WO Hodgkinson, Bulla [sic] Queensland, 1861, painting : watercolour ; 21.8 x 13.4 cm., on sheet 17.8 cm x 25.4 cm. From the album of Miss Eliza Younghusband, South Australia. National Library of Australia
Some of the main sources for information about conflicts that happened in Queensland include publications like:
Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s frontier killing times, Timothy Bottoms, Allen & Unwin, 2013. See also Dr Timothy Bottoms’ video, A Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s Frontier Killing Times, available on his website Cairns History: https://cairnshistory.com.au
Endeavour Voyage; The Untold Stories of Cook and the First Australians, ed. Ian Coates, National Museum of Australia, 2020. Published to accompany the National Museum of Australia exhibition Endeavour Voyage: the Untold Stories of Cook and the First Australians, held 2 June 2020–26 April 2020.
Goodbye Bussamarai: the Mandandanji land war, southern Queensland, 1842–1852, Patrick Collins, University of Queensland Press, 2002. See also Goodbye Bussamarai website: https://www.goodbyebussamarai.com
‘“Many were killed from falling over the cliffs”: The naming of Mount Wheeler, Central Queensland’, chapter 8 in Ian D Clark, Luise Hercus and Laura Kostansk eds, Indigenous and Minority Placenames: Australian and International Perspectives, ANU Press and Aboriginal History Inc., 2014, pp. 147–16: https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p286811/pdf/ch081.pdf
Mapping Frontier Conflicts in South-East Queensland, Ray Kerkove, 2016 at: https://frontierbattle.wordpress.com
Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region: A report for the Sunshine Coast Reconciliation Group, Ray Kerkhove, December 2020
The Frontier Series, Far North Queensland History Series, Timothy Bottoms, 2021, Cairns History website: https://cairnshistory.com.au
The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police, Jonathan Richards, University of Queensland Press, 2008
Warrior: A Legendary Leader’s Dramatic Life and Violent Death on the Colonial Frontier, Libby Connors, Allen & Unwin, 2015
‘”You’ll get nothing out of it”? The Inquest, Police and Aboriginal Deaths in Colonial Queensland,’ Mark Finnane and Jonathan Richards, Australian Historical Studies, no. 123, April, 2004, pp. 84–105
More references are in the Bibliography and in Journal Articles. You can also find more information about frontier conflicts in Queensland in the main menu under Resources. Scroll down to Books, Databases, Films, Memorials and Monuments, Podcasts, Videos and Warriors.
News about frontier conflicts is often posted on this website. Check the News page.
To see a map of conflicts that happened in Queensland, please follow this link. All coordinates are approximate. Updating this map is on going and may not always reflect the list of places below.
Many thanks to those who have contributed information about frontier conflicts that occurred in Queensland. Locations will be added to the list below as new information is found and time permits. If you know of incidents that occurred, that are not included and wish to contact the author of this website, please use the form on the Contact page.
WARNING: Some of the names of places included in the following list, derived from geographical names registers, historical and modern-day maps, and other primary and secondary sources, are offensive and may be upsetting to some readers. These placenames reflect the attitudes, racism and activities of people who gave these places English names during the frontier period.
Queensland 2
Date | Location |
|---|---|
22 August 1770 | Tuined (Possession Island), Torres Strait, QLD |
1792 | Torres Strait, QLD, ships under the command of Captain William Bligh fired on Aboriginal canoes. |
| 16 July 1799 | Point Skirmish (South Point) Boorabee (Bribie) Island, QLD, Captain Matthew Flinders sails with Bongaree and crew on the Norfolk from Glass House Bay to Boorabee (Bribie) Island. After landing from a smaller craft, they encounter Aboriginal people, one of whom tries to remove Flinders' hat. Flinders refuses to let the man take off his hat. He, Bongaree, and the crew return to their boat. The Aboriginal man throws a spear near the boat. Flinders fires his musket and wounds the Aboriginal man. Flinders names the spot Point Skirmish (now known as South Point). |
Nov 1824 | South side of Yebri Creek, near Redcliffe settlement, QLD, Aboriginal people attack convicts with soldier guards as they are sawing a bloodwood tree. One Aboriginal man killed. Afterwards Aboriginal people around Redcliffe are so hostile that the settlement is moved to Brisbane. |
1827–1828 | Kangaroo Point and South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, despite a number of Aboriginal people being shot dead, Aborigines repeatedly raid and destroy maize (corn) fields on which colonists rely for food, in a bid to drive the intruders out of Aboriginal country. |
1830 | Logan Creek, Brisbane Valley, QLD, Aboriginal people, possibly with the help of convicts, allegedly murder Brisbane commandant Captain Logan. |
Mid-1831 | Minjerribah (Stradbroke) Island, QLD |
Mid-1831 | Moorgumpin (Moreton) Island near Brisbane, QLD |
1831–1832 | Moorgumpin (Morton) Island near Brisbane, QLD |
November 1832 | Minjerribah (Stradbroke) Island, QLD |
1832–1833 | Minjerribah (Stradbroke) and Moorgumpin (Moreton) Islands near Brisbane, QLD, Conflicting European accounts and Aboriginal oral history refer to a number of conflicts between staff of the Amity Point pilot station, established on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) in 1826, and Aboriginal people. |
1833 | Moorgumpin (Moreton) Island, QLD, Massacre of Aboriginal people at the top of a large lagoon on the southern end of the island, now eroded into the sea. The attack may have been the last in a series of reprisals between Aboriginal people and soldiers stationed on Minjerribah. |
1836 | Fraser Island, QLD, Captain James Fraser, and possibly crew of the shipwrecked Stirling Castle, speared. |
1838 | Crampton's Corner, north side of the McIntyre (Macintyre) River (Cowbawn Coonigal), QLD |
1838 | Kilcoy Station, north-west of Moreton Bay, QLD |
1838 | Berpengary, QLD, (26 miles (c. 42 kms) from Nundah), Aboriginal people attack Moravian missionary Pastor Gottfried Haussman. He is badly wounded but escapes. |
1840 | Long Lagoon Station, QLD |
1840 | Nundah, north Brisbane, QLD, Aboriginal people attack the German Mission more than once, notably in 1840 when 20 to 30 warriors sack the Reverend Schmidt's fields. The mission is forced to keep nightly armed watch over its crops. In retaliation Schmidt shoots and wounds Aboriginal elders. |
31 May 1840 | Near Mt Lindesay, QLD, Aboriginal people kill surveyor Stapylton and his assistant Tuck. |
1840s–1860s | Northside of Brisbane, QLD, as the Brisbane area was colonised, no allowance was made officially for Aboriginal camps. Creeks acted as de facto barriers between colonised areas and locations where Aboriginal people could live unmolested. When colonists strayed into such locations they were often harassed, robbed or subjected to violence. While Europeans allowed some traditional Aboriginal camping grounds to remain, they attacked others. Some of the incidents that occurred on the north side of Brisbane in the 1840s–1860s period are included individually in this timeline. |
