In May 1836 Mitchell and his surveying party had been followed for several days by a group of Aboriginal people, starting from Lake Benanee, near the present-day town of
Euston. Although it is not exactly clear what happened, it seems that instead of attempting negotiation, Mitchell and his men decided to launch a surprise attack on 27 May. In Mitchell's words: There were at least seven Aboriginal people killed as they fled across the
Murray River. Mitchell faced an enquiry in
Sydney afterwards, so his account was recorded, but that of the survivors was not. Mitchell received only a minor reprimand for his actions. Mitchell named the small hill Mount Dispersion. Mitchell later published a book in which he justified the event by emphasising that the ambush was an act of self-defence: he portrayed the Aboriginal people as hostile tribes from the
Darling River intent on revenge for an incident during his 1835 expedition in which his party shot and wounded a man, and killed another man and a woman who was carrying a baby. ==Recognition==