Find and Sign James Baird Grave
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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James Baird's grave is located approx 500 metres to the south in the middle of the swamp and is not accessable when there is water in the swamp.
There is a gateway on the fence line leading to the grave.
Murder of Baird The Maitland Mercury 21 December 1850 COLONIAL NEWS SOUTH AUSTRALIA THE MUDER OF A PORT LINCOLN SETTLER BY THE NATIVES The Emu brings intelligence of the murder of a respectable settler, the particulars of which are more circumstantially detailed in the following extract from a letter, dated Lake Newland, Nov. 17th, than in any other we have seen: - “Mr Baird, sheep farmer, has been killed by the blacks about Streaky Bay. The police have been up, and found the body with the spear wounds in the back. The body had lain eight or nine days, and could only be recognised as a white man by the toes being closer, it was so decomposed. They robbed the hut, and took what sheep they liked, as there was only the owner (Baird) and a “new chum,” who lost part of his flock, and the master when in search of them met his death. It is a new station or run, and much out of the way – in a wild country, with lots of scrub and plenty of blacks. The police have just come to our station, and they have only found 1850 sheep out of a flock of 2,600. They have taken one prisoner, and he stands about six feet.” We understand that Mr Baird went overland with his flocks to Port Lincoln about tow or three years ago, in company with a Mr Sinclair, who had a wife and children. Mr Baird was a middle aged man and single. His station is 40 to 50 miles beyond Mr Pinkerton’s, which is on the Western Coast, 120 miles from the settlement, near Venus Bay, to which the Venus has lately gone for wool. The blacks ripped open the bales in which Mr Baird’s wool was packed, scattered the contents about the ground, and used the bagging for clothes. The body of, their unfortunate victim was pierced with twelve or fourteen spears.
– South Australian, Nov, 28. The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser 25 January 1851 PORT LINCOLN. - Messrs. Dashwood and Moorhouse returned yesterday by the Yatala, from Port Lincoln. Their report fully confirms our opinion in regard to the late false rumours of some fourteen of the blacks having been killed in a skirmish with the whites. Messrs. Dashwood and Moorhouse's enquiries were confined to the circumstances connected with Mr. Henry Baird's lamentable death, the facts of which appear to he as follows: - It seems that Mr. Baird went some forty miles beyond the outermost station at Streaky Bay, with 2500 sheep, accompanied by only one shepherd. They left the provisions and other stores exposed on the 1st of November, and the shepherd lost some of the sheep on the same day. The provisions were pillaged, and Mr: Baird scoured the bush in quest of the lost sheep on the following day. After some search be found them in the possession of from 60 to 100 natives, from whom he rescued them. The blacks exasperated at the rescue pursued on his tracks, overtook him, and speared him to death. The spot where this occurred is about 190 miles beyond Port Lincoln in a straight line. After Mr. Baird's death, Mr. Pinkerton, and two police constables, went to recover the sheep, 1700 in number, from the blacks, and on the latter resisting, a scuffle ensued, when one native was shot through the head. There were only five shots fired altogether. The sheep were recovered and brought home. Messrs. Dashwood and Moorhouse, with their escort, travelled over 800 miles, and came at one place upon forty wild blacks in a perfect state of nudity, who had never seen whites before. By the aid of an interpreter they were seemingly made to understand what treatment was required of them towards the whites, and vice versa. The body of the black shot in the scuffle with Mr. Pinkerton's party was exhumed, and it was sufficiently clear that death had been caused by the passing of a leaden ball through the head, but there was no blame attached to the whites, as extreme measures were perfectly justifiable under the circumstances. The Yatala has brought over two black prisoners, one charged with being concerned in the murder of Mr. Beaver, and the other with having in his possession some of the sheep stolen from Mr. Baird. -
Adelaide Times, January 8. Baird Bay Nomenclature (Formerly Beard Bay) - James Baird settled on the shore of Anxious Bay in 1850 and was murdered by Aborigines on 2 November 1850. Parliamentary Paper no. 25 of 1851 includes a report by P.E. Warburton: bring under His Excellency's notice the untiring zeal, activity and perseverance of Corporal Geharty, who appears to have left no stone unturned to discover the murderers of the late Mr Baird. In The Streaky Bay, the compilers, quoting from Port Lincoln Police Journals of 1848, say: [He] followed Eyre's track through the Gawler Ranges to come out in the Cape Radstock area. Here Baird settled to become a squatter - [he] was speared to death in 1849 [sic]' James Baird's station was called 'Kolka', rendered today as 'Calca'.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pnpur vf uvqqra whfg bss bs gur ebnq oruvaq fbzr ybj fuehoorel.
Vg vf n pnzb flfgrzn pbagnvare bs zrqvhz fvmr.