The Experience of Scots abroad,
1830 – 1939
What impact did Scots have on the
‘New World’?
Activity
• On A4 paper create a leaflet or poster which will
inform certain Scots about the benefits or
necessity of emigration
• Create the leaflet/poster from the perspective of
ONE of the following
– A Canadian emigration agent
– A Highland landlord
– A wealthy philanthropist
REMEMBER each document will have different
arguments and different target audiences.
Starter
• What does the following source tell you
generally about the emigrant Scots?
Liberal MP Sir Charles Dilke, writing in 1888, remarked
that:
‘In British settlements, from Canada to Ceylon, from
Dunedin to Bombay, for every Englishman that you
meet who has worked himself up to wealth from small
beginnings without external aid, you find ten
Scotchmen’
Patterns of emigration
• Using what you have learned so far colour in your world
map to show the MAIN areas in which you think Scot’s
emigrated too. Remember to lable the countries!
• Add coloured arrows to show that people are
EMIGRATING we will be using this map later to show
IMMIGRATON too!)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Canada
America
India
Australia
New Zealand
England
Scots in England
• What ATTRACTIONS do you think England held
for emigrant Scots?
– Language (at least for lowlanders)
– Familiarity of land and the ways of working it
– Not too far from home
– Job opportunities in big cities
Scots in England
• In terms of numbers the emigration from Scotland to
England was modest
• Many Scots chose to settle in England, particularly after the
1920s.
• In the period 1841–1931, around 749,000 Scots moved to
other parts of the UK compared with over two million who
emigrated abroad
• It was during the economic depression of the inter-war
years that there was a shift from emigration overseas to
migration to other parts of the UK, mainly to England.
• By 1931, the number of Scots in England equaled those
from Ireland, whereas 60 years earlier, the Irish
outnumbered the Scots by a margin of two to one.
Assimilation into English society
• The success of Scots in England is clear evidence
of their skills, enterprise and education. They
went, especially, to work in the Lancashire textile
industry and to the shipbuilding and engineering
trades in the North East and the Midlands
• In the 1930s a Scottish steel company started
production in Corby, Northamptonshire and
many Scots went there to work.
• Many Scots went to London where there were a
variety of opportunities to prosper.
Assimilation into English society
• The large number of Scots who
emigrated to England were less likely to
set up organizations to preserve their
Scottish identity.
• This was probably due to the fact Scottish
people were not an extensive distance
from their homeland as they would be in
places like Australia and they often
intermarried with English people and
became part of that population rather
than being Scots who merely lived in
England.
Notable Scots in England
• John Logie Baird (1888-1946) - Settled in England after time
in the west indies. Most famous for the first TV picture sent
between Glasgow and London in 1926.
• Katherine, Duchess of Atholl (1874-1960) – In 1923 she
became the first Scottish female MP. Leading critic of Fascism
• David Napier (1790-1869) – built up a marine engineering
business in Glasgow then moved south and developed a
shipbuilding company on the River Thames
• James Naysmith (1808-1890) – left Edinburgh for London.
Invented the steam hammer used in iron production
Activity
• In your jotter write a paragraph or two
describing and explaining the degree of
assimilation Scot’s emigrants experienced in
England.
Scots in India
• In 1830 India included the area of land that is
modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka.
• By 1830 Scots had a huge
impact on how India
was ruled and how
it developed.
THINK
• What interests do you
think the British had in
the Indian
subcontinent?
Influence
• Before 1830 Scots had been important in
extending British influence in India,
particularly through the East India
Company (EIC)
• However, from 1830 onwards, Scots
became involved as general merchants
with Indian interests.
• They began to export jute, tea, timber,
coal, sugar and indigo (a dye) as well as
cotton.
• Trade improved as the EIC lost their hold
on the country
Activity
Read through your India information sheets and answer
the following questions as fully as you can1. In what ways was the economy in Scotland boosted
by Scottish exploits in India? Give as many details
as you can, in your own words
2. What did Dalhousie accomplish during his time as
Governor General?
3. Why could some of these actions be seen as
controversial?
4. Give three examples of other notable Scot’s who
made contributions to India in terms of science,
trade or commerce.
The Development of British India
• Scots involvement in India was initially tied
with wider British interests
• The creation of the Honorable East India
Trading Company and the control of the
company increased British influence in India,
in terms of trade, far more profoundly than
any other area.
