The worst massacres of the Australian Frontier Wars

In 1788, when the British established their first colony at Port Jackson, they stepped onto the traditional lands of Indigenous Australian groups, who had maintained systems of land management and community organization for thousands of years.

From the outset, the settlers disrupted these systems. As they claimed territory, hunting grounds and sacred sites were altered or destroyed.

Initially, some Indigenous groups sought to communicate or exchange goods with the newcomers, uncertain of their intentions but curious about their presence.

Yet, as the British settlements expanded and resources became scarcer, tensions escalated. 

By the early 1800s, the demand for land to support sheep grazing and agriculture intensified.

In areas such as Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) and the fertile lands along the Hawkesbury River, British settlers encroached further into territories crucial to Indigenous livelihoods.

The Wiradjuri people in New South Wales, for example, found their hunting grounds severely reduced as colonial farms replaced natural landscapes.

In response, Indigenous groups began using guerrilla tactics to disrupt settlement efforts, which often involved ambushing isolated homesteads.

The British, seeing these actions as open threats to their colonial efforts, began to retaliate, sending in heavily armed parties to ‘quell’ Indigenous resistance. 

In the early 1820s, as British settlers expanded into the fertile lands around Bathurst in New South Wales, escalating tensions quickly led to a series of deadly conflicts between the Indigenous Wiradjuri people and the colonial forces.

Initially, British settlers established farms across the region, seizing land that had long provided the Wiradjuri with food, shelter, and resources essential to their way of life.

By 1824, frustration and resistance had grown within the Wiradjuri community, leading to confrontations with settlers over territory and resources. 

Under the leadership of Windradyne, a respected Wiradjuri warrior, Indigenous groups organized strategic attacks on settlers.

By May of 1824, colonial officials grew increasingly alarmed by the intensity and persistence of the Wiradjuri resistance, fearing that the settlers’ safety was at serious risk.

In response, Governor Thomas Brisbane declared martial law in the Bathurst area, empowering settlers and soldiers to use lethal force against any Indigenous groups deemed a threat to the colony. 

Following this declaration, colonial forces launched brutal campaigns aimed at subduing the Wiradjuri resistance on the Bathurst Plains.

Armed parties, composed of both soldiers and armed settlers, systematically pursued and attacked Wiradjuri camps, often sparing neither women nor children.

These violent raids led to significant casualties among the Wiradjuri, with accounts suggesting that dozens, if not hundreds, were killed over the months of intense fighting.

By December of 1824, the colonial forces had largely quashed organized resistance in the Bathurst region, forcing Windradyne and many of his followers to retreat or surrender.

The Bathurst region was declared ‘off limits’ to the indigenous people for 30 years. 

In 1834, on the banks of the Murray River in Western Australia, British settlers clashed with the Bindjareb Noongar people.

Previous confrontations over land and resources had heightened distrust, and Governor James Stirling, the colony’s leader, sought to assert control over the region by organizing a punitive expedition.

Stirling viewed the Bindjareb as a threat to colonial stability and intended to ‘pacify’ the region by demonstrating British power.

He assembled a force of police, soldiers, and settlers to carry out this mission. 

On October 28, Stirling and his party encountered a group of Bindjareb Noongar people camped along the river and launched a sudden assault, catching the Bindjareb off guard.

As the Bindjareb attempted to flee or defend themselves, British forces opened fire.

The narrow riverbanks provided limited escape routes, trapping many of them.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic and brutal, with gunfire echoing through the area as Bindjareb men, women, and children were shot or struck down in the scramble to escape.

Reports estimate that between 15 and 30 Bindjareb people were killed. 

Following the incident, Stirling’s report downplayed the extent of the violence, presenting the British actions as an unfortunate but unavoidable solution to the ‘Bindjareb problem’.

Settlers and colonial authorities generally accepted this justification, which minimized Indigenous suffering, and discouraged any formal inquiry into the actions taken by Stirling and his men.

In the years that followed, survivors faced further dislocation, as settlers continued to occupy Noongar lands with little opposition. 

In January 1838, on the banks of Waterloo Creek in New South Wales, a severe conflict erupted between a large group of Indigenous Australians and British colonial forces led by Major James Nunn.

Tasked with ‘quelling’ Indigenous resistance, Nunn and his contingent of mounted police set out to respond to reports of Aboriginal attacks on settlers in the region.

