Charles Christian Dutton

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Charles Christian Dutton was an English-born pastoralist in the early South Australian colony who disappeared in 1842 and is thought to have been murdered.

Origins
Dutton was born in England, the son of John Dutton. In the 1830s he ran a store at Singleton, New South Wales, with his brother Henry Pelerin Dutton. The partnership ended in 1837. Henry later became a pastoralist and was the father of a future South Australian politician named Charles Dutton. Charles Dutton arrived in South Australia aboard the Abeona in March 1838. He may have returned briefly to England and came back with his wife Ellen White aboard the Dorset in January 1839. In Adelaide he worked as a clerk for the Supreme Court and also acted as sheriff for a time.

Disappearance on Eyre Peninsula
Dutton managed a cattle station called Pillaworta near Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula for a fellow pastoralist, Charles Driver. In July 1842 he decided to abandon Pillaworta because of attacks by local Aboriginal people (Nauo or Barngarla). He took his wife and children back to Adelaide by ship, then gathered a small “scratch team” to drive his cattle overland to safety near Adelaide. The party included Graham, Cox, Haldane and Brown, with an armed escort for the first day. They headed with about 250 cattle toward Port Augusta, but were never seen again and no trace was found. It is thought they were killed by Barngarla warriors near Whyalla. Earlier in the year there had been a nearby attack on the farm of Rolles Biddle, a Quaker relative of people connected to the case.

Searches and consequences
Months after the disappearance, search parties were organised. A group of four young pastoralists searched first, and Governor Grey sent more people, including inspector Alexander Tolmer, who later left. Eyre and Burr later led searches. None found the missing men, though some cattle were later found wandering. In the broader context, there were retaliatory killings of Aboriginal people by soldiers.

Legacy
Dutton Bay, near Port Lincoln, was named after him.

Family
Dutton was married to Ellen Dutton (née White), who died in 1853. Their children included Charles William Dutton (1839–1916), Emma Pillawarta Dutton (born 1840), and Julia Eliza Dutton (1842–1916). Ellen later remarried Thomas Bond Hawson in Port Lincoln in 1845. He had a brother, John Alexander Dutton (c. 1800–1849). A possible relation was Rose Ann Dutton, who married John Laurio Platt in Heligoland and later settled near Singleton, New South Wales. He was not closely related to Frederick Hansborough Dutton.