Collins describes the situation on the Hawkesbury as open war. William Caley, a botanist writes:
This sort of war lasted about 12 months at which time an order from England arrived respecting their behalf, and then the scene was reversed for instead of shooting or killing them (Aborigines) the orders were given for no one to molest them unless they were committing some depredation. The cause of the war began about some sheep which stock-keepers said the natives had speared… they revenged themselves by killing one of the stock keepers. (Morris 1978)