• The company was formed in 1708 to trade
with what was know as the East Indies.
EIC - Background
• The EIC had three bases in India. Each base was
ruled by a Governor
• Calcutta was the most important base, it’s leader was
know was Governor-General – they were the leader
of all British interest in India.
• By 1792, Scots made up one in nine EIC civil servants,
one in eleven common soldiers and one in three
officers of the EIC .
• The first three Governor-Generals of India were
Scots
• By 1784 the British government was overseeing the
EIC
Activity
• watch this short video – TAKE GOOD NOTES
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DQNw1xvRU&lis
t=PL97FA559076D978F9&index=6
• With the person next to you write a limerick or 6 line
poem (which rhymes) which describes an aspect of the
Scottish involvement in India
• Eg
There once was a man called Dalhousie,
Who hated a practice called THUGEE
He banned this act quickly
And then he banned SUTEE
However this caused controversy
The Indian Mutiny
• The Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857 and although it
was very much a revolt against British rule, Scots
were involved and it serves to show the tensions
British colonialism created.
• The Mutiny happened for a multitude of reasons but
the dislike of British rule and religious conflict were
important factors.
• The rebellion was staged by Indian troops who had
been serving in the East India Company army.
• The rebellion was mainly in the north and centre of
India and was crushed by 1858, but not without
significant bloodshed
Activity
• Read the handout which gives an overview of
the rebellion and its causes
• Answer the questions in your jotter
Scottish involvement in the Mutiny
• Scottish soldiers were
important to the British in
crushing the rebellion; in fact
most senior commanders
were Scottish: Generals Colin
Campbell (right), James Hope
Grant, James Outram and
Hugh Rose.
Scot’s involvement – case study
• In July 1857, during the mutiny the 78th and 84th Highland
regiments recaptured the town of Cawnpore.
• When these soldiers went to look for the British residents of
this town they were horrified by what they found.
• Most of the capture British had been murdered, including
120 women and children who had been hacked to death
and thrown in a dry well
• The Scottish soldiers were furious and took violent revenge
against the Indians; they even forced them to lick up the
blood of the murdered children. Many Indian soldiers were
hung
• This was only put to a stop when Sir Colin Campbell arrived.
After 1857
• After the Indian Mutiny in 1857 the
British government assumed direct
control of India and the EIC was
abandoned.
• The Governor General’s title became
‘Viceroy’
• Queen Victoria accepted the title of
Empress and the British ‘Raj’ was
born.
• Scots were influential in all areas of
it’s development.
Notable Scots
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
• The son and eldest child of Zachary Macaulay,
a Scottish Highlander
• He went to India in 1834, and served on the Supreme
Council of India between 1834 and 1838
• In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Macaulay's
criminal law proposal was enacted. The Indian Penal Code
in 1860 was followed by the Criminal Procedure Code in
1872 and the Civil Procedure Code in 1909.
• The Indian Penal Code inspired counterparts in most other
British colonies, and to date many of these laws are still in
effect in places as far apart as Pakistan, Singapore,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, as well as in
India itself.
Notable Scots
Alexander Duff
• Born in Perthshire
• He was the first overseas missionary of the Church of
Scotland to India.
• On 13 July 1830 he founded the General Assembly's
Institution in Calcutta, now known as the Scottish Church
College. He also played a part in establishing the University
of Calcutta.
• Believed in free education for all regardless of caste or
creed – this revolutionised Indian society.
• English became the tool through which Indians were able
to understand and advance themselves through the British
institutions of government. This opportunity to share in
governance established one of the foundations on which
eventual self-rule was built
Notable Scots
John Wilson
• Born in Lauder, Scotland
• In 1829, a year after his graduation, Wilson and his wife
went to Bombay as Christian missionaries supported by the
Church of Scotland
• John first established an English school in 1832, and added
a college in 1836 - now called Wilson College, Mumbai.
With this School John was able to introduce European
education, examinations and textbooks to the people of the
city.
• John's wife, Margaret, also influenced the education system
in Bombay, and aided the female population by establishing
schools for girls in 1829.
• The Wilson’s were huge advocates for the preservation if
Indian architecture and monuments
Activity
• Using your notes write two paragraphs
1. Describe the POSITIVE effects Scots had in India
2. Describe the NEGATIVE or CONTROVERSIAL
effects of Scots in India
Revision – the reasons for Scottish Emigration
Use each topic sentence to complete a detailed
paragraph –
1. Many Scots left Scotland between 1830 and 1930
due to a number of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors…….