1840–1860 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, for Aboriginal people, a 'front line' against encroaching British colonisation. The area was the location of a number of clashes between colonists and Aboriginal groups. Aboriginal warriors such as Billy Barlow, Commandant, Dalaipi, Dundalli, Harry Pring, Tinkabed and Yilbung were all visitors to the prosperous Breakfast Creek camps. Some of the individual incidents that took place in the Breakfast Creek area are listed in this timeline. |
31 July 1841 | Brisbane, QLD, Merrido and Neugavil wrongfully executed, for murder of Stapylton and Tuck, on a cross-arm of the Brisbane windmill (observatory tower). |
1842 | Brisbane Valley, QLD |
1842 | Callandoon district, McIntyre (Macintyre) River, QLD, two hutkeepers killed during a series of Aboriginal attacks. Pastoralists and police retaliate. |
1842 | Giggabarah Massacre, Blackall Ranges, west of Nambour and the Mary River, QLD, Fifty to 60 Giggabarah people poisoned with arsenic. Source: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Poisoning of Indigenous People', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Poisoning-of-Indigenous-People-%E2%80%A81842-Giggabarah-Massacre-TFS004.jpg |
1842 | Kilcoy Station, QLD, north-west of Moreton Bay |
1842 | Whiteside, Morton Bay, QLD |
1842–1852 | Awamolands north of Bribie Island, Caloundra, or Marcoola, QLD, Some Aboriginal men possibly wounded. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 6–7) |
1843–1846 | Rosewood Scrub, QLD, from this impenetrable area of bush, Multuggerah continues attacks on drays and travellers as far as the Darling Downs. Rosewood Homestead (now Glenore Grove) is repeatedly under siege. Colonists possibly construct a makeshift 'fort' on the property that they take turns in manning. |
12 Sept 1843 | Lockyer Valley, QLD, Battle of Meewah (Battle of One Tree Hill) (Mount Tabletop or Table Top Mountain). Aboriginal people led by Multuggerah. See Bibliography, Books on this website and Ray Kerkhove and Frank Uhr, The Battle of One Tree Hill: The Aboriginal Resistance That Stunned Queensland, Boolarong Press, 2019 |
1845 | Gilbert River, far north QLD, explorer Leichhardt's naturalist, Gilbert fatally speared. |
1845 | Wivenhoe, Brisbane Valley, QLD, John Uhr killed during an Aboriginal attack. |
Sept/Oct? 1845 | Mount Lindesay, Richmond River district, QLD, Thomas Mather, resident of South Brisbane, and a man, who went my the nickname "the Bush Lawyer" killed, apparently, during an Aboriginal attack. The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 10 October 1845, p. 3; The Moreton Bay Courier, Saturday 6 February 1847 |
1846 | Rosewood Scrub, QLD, In 1846 Multuggerah brings 500 warriors to Rosewood Homestead, almost starving out the occupants. Visitors and Rosewood Homestead residents form a party, storming Multuggerah's camp, killing him and many others. Other Aboriginal leaders such as Jackey, Uncle Marney and King Billy appear to operate from Rosewood Scrub in later years. |
strong>1846 | Victoria Park Aboriginal camp, north Brisbane, QLD, Constable Peter Murphy and party burn camp and shoot Aboriginal people. |
20 Oct 1846 | North Pine, south-east QLD, Aboriginal people led by Milbong Jemmy murder Andrew Gregor and Mrs Shannon with waddies. Mr Shannon later attacked but escapes. |
Oct 1846 | Eagle Farm, Brisbane, QLD, Milbong attacks Mr Richardson, robs his house. |
Oct 1846 | Doughboy Creek, (now part of Hemmant, Brisbane) QLD, Milbong attacks sawyers, is shot, dies almost immediately. |
1846, 1847 | Wickham Park, north Brisbane, QLD, Yilbung took regular bags of flour for his people from millworkers at the Windmill (now a hotel and restaurant on Wickham Terrace) as a 'monthly rent'. He was imprisoned for this 'impertinence.' |
1847 | Kilcoy Station, Upper Brisbane River, QLD, station hands set a trap putting arsenic-laced flour in hut. Aboriginal people rob the hut, many die after eating the flour. |
Mid-April 1847 | Whiteside Station, QLD (established on the North Pine River) |
11 Sep 1847 | North Pine, Brisbane district, QLD, Aborigines led by Dundalli kill William Waller and badly wound William Boller. James Smith escapes. |
Sept 1847 | Goodar, near Callandoon, QLD, James Marks kills an Aboriginal man. |
13 Oct 1847 | Mary River, Maryborough district, QLD, George Furber and friend attacked by Aboriginal assistants while building a woolshed. The friend is killed, Furber wounded. Furber later retaliates, shooting the Aboriginal man who attacked him. |
1847–49 | Mt Abundance, near Roma, QLD, Aboriginal people kill seven Europeans. |
c. 1847–c.1850 | Bunya lands (Blackall Ranges and Bunya Mountains, QLD, Hundreds of fatalities. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier war on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 7) |
1848 | Maryborough, QLD, Aborigines kill George Furber and his brother-in-law in the bush. |
1848 | Tingun Station near Roma, QLD, James Blythe attacked by Aboriginal people and driven off station. |
1848 | Umbercollie, QLD |
1849 | Balonne and Condamine Rivers, QLD |
1849 | Bigumbul (Bigambul), QLD |
1849 | Boombah and Burgorah (also known as Warroo), QLD Conflict over land and cattle killing after colonists take land for cattle. At Burgorah 40 Aboriginal people, up to 9 Europeans killed. Manager, Patrick Brennan, receives a spear wound in the leg. Aboriginal men counter attack stockmen, forcing them to flee to nearby Boombah, owned by Henry Dangar. Dangar's men reinforce and arm stockmen and rival Aboriginal clan. They returned to Burgorah, slaughtering resident Aboriginal people, buried c. 70 corpses in a large pit. (Wikipedia, entry on St George, Queensland, last edited 3 March 2025). |
1849 | Carbucky, QLD |
1849 | Paddy Island (also known as Paddy's Island. Formerly known as Coodes Island) Burnett River, QLD See entry on Gin Gin Station for 4 June 1849 below. |
1849 | Severn River, QLD |
1849 | Victoria Park Aboriginal camp, north Brisbane, QLD, 24 soldiers of the 11th Regiment burn camp and shoot Aboriginal residents. |
4 June 1849 | Gin Gin Station, Burnett area, QLD, Following the establishment, by Gregory Blaxland and William Forster, of Gin Gin station in 1848, tensions grew between the newcomers and the Taribelang-Bunda people on whose Country the pastoralists intruded. Aboriginal people kill shepherds, the Pegg brothers, on 4 June 1849. More about this frontier violence is covered, for example by Arthur Laurie, 'Early Gin Gin and the Blaxland Tragedy', presentation to the Historical Society of Queensland, 27 November 1952, copy available on the website of the library of the University of Queensland, and in Renee Coffey's University of Queensland's Honours Thesis, 'Frontier violence in Gin Gin: a history of murder, massacre and myth', access available at: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:319766 |
Aft June 1849 | The Cedars (about 14 miles, or 22.5 kms) from Gin Gin, QLD, Gregory Blaxland, the Thompson brothers and friendly Aborigines kill 'scores of blacks' in a disproportionate reprisal for the Pegg brothers' deaths. (See entry above). More about this massacre is recounted by Arthur Laurie in a paper, ‘Early Gin Gin and the Blaxland Tragedy’, presented to the Historical Society of Queensland on 27 November 1952. (Note: some of the language used in this paper is highly offensive today). Another source for what happened at Gin Gin and vicinity in 1849 is Renee Coffey's Honours Thesis, 'Frontier violence in Gin Gin: a history of murder, massacre and myth', School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, The University of Queensland, 2006. Access to this thesis is available at: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:319766 |
