 It appears that around this time Ponsonby took up with John Batman as an employed hand.William Ponsonby went on to assist John Batman with his commission to capture remnants of the Indigenous clans who were attacking settlers in the Ben Lomond district.On September 7, 1829, Ponsonby, in a party of assigned men and mainland Aboriginal men, attacked an indigenous encampment at the Break O'Day Plains (near modern day Fingal) capturing members of the plangermaireener clan as well as killing and wounding several others - the incident described in the novel.