2. The Highland Clearances had a significant impact
on Scottish emigration…..
3. The role of the church in emigration was small but
significant….
4. Emigration Societies persuaded people to move….
5. Each land, including England, held specific
attractions….
The Scots in North America
Overview
• There are close on 4.9 million Americans claiming
Scottish descent according to the U.S. Census of
2000.
• Between 1763 and 1777, 50,000 Scots from (mainly)
the west of Scotland settled in North America.
• Their drive and education saw them quickly
dominate the tobacco trade and other areas of
economic life, such as fur-trapping in Canada.
• Education and religion were other areas of cultural
life where the Scottish influence was overwhelming.
Overview
• Although America ended its colonial status
in 1783, cultural and economic links were
maintained with Scotland
• Such was the strength of the Scottish
presence in America that 19 of the 56
delegates who signed the Declaration of
Independence came from Scotland and/or
Ulster
• 75 per cent of US presidents, including
Barack Obama, could claim some Scottish
ancestry
Patterns of immigration
• Look at the table
opposite
• Why do you think the
numbers of those
emigrating took such a
sharp rise in
a) 1881 and
b) 1921?
What does the following source tell you about
why Scots emigrated to North America and what
it may have been like?
“I wonder at people who go to New Zealand or
into the woods of Canada where it takes a man
days to clear a farm of one hundred acres. Here
a man can get any amount of the best farming
land the sun shines on for a moderate price and
ready to put plough to it”.
Settlement
• Early Scottish emigrants to North America
settled near the coast, but as numbers grew
so did the expansion inland.
• The vast swaths of land on which to farm was
and undoubted attraction for many migrants,
particularly those leaving crofting life in
Scotland.
Highlanders in Canada
• Highlanders were particularly drawn to
Canada rather than the more urbanised
American east coast
• They prioritized the companionship of their
countrymen in the new world, probably due
to the clan system.
• They built up Gaelic-speaking communities in
Cape Breton Island, the Eastern Townships of
Quebec, Glengarry, and the prairie colonies of
Killarney and Benbecula
Lowlanders in Canada
• Lowlanders, who favored Upper Canada,
tended to be more cautious and commercial,
were willing to work for wages at first in order
to secure a better property,
• they took greater care in choosing and
operating their farms.
• Yet although they were more likely to
emigrate as individuals or families, the
closeness of countrymen was a bonus, rather
than a requirement,
Impact on Society
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/emi
grant-life-in-canadas-far-north/4366.html
• Take brief notes on the Scottish involvement
in Canada
Activity
• Read the worksheet about Scot’s life in
North America and complete the tasks in
your jotter
Source Questions
How fully?
• This is a question which will ask about an overall
issue and wants to find out how much you know on
the subject
• The source will give you SOME of the relevant
information but will not give the whole picture
• This means you must identify relevant information
from the source AND include relevant information
from your own knowledge.
• These have to be SUBSTANTIAL and EXPLAINED
points to be credited with the marks.
How to answer
• There are TWO phases in answering this
question
– You must give the relevant points from the
SOURCE and develop each point in terms of the
question
– YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMMENT ON THE
AUTHOR,PURPOSE OR DATE!
Constructing your answer
• FIRST – give a General statement
• Source A partly explains the reasons for the migration of
the Scots between 1830 and 1939.
• THEN use information from the source IN
YOUR OWN WORDS
– The source tell us that many Scots left their homes due to the
systematic clearance of crofts in the Highlands, particularly in
Sutherland. It goes on to mention how the people here often felt like
they had no choice but to leave because they no longer had land to
work on. The source goes on the mention how several highland
landlords encouraged this emigration by party paying for the passage
to new lands such as Canada and Australia.
Phase 2
• You must bring in your own knowledge to
show there are other points relevant to the
answer
• These MUST relate to the issue in the
question!
• –explain what is missing from the source
regarding this issue.
– However, the source fails to mention other key
aspects around the reasons for the emigration of
the Scots. The source does not mention the work
of emigration agents, their job was to encourage
new emigrants to their homelands by advertising
at markets, holding meetings and publicising the
benefits of their countries.
– REPEAT THIS until you have run out of examples!