1850 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, colonist 'residents' living near Breakfast Creek petition the government for police protection from Aboriginal attacks. |
1850 | Nundah, north Brisbane, QLD, Aboriginal people harass cattle at the German Mission. |
1850 | Paddy Island, Burnett River, QLD, a punitive party of squatters and station hands from Gin Gin and surrounding properties kill hundreds of Aboriginal people on Paddy Island. Many escape by swimming the river and disappearing into the Woongarra Scrub. |
1850 | Woolooga and Widgee, north-west of Gympie, QLD, At Woolooga, north of Widgee, Frank Murray was killed and 'a lot of sheep taken'. Murray was one of two (a shepherd) or more fatalities. There were also 'several' injuries and stock losses in a 'war' between colonists and Aboriginal people. |
March 1850 | Yuleba Creek, QLD Between January 1850 and August 1851, Commissioner Roderick Mitchell, with the help of Native Police, tried to put down resistance from the Mandandanji people against Europeans who were encroaching and taking Mandandanji lands. Violence continued. Many Aboriginal people were killed in a massacre near Yuleba Creek in March 1850. |
August 1850 | Gin Gin Station (now part of the town of Gin Gin), QLD, Gregory Blaxland ambushed and killed near the station homestead. |
1850s | Kandanga/Amamoor Creek, QLD, |
1850s | Kandanga/Amamoor Creek, Imbil, QLD, |
1850s | Teewah Beach, Noosa area, QLD |
1850s | Widgee Station, Mary Valley, QLD |
1850s–1860s | Kandanga Range Road near Amamoor, QLD, One or more killings of Aboriginal people in this area. Aboriginal man shot while taking bark from a tree. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 20) |
1851 | Maranoa, QLD |
1852 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, 40 Aboriginal warriors raid Bullock's property, destroying crops. Joining with another party of 200, they raid Cash's property further north. A large party of eight mounted men and colonists attack Aboriginal camps in reprisal. Despite the camps being empty the 'posse' burn down and destroy whatever they can. |
1852 | K'gari (Fraser Island), QLD |
1852 | Isla Station, Dawson River, QLD, Aborigines kill McLaren near the station homestead. |
1852 | Rawbelle Station, QLD, an Aboriginal man named Davey kills Adolphus Trevethan |
1852 | Yaroomba/Coolum, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Five castaways from the Thomas King shipwreck killed by Aboriginal warriors. Only two survivors made it back to Brisbane after a marathon walk. James Smith, a survivor of a previous frontier attack, recognised warrior-leader Maki-Light (Moggy Moggy) as one of the ringleaders in the attack. It was believed to be a reprisal for a hanging his party mistakenly believed to be occurring in Brisbane at the time. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, December 2020, pp. 11–12) |
1852 | Wagoo, (St George area) QLD |
May–July 1852 | Yamboucal Station (near Surat), QLD |
22 Aug 1852 | Queen Street, Brisbane, QLD, Davey, an Aboriginal man, hanged for murder of Adolphus Trevethan. |
1853 | Bunya lands (Blackall Ranges and Bunya Mountains), QLD, invasion |
3 Dec 1853 | Sandgate, Brisbane area, QLD, Aborigines attack Tom Dowse and family. They escape with their lives. Incident leads to the establishment of a Native Police camp at Sandgate headed by Lt. Wheeler. |
1853–1854 | Imbil (Yabba Creek)/Imbil Island, QLD, Several fatalities during a "collision" between Native Mounted Police and 'warring' Aboriginal groups who joined forces against the police. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast Noosa Region, 2020, p. 8 |
c. 1854 | Miriam Vale, QLD |
1854 | Granville, QLD |
1854 | Nundah, north Brisbane, QLD, 60 Aboriginal warriors surround a colonist's homestead, pulling up all crops. |
1854 | Tieryboo, QLD |
25 Dec 1854 | Mt Larcom Station, Port Curtis district, QLD, Aboriginal people murder five of Young's employees while he is away at Gladstone. The Native Police pursue murderers, killing many. |
c. 1854–1860 | Near Teewah Beach, Noosa area, QLD, Teewah Massacre: 'a number of fatalities', possibly perpetrated by the Native Police, led by Lt John Bligh. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 19–20) |
5 Jan 1855 | Queen Street, Brisbane, QLD, Dundalli hanged. |
1856 | Werribone (Weribone), QLD |
December 1856 | Hornet Bank, Dawson River, QLD |
1856–1857 | Hornet Bank, Dawson River, QLD |
1856–1857 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Aboriginal groups continually harass, raid and rob colonists. Colonists retaliate with punitive attacks. |
1857 | Great Keppel Islands, QLD |
27 October 1857 | Hornet Bank Massacre (Fraser family), Hornet Bank Station, Dawson River Basin, QLD Example of sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Hornet Bank Massacre', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Hornet-Bank-Massacre-1857-TFS001.jpg |
1857–58 | Hornet Bank, Dawson River, district QLD, retaliatory massacres of hundreds of Yeeman people Example of sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Hornet Bank Massacre', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Hornet-Bank-Massacre-1857-TFS001.jpg' |
1858 | Fairymead, QLD |
1858 | Maryborough, QLD |
1858 | Nundah, north Brisbane, QLD, Nundah colonists decide on a 'pre-emptive strike' against a local Aboriginal camp after becoming frightened by a war-making corroboree and threats from Aboriginal warriors. The colonists fire shots into the camp. While Aboriginal deaths and injuries are unknown, the camp is abandoned for two months. As revenge, Aboriginal survivors disperse and kill many cattle on the Pine Rivers. |
6 Apr 1858 | Eurombah Station, Dawson River area, QLD, Aborigines kill two shepherds. |
1859 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Five police destroy Aboriginal camps near Breakfast Creek, kill and injure at least two of the 100 Aboriginal camp residents. |
September 1859 | Near Brisbane, QLD, Shooting of an Aboriginal woman and injuries to two children |
| Early 1860s | "Waterview". North Bundaberg, QLD |
| 1860s | Doonan, (today a rural locality between Sunshine Coast and Shire of Noosa), QLD, William Cash and Andrews Jones beat off an attack by a group of Aboriginal people. Doonan is not far from Murdering Creek. This may have been one of the incidents that provoked the massacre of Aboriginal people at Murdering Creek in mid-1864. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 15) |
| 1860s | South of Gympie, past Seven Mile Hotel on 'Brisbane Road', QLDAboriginal man lures Frank Luke into bush, where he is almost speared and robbed. Luke could hear warriors making call signals to each other as they were preparing to attack him. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 15) |
1860 | Bendemere, QLD, Frederick Carr's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. |
1860 | Fassifern, QLD, Frederick Wheeler's Native Police detachment kill several Aboriginal people. An inquest or inquiry in January 1861 reprimands Wheeler. |
1860 | Flinders Peak, near Ipswich, QLD, Frederick Wheeler's Native Police detachment possibly kill unknown number of Aboriginal people. Inquest or inquiry into the deaths of Tommy and an unknown Aboriginal person concludes they were killed by the Native Police. |
