warriors through Helidon Scrub, the British settlers surprised them at their camp while they were eating. In the ensuing battle, several Aborigines were killed or wounded despite the mud bogging down the British settlers. After feigning retreat up the top of Mount Table Top, the Aborigines hurled spears, stones and boulders down upon the British settlers who, after three of them were wounded, retreated back to Half Way House Inn.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of One Tree Hill was an Aboriginal victory. Following the battle, Commissioner Simpson returned to Ipswich and Brisbane to gather military and settler forces to pursue Multuggerah’s warriors. Throughout September and October, the Aborigines that had fought at One Tree Hill were forced to hide in the Rosewood Scrub, where the British force of 100 men failed to locate them. Over the next several years, the British and Aborigines fought each other until Multuggerah was shot and killed in 1846 while leading an attack on Rosewood Station. Aboriginal resistance in Queensland would persist until the 1870s, when most Aborigines were pushed off their ancestral lands.
Bibliography
Kerkhove, Ray. “Battle of One Tree Hill and its Aftermath.” Mapping Frontier Conflict in South-East Queensland. Last revised July 17, 2017. www.frontierbattle.wordpress.com/battle-of-one-tree-hill-and-its-aftermath/
Kerkhove, Ray. & Uhr, Frank. The Battle of One Tree Hill: The Aboriginal Resistance That Stunned Queensland. Tingalpa, Boolarong Press, 2019.