Points from Marked work
• You should have the overall opening
statement
– Source A deescibs the reasons for Scots
emigration to a limited/full/certain extent
• LINK EVIDENCE TO THE QUESTION
– The soucre show/says…. Which may have been a
cause of emigration
– The source fails to mention… as a cause of
emigration. (The EXPLAIN this point fully – next
slide)
Be specific!!!!!!! LINK TO THE QUESTION
• However, the source fails to mention other key aspects
around the reasons for the emigration of the Scots. The
source does not mention the work of emigration agents, their
job was to encourage new emigrants to their homelands by
advertising at markets, holding meetings and publicising the
benefits of their countries.
• Furthermore the source does not mention the Gold rush in
California and Australia, this encouraged Scottish emigration
as many went abroad to seek their fortune.
• Also, the source fails to mention that the success of Scots
already abroad also encouraged people to move; people
moved to join successful family members in places like
Canada and Australia.
TRY ONE
• In your sources jotter try question 1 on your
handout
• Hand in your jotter once done
Notable Scots in Canada
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•
•
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Hugh Allan (1810–1882) – financier and shipping magnate.
H. Montagu Allan (1860–1951) – banker, ship owner, sportsman.
Richard B. Angus – banker and philanthropist.
John William Dawson (1820–1899) – scientist, educator.
William Dow (1800–1868) – brewer and businessman.
George Alexander Drummond (1829–1910) – entrepreneur.
Hugh Graham (1848–1938) – newspaper publisher.
Sir John A. Macdonald – first Prime Minister of Canada.
Robert Mackay (1840–1916) – businessman, statesman.
Peter McGill (1789–1860) – businessman, politician.
Duncan McIntyre (1834–1894) – businessman.
Henry Morgan (1819–1893) – built the first department store in Canada.
Peter Redpath (1821–1894) – businessman.
Notable Scots in America
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•
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•
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John Macintosh, developer of the Mackintosh red apple: his father emigrated to the
US from Inverness. Apple Computers have named a range of computers after him.
US dentist William Morton, who pioneered the use of anaesthesia, was of Scottish
descent.
Distinguished US scientist Samuel Guthrie (1728-1848) was of Scots descent. He was
one of the pioneers of vaccination and in 1831 discovered chloroform.
Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) is one of the most influential Scots in American
history. He became the first US Secretary of the Treasury.
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, was the grandson of a
Scottish Presbyterian minister. His term of office was an exemplary one, fighting for the
cause of the common man and promoting the Scottish belief in a strong education
system for the people of the county.
First American Secretary of War was a Scot named General Henry Knox, he was
appointed in 1785.
General Winfield Scott was the grandson of a Scot who fought at the Battle of
Culloden. He became the commanding general of the American forces during the
Mexican War of 1846-48.
Andrew Carnegie
Scots born Andrew
Carnegie is thought to
be the second richest
man who has ever lived.
Only John D Rockefeller
was richer.
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was born
in Scotland.
It is still possible to visit the family home
in Dunfermline.
His father was a hand loom weaver who
decided to emigrate when the industrial
revolution destroyed the livelihood of the
weavers. The family emigrated when
Andrew was twelve, the settled in
Pittsburgh in the USA.
Early Life
• Carnegie’s first job in America was as a
‘bobbin boy’. He changed the bobbins on
textile machines.
• He was 13 years old.
• He earned $2 per week and worked 12
hours a day and six days per week.
• Andrew Carnegie’s second job at 18 was
delivering telegraphs.
• He earned $2.50 per week.
• But he was learning about how businesses
operate.
• Carnegie worked his way up in
different companies gaining more and
more experience.
• He saved money and invested it in
railway stocks and shares which did
well.
• Carnegie was on his way.
• He rose quickly in the company due to
his enthusiasm and intelligence. He
was responsible for many innovations
in the company such as the
introduction of ‘sleeping cars’.
• He was a shrewd investor and his
investments paid off; they made it
possible for him to buy coal- fields, iron
and steel businesses and steamships.
• Andrew Carnegie started up
and expanded the Carnegie
steel company.
• This eventually became US
steel.
• It was the most profitable
company in the world
• The American Civil War
meant huge profits for steel
companies. This helped
Andrew Carnegie build up
his wealth
• Andrew Carnegie sold his
company in 1901 and
spent the rest of his life
giving his fortune away.