1860 | Kenilworth Station, QLD, Possibly up to 10 fatalities and/or loss of stock. This station was established on the edge of the Bunya Bunya Reserve, so may have been attacked. Historian Ian Pedley's account of a massacre of colonists at Kenilworth in 1860 could be drawing on a distorted memory of killings at Hornet Bank in 1857, as no soldiers, who had allegedly been sent out against 'the Blacks', were apparently used against Aboriginal people in Queensland after 1849. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 13) |
1860 | Kenilworth/Kenilworth Bluff, QLD, Oral traditions of Kabi Kabi and descendants of colonists report a massacre of Aboriginal people at Kenilworth Bluff, an important Aboriginal bora ground, signalling, spiritual and burial site. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 20–21) |
1860 | Maryborough, QLD, John Bligh's Native Police detachment possibly kill unknown number of Aboriginal people. February 1860 Inquest or inquiry into the death of the Aboriginal man, Darky, concludes Native Police shot him. |
| Nov/Dec 1860 | Rockhampton area, QLD, Native Police Troopers, Toby and Gulliver are arrested and charged with the rape and murder of Fanny Briggs. Trooper Ballantyne is also charged in December 1860 but later released. Gulliver shot dead while escaping, after admitting his part in the Briggs murder. Trooper Alma, possibly implicated but never charged, shot while trying to escape from Rockhampton Gaol. |
| Late 1860s | Lolworth Massacre (N*****'s Bounce), north QLD Gudjala people shot by the Hann brothers, William and Frank. Example of sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Lolworth Massacre', The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Lolworth-Massacre-Niggers-Bounce-late-1860s-TFS002.jpg |
1861 | Albinia Downs, QLD |
1861 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Aboriginal people drive off colonists' drays and rob travellers. Constable Griffin and two mounted police raid Aboriginal camp and make arrests. |
1861 | Bulloo, QLD, conflict between members of the Burke and Wills expedition and Aboriginal people. |
1861 | Dawson River, QLD, an inquest or inquiry into the death of ex-Trooper Tahiti, concludes in July 1861 that he was shot by the Native Police. |
1861 | Near Emerald, QLD |
1861 | Fairfield Station, QLD, William Moorhead's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. An inquest or inquiry concludes in December 1861 that at least one Aboriginal person, name unknown, was shot by the Native Police. |
1861 | Flinders River, QLD, Native Police kill 12 Aboriginal people in a clash over the right to camp at a fresh water spring. |
1861 | Manumbar, QLD, Rudolph Morisset's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1861 | Medway Ranges, central highlands, QLD |
1861 | Planet Creek, Springsure district, QLD, Native Police involved in killing Aboriginal people. |
| Early 1861 | Rockhampton area, QLD, Native Police Lieutenant Rudolph Morriset shoots an alleged Aboriginal deserter, implicated in the Briggs murder, who had escaped to the bush. |
| 11 April 1861 | "Bunya Bunya" (Jimna/Maleny/Mapleton), Blackall Ranges(?), QLD, Lieutenant Wheeler of the Native Police reported that his unit had '"dispersed" bunya bunya natives' and patrolled 'bunya bunya lands'. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 21) |
| 10 June 1861 | "Bunya Bunya" (Jimna/Maleny/Mapleton), Blackall Ranges(?), QLD, Lieutenant Wheeler of the Native Police reported that his unit had "dispersed' 'bunya bunya natives' and patrolled 'bunya bunya lands'. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 21) |
17 October 1861 | Cullinguringa (Cullin-La-Ringo), north of Springsure, central Queensland ("Wills Tragedy"), Up to 50 Aboriginal people attack and murder 19 of 25 colonists who are setting up a very large 260 square-kilometre (64,000-acre) property on Aboriginal country north of Springsure. For sources see, e.g., Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Cullin-la-ringo', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Cullin-la-ringo-1861-TFS009.jpg |
| 21–24 October 1861 | Springsure area, QLD, following the Cullinguringa (Cullin-La-Ringo) massacre, eleven colonists pursue the Aboriginal people they believe to be the perpetrators. The Aboriginal camp is 'stormed on foot with success' very early on the morning of 23 October 1861. The number of Aboriginal people injured or killed in the ensuing fight is not recorded. Tom Wills, famous sportsman, and son of Horatio Wills, is alleged to have taken part in a reprisal against First Nations' people involved at the Cullinguringa killings. (For more see the News page on this website. On 24 October 1861, Native Police Lieutenant William Cave commands a detachment that begins a further pursuit in reprisal against Aboriginal people. Colonists from the Leichhart District, occupation of which is growing rapidly, call for a bigger native police presence in the district. See also, Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Cullin-la-ringo', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Cullin-la-ringo-1861-TFS009.jpg |
| October 1861 | Maranoa River, QLD, in the aftermath of the Cullinguringa (Cullin-La-Ringo) massacre, Native Police kill at least 10 Aboriginal people in a 'dispersal' at the Maranoa River. Two Native Police injured. |
November 1861 | Roxburgh (Roxborough) Downs, QLD |
c. 1862 | Cape Upstart, QLD |
1862 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Constable Griffin and a trooper 'disperse' Aboriginal people in the area. |
1862 | Burgorah and Gulnarbar, QLD , |
1862 | Caboolture, near Brisbane, QLD |
1862 | Coongoola, QLD |
1862 | Lower Dawson River, QLD, Ralph Johnson's Native Police detachment kills at least one Aboriginal person. An inquest or inquiry concludes in December 1862 that the Native Police shot at least one Aboriginal person. |
Between 1 and 30 Sep 1862 | Pigeon Creek station, on tributary of the Warrego River, QLD, 25 bodies [of First Nations people] found after a 'Native police action' on the Warrego River. Jonathan Richards, The Secret War: A True History of Queensland's Native Police, p. 68; Blagden Chambers, Black and White: The story of a massacre and its aftermath, 1988. |
1863 | Gayndah, QLD, Joseph Harris's Native police detachment kill an Aboriginal man called Jemmy. An inquiry or inquest concludes in April 1863 that the native Police shot Jemmy. Officer Harris is suspended and dismissed for neglect of duty in 'allowing his troopers out of his control'. |
1863 | Mapleton/Obi Obi area, near Mooloolah, QLD, A traveller is speared to death in rainforest between Mooloolah and Upper Obi Obi Creek. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 13) |
1863 | Meteor Creek, Springsure district, QLD, William Sharpe's Native Police detachment involved in killing of at least one Aboriginal person. |
1863 | Tieryboo, Dalby, QLD, Frederick Carr's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. An inquest or inquiry concludes in January 1863 that the native Police shot an Aboriginal man, named Tallboy. |
1863 | Yatton, QLD, Marmaduke Richardson's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. An inquiry or inquest concludes in September 1863 that the Native Police shot an Aboriginal man called Wallace. Richardson is dismissed. |
December 1863 | Currimundi/Moffat Beach area, (somewhere between bunya bunya lands (Maleny/Mapleton) and north of Caboolture, QLD, Massacre of Aboriginal people near the coast in this area. Lieutenant Wheeler of the Native Mounted Police reported that his unit patrolled the bunya lands 'to no effect'. Thereafter the unit 'dispersed large mob of Aborigines near to seacoast'. ('Dispersal' was the usual term the Native Mounted Police used for a massacre. A standing battle was referred to as a 'skirmish'. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 21–22) |