Tensions had risen as Indigenous groups sought to defend their lands and resources from encroachment, which resulted in occasional confrontations with settlers. 

Upon reaching Waterloo Creek, Nunn’s forces encountered a camp of Indigenous Australians from the Kamilaroi nation.

Without issuing warnings or seeking negotiations, Nunn’s men opened fire on the camp.

As many as 40 to 50 Indigenous people were killed in the initial attack, with survivors fleeing into the bush.

The mounted police pursued those who attempted to escape, tracking individuals and smaller groups for miles around the creek. 

News of the massacre circulated quickly, but few colonial officials criticized Nunn’s actions, with most viewing them as a necessary means to pacify the region.

For the Kamilaroi people, the massacre resulted in the forced displacement of many survivors, who abandoned their traditional lands. 

In June 1838, near the isolated station of Myall Creek in New South Wales, a group of 28 unarmed Indigenous Australians, including men, women, and children, sought refuge near the station, relying on the trust extended by some of the station’s workers.

The Indigenous group had stayed peacefully for several days, interacting with settlers in a way that suggested no imminent threat.

However, a party of twelve stockmen, led by John Fleming, a local squatter known for his hostility toward Indigenous people, rode into the camp.

With no warning, the stockmen rounded up the Indigenous group and took them a short distance from the station. 

The group of stockmen attacked their captives, using swords and other weapons. The victims, who were restrained and defenseless, had little chance of escape or resistance.

Afterward, they burned the bodies in an attempt to hide evidence of the crime.

Yet, despite these efforts, rumors of the massacre soon spread, and William Hobbs, a station overseer who was away during the incident, reported the killings upon his return.

Hobbs’s report drew the attention of the authorities. This led to an investigation into the violent actions at Myall Creek. 

As a result of Hobbs’s report, the government initiated rare legal proceedings. The trial saw eleven men charged with murder, which was one of the few times that colonial authorities took action against settlers for violence toward Indigenous Australians.

Seven of the men, including John Fleming, who was notably absent, were found guilty of the crime and hanged.

The trial divided public opinion. Some settlers criticized the verdict, viewing it as an affront to their control over Indigenous lands.

Yet, the conviction and subsequent executions represented a significant moment in the colonial response to violence on the frontier, though it ultimately proved to be an isolated case. 

In 1843, on the traditional lands of the Kurnai people in Gippsland, Victoria, an incident began after a pastoralist named Angus McMillan, along with a group of armed men, sought to avenge the death of a fellow settler who was reportedly killed in a conflict with the Kurnai.

McMillan’s group traveled to Warrigal Creek, where they targeted an encampment of Kurnai men, women, and children.

As McMillan’s men arrived, they surrounded the Kurnai camp, preventing any chance of escape.

Witness accounts and historical records indicate that the group opened fire indiscriminately, attacking without warning or mercy, claiming the lives of between 60 and 150 individuals, though exact numbers remain uncertain due to the lack of detailed records.

Some Kurnai attempted to flee into the surrounding bush, but many were pursued and killed.

The survivors faced ongoing threats from settlers, which forced many to abandon their traditional lands and seek refuge elsewhere. 

The Kalkadoon people, an Indigenous group of northwestern Queensland, were well-known for their skill as warriors and intimate knowledge of the harsh terrain.

They held their ancestral lands around the Cloncurry River and the surrounding mountains.

By the late 1800s, British settlers began to encroach upon this territory, seeking grazing land and mineral resources, particularly copper, which was abundant in the area. 

In response to this expansion, the Kalkadoon defended their territory through a series of strategic confrontations.

Over several years, Kalkadoon warriors engaged in organized resistance, using guerrilla tactics to ambush settlers and defend key locations within their territory.

They used the rugged landscape to their advantage, retreating to the mountains, where they could evade capture and launch further attacks.

By 1884, tensions reached a critical point. The British forces were determined to secure control over the mineral-rich region, and organized a large, heavily armed party to subdue them.

The Kalkadoon, aware of the impending assault, gathered on what came to be known as Battle Mountain. 

In a deadly clash, the British forces launched a coordinated attack, outnumbering and outgunning the Kalkadoon.

Despite their lack of firearms and the overwhelming power of the British weapons, the Kalkadoon fought with relentless courage.