• By the time Andrew
Carnegie died in August,
1919, he had given away
$350 million (this is
equivalent to $4.3 billion
in today’s money.)
His legacy to the world!
• Carnegie set up a trust fund "for
the improvement of mankind."
• This included the building of 3,000
public libraries worldwide (380 in
Britain). In Scotland many
libraries still have his name above
the door
• The Carnegie Institute of
Technology
• The Carnegie Institution of
Washington for research into the
natural and physical sciences.
• Established the Endowment for
International Peace in an effort to
prevent future wars.
Andrew Carnegie’s “Law” for life
• Spend the first third of your
life getting all the education
you can
• Spend the next third making
all the money you can
• Spend the last third giving it
all away to worthwhile
causes
Carnegie’s final statement to the
world
“A man who dies rich dies in
disgrace”
REVISION
• In pairs re read your notes about the
experience of the Scots abroad
• You must come up with 5 questions to give to
another pair to answer. You cannot give
questions which have only one word answers
• Swap them with another pair at a different
table – answer in jotter in pairs.
Scots in Australia and New Zealand
• SKETCH the flags in your jotter, around them
write as many reasons as you can to explain
why so many Scots might have migrated to
Australia and New Zealand
Compare what is said in the video clips to
your mind map, amend and note down any
new thoughts.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/scot
tish-emigration-to-australia-and-new-zealandpt-1-2/4360.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/scot
tish-emigration-to-australia-and-new-zealandpt-2-2/4370.html
New Zealand
• It has been suggested that over 30% of the
non-Maori population of New Zealand is of
Scottish lineage.
• Scots emigrated to NZ for very similar reasons
as when they emigrated to Canda etc. There
was an abundance of land, money to be made
in industry and sheep farming
Scots in New Zealand
• In early 1842, 500 Scottish labourers left Lowland Scotland
and helped to develop Auckland. This marked the beginning
of a shift to New Zealand.
• Thirty-one per cent of emigrants were agricultural labourers,
19% were domestics, 20% were skilled artisans and 10%
labourers. Generally, emigrants were young, single men who
came from the Highlands.
• By the 1870s, some single women started to make this shift.
Small families who made the transition originated from
Edinburgh and Glasgow. Scots tended to settle in Auckland,
Wellington and Christchurch.
Other settlements
• Religious impulses were behind the
desire to populate New Zealand
and to create ‘little Scotlands’. The
Otago settlement in the South
Island and the Waipu settlement in
the North Island were the products
of two Scottish ministers.
• Dunedin (Gaelic for Edinburgh)
became the capital of the former
and already had a university by
1869. In Waipu, Gaelic was the first
language in their homes until the
1880s and many still spoke it in the
1920s.
Activity
• Read the hand-out regarding Scottish impact
on New Zealand and complete the following
table in your jotter in as much detail as
possible ( you will need AT LEAST one full
page)
Area of Influence
Politics
Education
Industry
Native populations
Agriculture
Scottish Impact
Life in New Zealand - recap
• HOW FULLY does
SOURCE A describe
the impact Scots had
on New Zealand
between 1840 and
1930 ? (6 marks)
• REMEMBER – what
does the source tell
you, what ELSE do
you know?
SOURCE A
Life in Australia – Patterns of emigration
• For hundreds of years Scots have packed up their
families and their belongings and sailed to Australia
to start a new life. When Australia needed workers
between 1832 and 1850 about 16,000 Scots became
‘assisted immigrants’ (they were
encouraged/helped/ paid to go).
• In the same period more than 20,000 Scots travelled
to Australia as unassisted immigrants.
• The majority of Scottish emigrants were from the
Lowlands but around 10,000 Highlanders boarded
chartered ships to Australia between 1837 and 1852.
Patterns of emigration continued
• Between 1852 and 1857 the Highland and Island Emigration
Society responded to the potato blight by sending about 4910
Highlanders, many from Skye and the Hebrides, to Australia.
• In the 1920s Scots stonemasons went to Sydney.
• Scots miners from Lanarkshire, Fife and Ayrshire emigrated in
the 1920s and '30s.
• 1929 Alexander MacRae, originally from Loch Kishorn in the
Highlands, first produced the famous Australian swimming
‘cossie’ - Speedos.
