[4] The permanent spring that is now located within the Penshurst Botanic Gardens was a traditional meeting place for the Aboriginal people in the region.

A local Indigenous man named Figara Alkapurata (or Roger) was later arrested for Codd's murder and executed in Melbourne.

In February 1842, around 210 Aboriginal people from various tribal groups in the region arrived at Mount Rouse accompanied by Assistant Protector Charles Sievwright.

[5][7] In his role Sievwright attempted to safeguard the Aboriginal people assigned to him by reporting the massacres conducted by nearby settlers and by providing rations and shelter.

However, these actions infuriated the local colonists who demanded the government replace him, and in September 1842 Dr John Watton was appointed to manage the protectorate.

[7] During this time, the Native Police were forcibly rounding up Aboriginal people throughout the Western District and ordering them to go to Mount Rouse or be shot.

The reserve was also blamed for providing shelter to Aboriginal people who took livestock and speared shepherds at the surrounding sheep stations.

A year later the Aboriginal Protectorate was officially closed down and divided up into two grazing properties with a reserve for a township which became the settlement of Penshurst.

[9] In 1852 German Lutherans led by Johann Friedrich Krummnow founded a community named Herrnhut located near Mount Rouse about 8 km from Penshurst – the group adhered to the principles of shared property and fervent prayer.