The Cowen Papers consist of correspondence, sketches, notes, photographs and printed items. They were collected together during the years 1894-1896 by Cowen, who was anxious to discover the true history of the massacre of the Tyumie (sometimes written Chumie) Valley military settlers during the so called 8th "Kaffir War" of 1850-1852. The Gaikas were enraged against the military settlers because they were occupying their favourite land and this ill-feeling increased when the military settlers seized Gaika cattle trespassing on their land and when the Gaikas thought that Chief Tyali's grave had been desecrated. On Christmas Day 1850 the Gaikas under Chief Sandile (1823-1878) attacked the military settlers, wiping out all at Woburn, killing all the men at Auckland but allowing the women to escape and burning Juanasberg, from which the settlers had escaped. Cowen had written to missionaries, government servants and military men who had been present during the massacre in an attempt to find the true facts.
The papers reveal a surprising divergence in the stories of certain individuals. In particular the account of Captain J.M. Stevenson, formerly superintendent of Juanasberg, differed substantially from the stories of the missionaries. As part of his enquiry Cowen published in 1896 a pamphlet by J.M. Stevenson, with a preface written by himself, entitled Tyumie Valley Massacres. This pamphlet had wide margins to allow for comments by the readers. Other correspondents included Captain G. Armytage, 1st Superintendent at Woburn, A.W. Baker, Civil Commissioner, Alice, W.B. Chalmers, Civil Commissioner, King Williams Town, The Rev. J.F. Cumming, missionary at Gwali, W. Dewey, editor of the Alice Times and J.B. Liefeldt, Inspector of Natives, Victoria East.
The papers contain interesting accounts by missionaries and soldiers who survived the massacre and there are photographs of contemporary sketches of various localities in the Tyumie Valley. Their provenance is not known, other than that they were part of the original Gubbins collection of Africana. Another Cowen item, a copybook, was destroyed by fire at the University of the Witwatersrand in December 1931.