Activity – Scots in Australia
• A mixture of Scots left for Australia,
• Based on this information and what we have
looked at in other areas what predictions
could you make about the impact Scots had
on the following areas? (YOU MUST JUSTIFY
YOUR ANSWER, give specifics)
– Industry
– Agriculture
– Native peoples
Life in Australia – The Gold Rush
• When a few small nuggets of gold were found in
New South Wales in 1851 it started a massive
gold rush that would change Australia forever.
• Gold hunters poured into New South Wales and
Victoria to dig for gold and try to make their
fortunes. Hundreds of thousands of men came
from around the world, including Scotland
• Conditions, similar to those in America, were
terrible for the prospectors
The Gold Rush and William Arnott
• Among the men that abandoned their former lives to search
for gold was a young baker from Fife named William Arnott.
• He arrived in Sydney on 17 February 1848. William spent the
next three years working as a baker and confectioner with his
younger brother David.
• In 1851 William decided to leave the bakery and travel to the
Turon River to hunt for gold.
• William Arnott was an excellent baker but he wasn’t a very
good gold hunter. He didn’t find any gold but he did make a
living making pies and bread for the gold miners.
• Two years later William gave up the gold
fields and returned to life as a baker. In
1865 he set up a small bakery in Newcastle,
New South Wales. By 1882 Arnott’s biscuits
were being shipped to Sydney.
• In 1894 William Arnott bought a factory in
Sydney, employing hundreds of workers.
• William Arnott’s biscuit factories became
hugely successful. Today Arnott’s is an
iconic Australian brand.
• Millions of Australians grow up with
Arnott’s Tim Tam biscuits (like a Penguin)
and Tiny Teddies, and Arnott’s products are
exported around the world.
Living and working – use the Hand-outs
Complete the Activities
1. Look at your predictions – were they right?
2. Write detailed notes under the following
headings – take care to use your own words
and keep to the relevant points, you may
find it helpful to organise your notes into a
table or mind maps
1. Economy and Industry (including agriculture)
2. Education and religion
3. Notable individuals
Impact on native people
• Think about the following questions, discuss in your
groups and note down your thoughts
1. Do people migrating to another country have a right to
change or influence the country they go to? If so should
there be controls on what they can change? If not, why?
2. Do you think immigrants coming to Scotland now and in
the future should expect to influence change?
3. Do your answers to these questions help you understand
the reaction of native peoples to Scottish immigrants in
the past?
Native populations
• There is evidence to suggest that many Scots
sought good relations with the local
population. Several Aboriginal communities
contain surnames such as Campbell and
Cameron, pointing to intermarriage between
immigrants and the Aboriginal population.
• However this was not always the case
The Hornet Bank Massacre
• Tensions over land between native populations and settlers
could have bloody results.
• The Hornet Bank massacre of eleven Europeans, including
seven members of the Scottish Fraser family, took place about
one or two o'clock in the morning of the 27 October 1857 at a
station (land leased to a family/person) on the upper Dawson
River in central Queensland, Australia.
• It unfortunately spurred a much greater counter-massacre
(led by William Fraser, son of the family who had been
working in Ipswich). It is believed that as many as 300
Aborigines may have been shot in retaliation. This retaliation
resulted in the extermination of the entire Yeeman tribe by
1858.
The Hornet Bank Massacre
• The stations on the Dawson River were on the
land of the Aboriginal Yeeman people who
bitterly resented the invasion of the Scots to their
land, to the Scots, the Yeeman were an
obstruction to the expansion of their farming
land.
• Cruelty towards the Yeeman people inflamed
their already overwhelming sense of injustice.
• Although contemporary reports of the
events point to the bloodthirsty
nature of the Yeeman and highlighted
the kindness shown them by the
Fraser family.
• It has been claimed that the killing of
the Frasers was in retaliation for the
recent deaths of 12 Yeeman shot for
spearing some cattle and for the
deaths nine months earlier of an
unknown number of Yeeman who had
been given a strychnine laced
Christmas pudding, allegedly by the
Fraser family.
The Attack
• The Yeeman attacked the Fraser homestead between
one or two o'clock in the morning of the 27 October
1857.
• Those in the house were Martha Fraser, eight of her
nine children, Henry Neagle (their tutor), two white
station hands, who lived in a hut 1km from the
station and Jimmy, an Aboriginal servant
• In all eight members of the Fraser family were killed
as well as two Shepherds, Jimmy and the Fraser
children’s tutor.