Reports suggest that hundreds of Kalkadoon people lost their lives during the encounter, making Battle Mountain one of the most tragic and significant massacres of the Frontier Wars.

The Kalkadoon resistance had proved formidable, but the technological advantage and sheer numbers of the British left the community devastated by the end of the conflict. 

In 1928, the Coniston Massacre became one of the final large-scale massacres of Indigenous Australians.

Occurring near Coniston Station in the Northern Territory, the massacre followed the killing of Fred Brooks, a local dingo trapper, by an Indigenous man.

In response, Constable George Murray led a series of punitive raids across Indigenous camps, targeting men, women, and children indiscriminately.

Over a two-month period, Murray’s patrols conducted several attacks, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 60 to 100 Indigenous Australians, though exact figures remain disputed. 

During the Coniston Massacre, Murray and his party methodically moved from camp to camp, carrying out what they deemed acts of retribution.

In some instances, entire camps were destroyed, leaving few, if any, survivors.

Official records later minimized the numbers reported, listing only 31 deaths, despite the higher estimates provided by independent witnesses and Indigenous accounts.

Few legal consequences followed for those responsible, which reflected the lack of legal protections for Indigenous Australians.

In fact, a subsequent inquiry into the massacre ruled that Murray had acted within his duties.

For many historians, Coniston marked a brutal conclusion to the Frontier Wars. 

As a result of the Frontier Wars, Indigenous communities in Australia faced devastating consequences to their cultural, social, and demographic structures.

The persistent conflicts and massacres decimated Indigenous populations, drastically reducing their numbers in many regions.

Entire communities disappeared, leaving surviving groups deeply affected by the losses of family members and leaders.

Due to repeated raids and massacres, countless Indigenous Australians were displaced from their ancestral lands.

An estimated 20,000 people were killed as part of the Frontier Wars. 

These forced removals stripped them of access to sacred sites, traditional hunting grounds, and vital resources.

As a consequence, they faced severe challenges to sustaining their way of life, which relied heavily on intimate connections with the land.

Traditional practices, languages, and customs faced erosion as Indigenous communities struggled to survive in the hostile colonial environment.

Many cultural practices were lost, as ceremonies and knowledge transmission suffered under the constant threat of violence.

This led to a breakdown in the generational knowledge transfer that had previously defined Indigenous life, limiting the younger generation’s access to their heritage.

Additionally, the trauma of violence and loss created an environment of fear, where traditional ways of living had to adapt to the demands and restrictions imposed by settlers. 

Following these conflicts, government policies compounded these impacts through forced assimilation practices.

Motivated by a desire to integrate Indigenous Australians into the colonial structure, authorities implemented policies that further restricted cultural expression and communal autonomy.

Indigenous children were often removed from their families and placed in missions or settler households, isolating them from their communities.

As a consequence, these children lost their languages and cultural identities, which were vital to community cohesion and cultural continuity.

These policies amplified the initial impacts of the Frontier Wars, creating long-term demographic and cultural consequences that continued to affect Indigenous Australians for generations. 

In response to escalating tensions on the frontier, colonial authorities framed their actions and policies as necessary measures for the protection of settlers and the preservation of order.

From their perspective, Indigenous resistance to colonial expansion posed a direct threat to British claims over the land.

This justification aligned with the prevailing colonial view that Indigenous Australians lacked legitimate rights to territory under British law.

Consequently, authorities encouraged settlers and military personnel to view Indigenous populations as obstacles to colonial growth.

They defined their policies as protective, claiming that decisive action would secure settlers and allow the colony to flourish. 

In practice, this approach allowed colonial forces to carry out punitive expeditions with minimal oversight.

Officials often condoned acts of violence against Indigenous Australians, describing them as a form of justice.

In cases like the Bathurst and Waterloo Creek conflicts, colonial reports framed massacres as unfortunate but necessary responses to Indigenous ‘incursions’ or ‘uprisings’.

By employing language that minimized Indigenous rights and humanity, authorities created a narrative that excused brutal actions. 

As a further step, colonial authorities enacted policies that facilitated settler expansion while restricting Indigenous rights.

They issued regulations that allowed settlers to defend their land with lethal force, effectively sanctioning violence against Indigenous Australians.

This institutional support emboldened settlers, creating a violent cycle where each act of resistance or defense by Indigenous groups led to further brutal repression.