Kimberley East War and Resistance
Summary ▸Events in this conflict will be added as Australian Wars and Resistance research continues.
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1 Jan 1880 – 31 Dec 1899Panton River - East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jul 1886 – 1 Sep 1886Spear Gully, Halls Creek — massacre
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17 Nov 1886 – 11 Jan 1887East Kimberley — massacre
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17 Nov 1886 – 21 Jan 1887Waterloo Station — massacre
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1 Apr 1888 – 30 Apr 1888Goose Hill - East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jul 1888 – 30 Sep 1888Goldfields Road - Halls Creek — massacre
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1 Jan 1890 – 31 Dec 1890Mistake Creek — massacre
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1 Jan 1890 – 31 Dec 1899Newry Station, Keep River, East Kimberley/ Northern Territory — massacre
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1 Jan 1890 – 31 Dec 1899Ruby Plains - East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jan 1890 – 31 Dec 1899Warlupany - East Kimberley — massacre
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18 Sep 1893Behn River near Rosewood station - East Kimberley — massacre
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18 Sep 1893 – 30 Nov 1893Collins Creek — massacre
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1 Oct 1893 – 24 Nov 1893Ord River - East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jun 1894 – 5 Jun 1894Blackgin Creek — massacre
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1 Aug 1894 – 30 Aug 1894Wickham River — massacre
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21 Sep 1894Chinese Garden, King River — massacre
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11 Nov 1895Ivanhoe Station, East Kimberley — massacre
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27 Dec 1895Ivanhoe Station and Lisadell Station, East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jan 1896 – 31 Dec 1896Linnekar Gorge (Turner Station) — massacre
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22 Sep 1896 – 30 Jan 1897Rosewood and Lissadell, Ord River, East Kimberley — massacre
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1 May 1899 – 13 Jun 1899Durack River, East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jan 1900 – 31 Dec 1900Jail House Creek - East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jan 1908 – 31 Dec 1908Texas Downs, East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jun 1913 – 30 Jul 1913Keep River — massacre
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1 May 1915 – 30 Jun 1915Mistake Creek - East Kimberley — massacre
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23 Mar 1918 – 2 Apr 1918Auvergne Station — massacre
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30 Jun 1920 – 1 Jul 1920Coomanderoo Station — massacre
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1 Oct 1922 – 31 Oct 1922Sturt Creek, East Kimberley — massacre
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1 Jan 1924 – 31 Dec 1924Bedford Downs — massacre
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15 Jun 1925 – 16 Jun 1925Sturt Creek — massacre
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20 Jun 1926 – 31 Jul 1926Forrest River [Oombulgurri] - East Kimberley — massacre
The following lists references to some people involved in this conflict. More may be added in future.
This information has been collected from various sources, including the Colonial Frontier Massacres, 1788-1930 project (Ryan et al, 2025) and the South Australian Frontier and it's Legacies project (Foster et al), as well as ongoing research in primary sources. Finding and gathering this much information in millions of pages of colonial texts and other sources would not be possible without the use of computer automation. All information is checked but human and computer error can persist. Please let us know any corrections. Where possible, links are provided to sources to read the full text.
Country/Nation/People/Language indicates which Indigenous group people belonged to. Different people in different places prefer different terminology, and sometimes the 'belonging' relates to one of these not another. In many cases, due to colonists' limited knowledge, the archival record only uses generalised and sometimes racist terms (eg: 'blacks' or 'Murrimbidgee blacks'). In the absence of any other detail, although people travelled and visisted, we may infer the people involved were the people of the region the event occurred.
Listed are:
- Named Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander people. This includes people involved in violent action, or in some other way involved, such as messengers. In many cases only the colonists' name (alias or aka - 'also known as') for the person is available.
- Colonists involved in the conflict. This includes people who were involved in violent actions such as massacres and shooting, or whose stock, runs or huts were raided, or similar. It may include people who played a significant role in the conflict in other ways, such as the Governor or regional administrators who ordered actions or established policies in relation to the conflict.
- Unnamed individuals or groups of people. This is as specific as possible. If a group is mentioned that is indicated and if an individual is mentioned, we also list that individual. It may be difficult to disentangle which individuals and groups in source texts are the same, and which different. Indigenous people go unnamed in colonial records of conflict encounters more commonly than colonists, but sometimes reporting also did not refer to low status workers and convicts by name, and referred to them by role, such as 'a stockman', 'a shepherd', or by their employer's name, such as, 'Mr Smith's men'.
- Auxilliaries. This is a general category for people aiding or working for one side or another, who might not be regarded as 'from' that side. Usually this means Indigenous people working for, or acting on behalf of colonists such as trackers, workers and Native Police. This can also apply to colonists working within and on behalf of Indigenous culture (such as William Buckley). The distinction is not always clear cut and some individuals acted on both sides of the conflict or changed sides. This may be voluntarily or by coercion.
No resolved people found for this war.
Unnamed Aboriginal People
This data has not yet been gathered. Research work is ongoing. To help, please consider donating or contact us to volunteer or about setting up research projects in your area.
Unnamed Colonists
This data has not yet been gathered. Research work is ongoing. To help, please consider donating or contact us to volunteer or about setting up research projects in your area.
Unnamed Auxilliaries
This data has not yet been gathered. Research work is ongoing. To help, please consider donating or contact us to volunteer or about setting up research projects in your area.