1864 | Eureka near Bundaberg, QLD, Brown's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. |
1864 | Pabaju (Albany Island), QLD |
c. March 1864 | Mooloolah Plains (rural locality in the Sunshine Coast region), QLD, Lieutenant Wheeler of the Native Mounted Police reported his troops were '"dispersing" natives at Mooloolah'. Inter-tribal tournaments were often held on the Mooloolah Plains. After bunya feasts, large numbers of Aboriginal people went to Mooloolaba, Buderim and Alexandra Headlands to fish and to collect oysters. Wheeler's patrol may have confronted and 'dispersed' Aboriginal people around this time. |
c. Mid-1864 | Murdering Creek near Lake Wyeba, near Noosa Heads, QLD, massacre of Aboriginal people. Many fatalities. See also entry on Lake Wyeba c. 1867–1868 and Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 26–27. This report puts the date of the massacre as c. 1868–1869. See also entry on Murdering Creek for c. 1868–1869 below. |
4 June 1864 | Sander's Run, QLD |
10 June 1864 | Expedition Range, QLD |
16 December 1864 | North of Nassau River, QLD Frederick and Alexander Jardine kill nine Kokoberrin warriors. Source: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Jardine's Trip Up Cape York Peninsula 1864', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Jardines-Trip-Up-Cape-York-Peninsula-1864-TFS011.jpg |
18 December 1864 | Mitchell River, Cape York Peninsula, QLD, in the Battle of the Mitchell, Aboriginal warriors, hurling spears, fought a pitched battle against armed Europeans. Many warriors were killed or injured. No colonists were injured or died. Possibly up to 72 First Nations people shot in 11 separate incidents during the Jardines' trip up Cape York. Example of Sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Jardine's Trip Up Cape York Peninsula 1864', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Jardines-Trip-Up-Cape-York-Peninsula-1864-TFS011.jpg |
December 1864? | Alice River, Cape York Peninsula, QLD,More than 31 First Nations people killed (up to 59 killed or wounded) when the Jardine brothers encountered a gathering of about 70 to 80 men who were probably attending a ceremony. Example of Sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Jardine's Trip Up Cape York Peninsula 1864', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Jardines-Trip-Up-Cape-York-Peninsula-1864-TFS011.jpg |
c. 1865 | Eudlo Flats, junction of Eudlo Creek and Maroochy River, QLDMapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 22) |
c. 1865–1870 | Maroochy River (Bli Bli?), QLD, Puram shot on the Maroochy River, most likely at Bli Bli, renowned for kombo (shipworm), while diving for kombo. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 23) |
c. 1865–1870 | Ninderry Station, QLD, Kabi Kabi rainmaker Karal (Banjor or 'Banjo') shot at and nearly died from poisoned flour. Karal recalled poisoning of other Aboriginal people at Ninderry Station. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 24) |
1865 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Aboriginal people attack two constables. Aboriginal camps in the Breakfast Creek area burnt down again in revenge. |
1865 | Calliope, QLD, Arthur Beevor's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. An inquiry or inquest concludes in October 1865 that an unknown Aboriginal person or persons was/were killed by the Native Police. |
1865 | Dawson River district, QLD, Otto Paschen's Native Police detachment involved in 'numerous collisions'. |
| 1865 | Glenmore, QLD |
1865 | Mailman's Gorge, near Aramac, QLD |
1865 | Maroochy River at Horseshoe Bend (Bli Bli/Yandina), QLD, Up to 200 Aboriginal warriors hold Timber cutter (later Constable) George Doyle and companions under siege at his timber-getting hut on the Maroochy River. The incident sparks brutal retaliation. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 13) |
1865 | Maroochy River at Horseshoe Bend (probably Bli Bli/Yandina), QLD, Timber-getter and later Constable George Doyle creates a booby trap from his hut, using rifles, gunpowder, slug shot, nails and a wedge that would strike matches. This lethal contraption results in the deaths of an unspecified but large number of fallacies of Aboriginal people. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 23) |
1865 | Thouringowa (Thuringowa) Waterhole, QLD |
May 1865 | Near Rannes, QLD, Native Police officer, Cecil Hill, killed during an Aboriginal attack. |
8 June 1865 | Rio Station, Dawson River, QLD, Aborigines ambush and kill a European police sergeant and three Aboriginal troopers. |
Mid-1860s | Doonella Lake, east of Tewantin, QLD, Kabi Kabi leader Sergeant (King) Brown and 20 warriors confront Mr Hay demanding food. Brown strikes Mr Hay on the head as he bends down. Hay manages to retrieve his revolver, shots on the ground around the group who then flee. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 14) |
Mid-1860s | West of Rockhampton, QLD |
1860s–1870s | Cooloothin Creek, Sunshine Coast/Noosa area, QLD, According to Kabi tradition a massacre of Aboriginal people occurred at Cooloothin Creek, possibly in the 1860s/1870s. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 25) |
c. 1866 | Chesterton (Pigeon) Creek, QLD |
1866 | Banana, QLD, Native Police officer, Edward Seymour, kills an Aboriginal woman. An inquiry or inquest concludes in February 1866 that the Native Police killed the woman. Seymour was discharged in 1868 after his position was abolished. Jonathan Richards, The Secret War: A True Story of Queensland's Native Police, UQP, 2008, p. 259 |
1866 | Imbil run, near Gympie, QLD, Large numbers of Aboriginal people gather on the Imbil run, killing two heifers and threatening local squatters with more "destruction". Sub-inspector Fruedenthal and troopers visit Imbil run but take no action as their horses were "all knocked up". (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 14) |
1866 | Mooloolah River (Old Daisy's Place), waterhole, Glenview area, QLD, Three Kabi Kabi men, Captain Piper, Tommy Skyring and Johnny Griffins, kill and rob botanist William Stephens while assisting him on an expedition in the Glenview area. Constable Nalty and later Sub-Inspector Frudenthal (Freudenthal?), with troopers, search for the three men without success. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 14) |
1866 | Pearl Creek, QLD |
1866 | Perch Creek, QLD |
c. 1867 | Broadsound district, QLD |
c. 1867 | Kin Kin Creek, near confluence with Lake Cootharaba, towards northern end of lake, Noosa area, QLD, Abraham Luya and Major Alexander Boyd claim to have been verbally abused, physically threatened and held under siege for between one and three days at their timber-getting huts on Kin Kin Creek. Alexander Boyd uses this incident for creating a booby trap that killed many warriors. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 14–15) |
1867 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, 15 Aboriginal people steal a boat and ransack a cutter. Sub-Inspector of Police Gough burns Aboriginal camps in the Breakfast Creek area. |
1867 | Goulbolba Hill, central QLD |
