In 1933, a state of panic erupted in Darwin after five Japanese fishermen and three white men were killed by Aboriginal clansmen on the east coast of Arnhem Land. Donald Thomson, a young anthropologist working in the field, was appalled by calls for a punitive expedition. Thomson suspected the Aboriginal men were resisting invasions of their land and had acted in self defence. At the same time, he was aware that the official policy of "protection" of Aborigines had failed. He volunteered to go to Arnhem Land to try to prevent the race war that people feared. He also proposed to make a scientific study of Yolngu culture as the basis for new policies that would finally bring justice to Aboriginal people.