[1] The massacre on Wardandi-Doonan land in the south-west of Western Australia took place after Gaywal/Gaywaar, a Wardandi Man, speared and killed George Layman, a settler at Wonnerup on 21 February 1841.
[5] The resident magistrate of the Leschenault district, Henry Bull flogged Nungundung, Duncock and Gerback for Campbell's death and let them go.
Bussell was incensed at this lenient treatment and when he came across Nungundung in December 1840, he had him arrested, detained him for a while at his house Cattle Chosen and then sent him up to Perth for further punishment.
There was much resentment at this arbitrary treatment of Nundundung amongst the Wardandi people after this incident and several threats were made to various settlers in the Busselton district during the following months.
On 21 February 1841 eighteen Wardandi people, including Gaywal, Milligan, and Gaywal's/Gaywar's son Woberdung were working for George Layman, helping with the threshing of wheat.
Indebong (known by setters as Dr Milligan)[6] and Gaywal (also known as Gaywar and "Quibean" in various sources of the time) had an argument over the damper they were given as payment at the end of the day.
They also prevailed on Bun-ni, a Noongar constable, to help, by holding him at the Bussell residence "until a conviction that he was true and zealous induced us to liberate him".
[12] Two young Noongar boys, described as spies, were caught at Wonnerup and told settlers that Gaywal had been speared in the thigh at Mollakup.
Warren Bert Kimberly wrote an account of it in 1897 after talking to colonial settlers and Noongar survivors who remembered what happened.
The black men were killed by dozens, and their corpses lined the route of march of the avengers.Oral history of the Waadandi Doonan people also says:[15] The first mob was caught, was just the other side of the Capel River (Mollakup).
A small party led by Vernon Bussell and three other settlers went to Mollakup, and took a group of Wardandi people hostage.
[19] Governor John Hutt was in charge of the Swan River Colony at the time and the settler community closed ranks against further enquiry.
Molloy's typed up letterbook from February 1841 contains no recorded letters, although he and John Garrett Bussell did submit two reports to the colonial secretary, stating that, overall, eight Wardandi people were killed in the three punitive events.
Fanny Bussell's diary of that period in February is missing four pages, although this has been attributed by Edward Shann to wanting to conceal the argument with Symmons that occurred at the time.