1867 | Kin Kin Creek, and area between Lake Cootharaba and Kin Kin, QLD, While heavy logging is going on the area, Abraham Boyd kills up to 20 Aboriginal men with a rifle and booby-trap during a siege of his hut. Abraham Luya is also besieged at his Kin Kin hut. Whether any Aboriginal people were killed is not known. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 24–25) |
1867 | Morinish, QLD, Myrtil Aubin's Native Police detachment kills unknown number of Aboriginal people. An inquiry or inquest concludes in March 1867 that the native Police shot an Aboriginal man named Tommy. Aubin is dismissed. |
1867 | Paroo River, south-west QLD, William Hill's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1867 | Stawell River, QLD |
1867 | The Leap, north-west of Mackay, QLD |
1867 | Turtle Head Island, QLD |
1867 | Widgee Creek and Glastonbury Creek, head of, west of Gympie, QLD, Aboriginal groups use the Widgee Scrubs as a stronghold and rainforest as a cover. Reports of 'depredations' on colonists' cattle. Loyau claims land had to be won from First Peoples 'acre by acre' of bloodshed. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 16) |
c. 1867–1868 | Lake Wyeba, near Noosa, QLD, Colonists from Maryborough brought cattle to feed around Lake Wyeba. The colonists shoot at Aboriginal people after they speared some cattle. Possibly some wounding or fatalities of Aboriginal people. This site of the incident was the lake shore where today's Noosa aerodrome is located. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 25) |
1868 | Albert Downs, Gregory River, QLD, Aboriginal people rob station of firearms, axes, food and other supplies. "Dispersed by law of the carbine'. No loss of lives or injuries reported. |
1868 | Burdekin, QLD |
1868 | Cassidy's Station, Leichhardt River, QLD, Aboriginal people attack station, 'dispersed by law of the carbine'. No deaths or injuries reported. |
1868 | Grosvenor Downs, QLD |
1868 | Gregory River, QLD, |
1868 | Inverleigh, QLD |
1868 | Mailman's Gorge near Aramac, QLD, more than 25 Aboriginal people slaughtered. |
1868 | Norman River, QLD, Aborigines kill Cannon, Manson and a number of Chinese employees on Liddie and Hetzer's station. |
1868 | South of Burketown, QLD (Uhr Massacre), Uhr's Native Police detachment slaughter Aboriginal people in a massacre. |
17 Dec 1868 | North Creek Station, Nebo, QLD, Aborigines murder JT Collins. |
c. 1868–1869 | Murdering Creek, southern side of Lake Wyeba, near Noosa, QLD Murdering Creek Massacre. Many fatalities of Aboriginal people are believed to have occurred at Murdering Creek. See also entry on Lake Wyeba c. 1867–1868. (Sources: Ray Gibbons 2015, ‘Deconstructing colonial myths: the massacre at Murdering Creek’, Academia online: https://www.academia.edu/12361316/Deconstructing_colonial_myths_the_massacre_at_Murdering_Creek; Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 26–27) |
c. 1868–1869 | Yandina Run (covered area from Dunethin to Maroochy River between Noosa and Mooloolah), QLD, Overseer speared, hundreds of stock lost. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 16–17) |
1869 | Bowen district, QLD |
1869 | Muralag (Prince of Wales Island), QLD, Aborigines capture captain and crew of a cutter, kill some crew and a boy. Captain Montgomerie's frigate Blanche with police aboard embarks on a punitive expedition against the 'Mt Ernest natives' believed responsible. Three 'chiefs' shot. |
1869 | Nebo, QLD, Robert Johnstone's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1869 | Woodstock, QLD |
1870 | Barcoo River, QLD, Edward Wheeler's Native Police detachment kills several Aboriginal people. |
Early 1870s | Battle hole, Barcoo River, QLD |
1870s | Gilbert River, QLD |
1870s | Yandina Creek, near Coolum, QLD, Several Aboriginal people wounded and some possible fatalities when colonists shot at Aboriginal people on their way to a bora ring of spiritual significance. The shots were taken from men's quarters on Yandina cattle station, nearby which were several bora rings.(Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 27) |
1870–90 | Kalkadoon Wars, Mt Isa region, QLD (see also Battle Mountain below) |
| 1871 | Cloncurry, QLD, an inquest or inquiry into the death of an unknown Aboriginal person concludes that WD Uhr shot the person. Charges dismissed. |
1871 | Gilberton, QLD, deadly clashes between Aboriginal people, miners and Native Police. |
1871 | Somerset, QLD, Frank Jardine allegedly shoots four Native Police troopers, three apparently survive but try to escape by sea in a canoe a month later. |
| 1871 | Tiaro, QLD, an inquest or inquiry concludes in June 1871 that Police Constable McMullen shot an Aboriginal man named Bungaree. |
1872 | Aramac, Barcaldine region, QLD, Frederick Maier killed. |
1872 | Near Cardwell, QLD, Aborigines kill some survivors of Maria shipwreck, help others |
1872 | Near Cardwell, QLD, Native Police involved in reprisals against Aboriginal people believed to have killed Maria shipwreck survivors. |
1872 | Cloncurry, QLD, Alexander Salmond's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1872 | Clump Point, Mission Beach, QLD, Robert Johnstone's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1872 | Gladstone, QLD, Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. Inquires or inquests concluded in August (for and Aboriginal man called Billy) and in September 1872 for Harry and Tommy, that the Native Police under the command of Alexander Douglas had shot them. |
1872 | Djiru massacre, opposite Dunk (Coonanglebah) Island, QLD |
1872 | Herbert River, far north QLD, Charles Shairp (Sharpe)'s Native Police detachment kills an Aboriginal woman. An inquest or inquiry concludes in September 1872 that an Aboriginal woman called Cassey was shot by the native Police. Shairp or Sharpe is dismissed. |
1872 | Hinchinbrook Island, QLD |
1872 | Mount Leonard, QLD |
1872 | Sweers Island, QLD |
1872 | Tambo, Barcoo River, central QLD, Thomas Williams's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. An inquest or inquiry concludes in October 1872 that Billy and Chow Chow were shot by the Native Police. Williams is dismissed. |
1872 | Near Yaamba, north of Rockhampton, QLD |
1872 | Valley of Lagoons, QLD, Johnstone's Native Police detachment alleged to have killed Aboriginal people. |
1872 | Wombindery Waterhole, QLD |
1872 | Wyandotte (Whyandot) Station, QLD Dr Timothy Bottoms mentions Wyandotte Station in Chapter 8, 'Dark Deeds in the Northern Rainforests––the Tully and Cairns Districts', on p. 137 of his book, Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s Frontier Killing Times, Allen & Unwin, 2013. This reference relates to the activities of 'Mr. Johnson' (Acting Sub-Inspector Robert Johnstone) at Wyandotte (also spelt 'Whyandot') Station in 1872. Richard Bird Hall wrote a letter to the Editor of the Brisbane Courier from Alice River, Townsville on 27 July 1872 about the treatment of First Nations people, including at 'Whyandot', by Acting Sub Inspector Johnstone. Mr Hall’s letter as published in the Brisbane Courier on 10 August 1872, p. 5 (available on the National Library of Australia's Trove Newspaper database). |
1873 | Aramac, Barcaldine region, QLD, John Carroll's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1873 | Opposite Double Island, QLD |
1873 | Herbert River, QLD, Johnstone's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1873 | Massacre Sandhill, QLD |
1873 | Normanby, QLD, Aulaire Morisset's Native Police detachment involved in killing. |
1873 | Northern QLD (Pearl Shellers' Revenge) |
1873 | Palm Cove, QLD, Johnstone's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1873 | Skull Creek near Nebo, QLD |
1873 | St Lawrence, QLD, Native Police detachment under the command of Alexander Douglas, shoot Aboriginal men, Charley and Dickey. Inquiries or inquests conclude in July and August respectively that the Native Police shot the men. |
April 1873 | Green Island off Cairns, QLD |
10 July 1873 | Green Island off Cairns, QLD |
22 Nov 1873 | Gilberton goldfield, QLD, Aborigines kill two Chinese prospectors, two reported missing. |
c. December 1873 | Battle Camp 'collision' far north QLD, European prospectors and Native Police engage in armed battle with Aboriginal tribespeople. Hundreds of Aboriginal people killed, about four Europeans speared to death. |
c. 1873 | Elderslie station, Diamantina River, QLD, Carroll's Native Police from Aramac slaughter many male Aborigines on the station. |
1874 | Breakfast Creek, Brisbane, QLD, Mounted police 'disperse' occupants of Aboriginal camps in the area. |
| 1874 | Bloomfield River, far north QLD, while trying to find a shorter route from the coast to the Palmer goldfield, Edward Dumaresq's Native Police detachment is involved in a number of killings of Aboriginal people. |
1874 | Gilberton, QLD, Henry Finch's Native Police detachment involved in killings of Aboriginal people. |
June 1874 | Green Island off Cairns, QLD |
| 1874 | Herbert River, QLD, Native Police shoot Trooper Sam. An inquiry or inquest concludes in October 1874 that the Native Police shot Trooper Sam. |
| 1874 | Traveston Station and Cootharaba, QLD, Three Aboriginal warriors attack and rob a Chinese worker in the bush, then threaten Mr Campbell of Traveston Station, demanding money and challenging him to a fight. The warriors 'completely sacked' Cootharaba hut, later hiding out at Mt Cooroy. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 17) |
Late 1874 | Palmer River area, QLD, Aboriginal people kill Straher family. |
1874–1875 | Blackfellows Creek, far north Queensland |
1875 | Miriam Vale, QLD, Native Police officer Alexander Douglas involved in an Aboriginal killing or killings. An inquiry or inquest concludes in May 1875 that an Aboriginal person called Comey, was shot by the Native Police under Douglas's command. |
1875 | Palmer River area, QLD, reprisals against Aboriginal people following Straher deaths |
| 1875 | Aramac, QLD, Native Police Officer John Carroll is implicated in the shooting of Trooper Echo. An inquest or inquiry concludes in October 1875 that the Native Police killed Trooper Echo. Carroll is charged with murder of a trooper and the flogging of an Aboriginal woman but the case is dismissed. He is dismissed in 1876 for the murder of a trooper. |
1876 | Banchory Station near Clermont, QLD, Native Police officer Frederick Wheeler charged with murder of an Aboriginal man named Jemmy. An inquiry or inquest concludes in January 1876 that the Native Police killed Jemmy. Wheeler charged with the Banchory murder and is dismissed. Despite charges is allowed to remain free. Wheeler disappears. Dies in Java 1882. (Timothy Bottoms, Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland's Frontier Killing Times, UQP, 2013, pp. 86, 87; Jonathan Richards, Chapter 8 '"Many were killed from falling over the cliffs": The naming of Mount Wheeler, Central Queensland', in Ian D Clark, Luise Hercus and Laura Kostansk eds, Indigenous and Minority Placenames: Australian and International Perspectives, ANU Press and Aboriginal History Inc., 2014, pp. 147–16.) In 2007 Darumbul people awarded native title on Mt Wheeler. After Darumbal lobbying, name of Mt Wheeler is changed to Gai'i in 2018. On 21 April 2022 Queensland Government grants Darumbal people freehold title and control over a 13.5-hectare reserve where a massacre of 300 Aboriginal people took place at the foot of Gai'i. |
1876 | Creen Creek, QLD, Native Police detachments led by Armit and Poingdestre kill Aboriginal people. |
1876 | Kennedy River, QLD |
March 1876 | Mistake Creek, near Clermont, QLD |
1876 | Yandina, QLD, One Aboriginal woman wounded and possibly many others in a 'dispersal' of Aboriginal people camped near the Yandina (Maroochie) Hotel. Police were called in to break up an inter-tribal fight that the Low family believed might have escalated into an attack on their homestead. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, p. 28) |
c. 1876 | Kangkirr Creek, QLD |
| 1877 | Townsville, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in February 1877 that Constable MacNeill shot an Aboriginal man called Jackey. |
February 1878 | Range west of Cairns, QLD |
February 1878 | Tuck-au-noo, far north QLD, Aboriginal people allegedly murder W Bird in retaliation for kidnapping three members of local tribe. |
31 August 1878 | Smithfield near Cairns, QLD |
1878 | Murray Island, QLD |
August 1878 | Whitsunday Islands, QLD, Aboriginal attack on the schooner Louisa Maria and her crew. Native Police reprisals led by George Nowlan. |
Late 1878 | Cooktown district, far north QLD |
1878? | Warroo Station, St George, QLD |
c. 1878–79 | Skull Hole (Creek), or Bladensburg Massacre, western Queensland Example of sources: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Skull Hole, Bladensburg Massacre, 1878–79', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Skull-Hole-Bladensburg-1878-9-TFS005.jpg |
1879 | Cape Bedford, far north QLD |
1879 | Near Cooktown, QLD, Stanhope O'Connor's Native Police detachment involved in killing Aboriginal people. |
1879 | Glengyle, QLD |
1879 | Mossman River, QLD, George Nowlan's Native Police detachment involved in killing Aboriginal people. |
1879 | Ravine, QLD |
1879 | Selwyn Range, north-west Queensland |
1879 | Thursday Island, QLD |
c. December, 1879 | Woonamo (Wonomo) Billabong (Waterhole), Suleiman Creek, north-west QLD Kalkadoon men kill four Russian cattlemen led by Bernard Molvo. A reprisal massacre involving the Native Police ensues. For more details see: Dr Timothy Bottoms, 'Woonamo (Molvo) Killings and subsequent massacre 1879', 'The Frontier Series', Far North Queensland History Series, https://cairnshistory.com.au/content/uploads/2021/07/The-Frontier-Series-Woonamo-Molvo-Killings-and-Massacre-1879-TFS006.jpg |
September 1879 | Mulgrave River near Cairns, QLD |
1880 | Normanton district, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in February 1880 that Constable Hedges shot Aboriginal Trooper Brandy. |
Early 1880s | Clohesy River near Kuranda, QLD |
Early 1880s | Moonjaree, QLD |
1880s | Koonchera Point, Birdsville, QLD (Mindiri Massacre) |
1880s | Poeppels (Poeppel) Corner, east Simpson Desert, QLD (Wardamba Massacre) |
1880s | Tinnenburra, QLD |
Late 1880s | Near Cairns, QLD |
c. 1880 | Butcher's Creek area, QLD, according to Ngadjonji oral history, fighting erupts between colonists and Aboriginal people after Europeans interfere with Aboriginal women while their men are away from camp. Some colonists speared, many Aboriginal people shot. More Aboriginal people shot in later incidents. |
c. 1880s–1900 | Landers Shoot/Palmwoods, Blackall Ranges?, QLD, Possible massacre of Aboriginal people between the 1880s and 1900, referred to as the 'Dark Legacy' tale. (Ray Kerkhove, Mapping Frontier War on the Sunshine Coast/Noosa Region, 2020, pp. 28–29) < |
1881 | Bibhoora near Mareeba, QLD |
1881 | Lizard Island, north of Cooktown, QLD, Mrs Mary Watson and baby disappear from a fishing station after Chinese manservants speared. Aboriginal people blamed for killings. Native Police inspector Hervey Fitzgerald leads punitive killing raids on the coast north of Cooktown. |
1881 | Normanton, QLD, Aboriginal people kill Native Police sub-inspector Dyas. |
| 1881 | Victoria Downs, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in January 1881 that Constable Cameron shot an Aboriginal man named Jamie. |
1881 | Woolgar, QLD, Native Police officer Henry Kaye killed during an Aboriginal attack. Native Police reprisals follow under command of William Nichols. |
1882 | Cloncurry, QLD, Frederick Urquhart's Native Police detachment kill Kalkadoon people. |
1882 | McKinlay Ranges near Cloncurry, QLD, Native Police cadet, Marcus La Poer Beresford, killed in Aboriginal attack. |
| 1882 | Taroom, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in October 1882 that Constable Wright killed an Aboriginal man named Toby. |
1882 | Tudu (Warrior Island), Torres Strait, QLD |
November 1882 | Between Granite Creek (later Mareeba) and Cairns, QLD |
1883 | Cooloolah, Cloncurry district, QLD, Alfred Smart's Native Police detachment kill Kalkadoon people. |
23 July 1883 | Russell River near Cairns, QLD |
26 August 1883 | Near Russell River, QLD |
1884 | Battle Mountain (Mount Remarkable), near Mount Isa, QLD (Kalkadoon Wars) |
| 1884(5)? | Blackall, QLD, Native Police under the command of Robert Kyle Little (?) shoot an unknown Aboriginal person. Inquiry or inquest concludes this in October 1884. |
1884 | Grenada, QLD |
1884 | Irvinebank, inland from Cairns, QLD, Nichols's and Garraway's Native Police detachment kill at least six Aboriginal people. Bodies burnt. Inquiries or inquests conclude in August and November 1884 that the Native Police shot Aboriginal people called Spooendyke, Toby, King Billy and Kitty and two unknown Aboriginal females. Nichols and troopers charged with murder, charges fail. Nichols dismissed. |
1884 | Mistake Creek, Isaac region, QLD, Frederick Urquhart's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1884 | Mulgrave River, QLD |
1884 | Selwyn Range, QLD |
1884 | Skull Pocket/Mulgrave River/Skeleton Creek, QLD |
1884 | White Hills, QLD |
August 1884 | Russell River near Cairns, QLD |
Aug/Dec 1884 | Mulgrave River near Cairns, QLD |
21 December 1884 | Mulgrave River near Cairns, QLD |
1885 | Blackall, QLD, Robert Little's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
| 1885 | Cockatoo Bora, QLD |
1885 | Norman River, QLD, Lyndon Poingdestre's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
6 Sept 1886 | Near Cairns, QLD |
1887 | Kimberley, Normanton district, QLD, Daniel Lorigan's and Lyndon Poingdestre's Native Police detachments kill Aboriginal people. Inquiries or inquests conclude in October and November 1887 that the Native Police shot three unknown Aboriginal people. |
| 1888 | Near Barron River, QLD, Native Police member John de Linden Affleck shoots Trooper Peter dead. |
1888 | Diamantina district, south-west QLD |
| 1888 | Ingham, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in January 1888 that Constable Cannon shot an Aboriginal man called Tommy. |
1888 | Kirrima, QLD |
Late 1880s | Near Cairns, QLD |
| 1888 | Port Douglas, QLD, (see Barron River above) an inquiry or inquest concludes in September 1888 that Native Police member Affleck shot Trooper Peter. |
| 1888 | Queensland, inquiry or inquest concludes in December 1888 that Ernest Henry T (?) Carr shot an Aboriginal male called Paddy. |
1888–89 | Boar (Boar's Pocket) near Cairns, QLD |
1889 | Coen, QLD |
1889 | Lawn Hill, north-western QLD, Alfred Wavell killed while attempting to arrrest Aboriginal man, Joe Flick. |
1889 | Mein, north QLD, Frederick Urquhart's Native Police detachment kill Aboriginal people. |
1889 | Pine Tree Station, QLD |
Mid-1890s | Speewah near Kuranda, far north QLD |
Mid-1890s | Spring Valley between Cairns and Port Douglas, QLD |
Mid-1890s? | Flaggy Creek near Kuranda, QLD |
Mid-1890s? | Mona Mona near Kuranda, QLD |
July 1890 | Lower Barron River, QLD? |
| 1891 | Adavale, QLD, An inquiry or inquest concludes in November 1891 that Tracker Tommy killed an Aboriginal person called Delta. |
1891 | Spring Vale, QLD |
1892 | Mapoon, QLD, Native Police shoot a number of Aboriginal people. |
August 1892 | Myola near Kuranda, QLD |
March 1894 | Mentana Station, Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD Cumjam arrested for the murder of a 60-year-old worker, Mr Ferguson, on Mentana Station held by Donald McIntyre. See for example, the Norman Chronicle, The North Queensland Register and the Brisbane Courier between 1894–1895. Whether Cumjam was guilty or not is so far unknown as is the outcome of his arrest. Interestingly, a few months before Ferguson's death, some survivors from the steamship, Kanahooka, that capsized off the Mitchell River, were able to make their way to Mentana Station through Kokobera country, despite fears that they might meet with 'hostility of the blacks.' |
1896 | Lakefield, QLD |
17 August 1896 | Deebing Creek, QLD |
| 1897 | Proserpine, QLD, an inquiry or inquest concludes in March 1897 that Constable Burke shot Aboriginal man, Charlie Morgan |
1898 | Smithfield, near Cairns, QLD, John Higgins's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1898–1903 | Barron River, Wooroora, and Mt Garnet, QLD, Heenan's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
Late 1800s | Skull Hole (now in Bladensburg National Park), QLD |
1900s | Emu Lagoon, north QLD |
1902 | Ducie River, Cape York Peninsula, QLD, John Hoole's Native Police detachment kills Aboriginal people. |
1904 | Flick Yard, QLD |
1904 | Kirrima, QLD |
c. 1906 | Murbai, QLD |
1910s | Emu Lagoon, QLD |
1911–1918 | Bentinck Island, QLD Roma Kelly tells the story of what happened on Bentinck Island in the 1900s to linguist Nicholas Evans in The McKenzie Massacre on Bentinck Island, published in 2015: ‘In 1911 a man named McKenzie obtained a government lease which, according to Queensland law, gave him titlehold over all of Sweers Island and a large portion of Bentinck Island. In the 1980s Roma Kelly told linguist Nicholas Evans about the brutal massacre led by McKenzie in 1918 at Rukuthi, for which he was never punished.’ |
November 1929 | Nine miles (14.38 kms) from Herbert Vale Station near Camooweal, QLD |
Dates Unknown | Allandale, north QLD |
| Badtjala Country, QLD The story of this massacre is represented by Fiona Foley in her installation, 'Annihilation of the Blacks', 1986, National Gallery of Australia: More information at: https://www.artmuseum.qut.edu.au/audio-pages/the-annihilation-of-the-blacks |
| Baryula (on Chasletown Station), south-western QLD |
| Blencoe Falls, north QLD |
| Blunder Creek, north QLD |
| Bone's Knob, north QLD |
| Bulloo Downs, south-west QLD |
| Cattle Creek, north-west QLD |
| Chastletown Station, south-western QLD |
| Cheviot Range, central QLD |
| Currawillinghi, south central QLD |
| Evelyn Massacre, north QLD |
| Flaggy Creek, north QLD |
| Gilpeppee, western QLD |
| Gray Rock, north QLD |
| Isis Downs, QLD |
| Jirin, north QLD |
| Kulpie Waterhole, western QLD |
| Longton, north QLD |
| Morney Plains, western QLD |
| Mt Farquharson, north QLD |
| Nocaboorara, south-west QLD |
| Rifle Creek, north QLD |
| Skull Lagoon, north QLD |
| Spring Creek, Mowbray Valley, north QLD |
| Springfield, central QLD |
| Springfield, north QLD |
| Tanbar, south-west QLD |
| The Dip, north QLD |
| Vine Creek, north QLD |
| Wambiana, north QLD |
Compiled by Jane Morrison 2012–2025. Updated 9/10 November 2021, 24 April 2022, 1 May 2022, 5, 17, 20–25 October 2022, 1 February 2024, 27–30 March 2025.
Copyright Jane Morrison 2012–2025