Lower Murray War and Resistance
Summary ▸Events in this conflict will be added as Australian Wars and Resistance research continues.
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22 Jan 1830Murray River, not far east of the Darling junction
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27 May 1836Mt Dispersion, Murray River — massacre
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1 Mar 1839 – 31 Mar 1839Junction Island, Murray River — massacre
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11 Mar 1839
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21 Mar 1839Approaching the junction of the Murray and Darling rivers.
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28 Mar 1839Murray River, past its junction with the Darling Rivers
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21 Oct 1839‘Murray River’
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21 Oct 1839‘Dead Man’s Flat’
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29 Oct 1839Near the North-West Bend of the Murray
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11 Nov 1839Murray River North Bank — massacre
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15 Nov 1839Near the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers
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19 Nov 1839About 25-30 miles west of Murray-Darling Junction
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1 Dec 1839 – 31 Dec 1839Langhorne's Ferry/Rufus River, Murray River (1) — massacre
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7 Dec 18399 miles west of Dead Man’s Flat
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1 Feb 1840‘the Murray’
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1 Jun 1840 – 30 Jun 1840Langhornes Ferry/Rufus River, Murray River (2) — massacre
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1 Jan 1841Adelaide to the vicinity of the Rufus River
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1 Jan 1841Moorundie
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1 Mar 1841Location unknown, possibly the Murrumbidgee River near its junction with the Darling
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16 Apr 1841‘Hornet’s Nest’
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1 May 1841 – 31 May 1841Dead Man's Flat — massacre
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5 May 1841Anlaby station to the ‘Dead Man’s Flat’
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13 May 1841Hornet's Nest — massacre
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13 May 1841Near the ‘Hornet’s Nest’
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22 Jun 1841Rufus River
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24 Jun 1841O’Halloran and Moorhouse Expedition investigate site of attack on Langhorne’s party, 22-25 June 1841Langhorne’s Crossing at Rufus River
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21 Aug 1841Rufus River
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26 Aug 1841East of Rufus River — massacre
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26 Aug 1841A couple of miles east of Rufus River
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27 Aug 1841Lake Victoria, Rufus River — massacre
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27 Aug 18415 miles west of Rufus River
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27 Aug 1841Near Rufus River
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5 Sep 1841Between Rufus River and North-West Bend of the River Murray
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1 Jan 1846 – 31 Dec 1846Junction of Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers — massacre
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1 May 1846On the Murray River approaching the Rufus River
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23 Aug 1846 – 1 Dec 1846Pannyan (spelling unclear)
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26 Aug 1846 – 1 Dec 1846
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1 Jun 1848 – 30 Jun 1848Beveridge Island — 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.
Aboriginal People
Colonists
Auxiliaries
Unnamed Aboriginal People
- Number of people
- 5
- Side
- Aboriginal
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-19
- Interaction type
- attempted arrest; escape
- Direct violence
- No
- Quotation
- "we got information that the five black ringleaders who had committed the dreadful depredations at Dr. Mackay's station on the Ovens River, were there on the 19th instant, and that Mr Huon attempted to take them, but they made their escape by taking to the rivers and lagoons."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_001__actor_002
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
- Number of people
- 5
- Side
- Aboriginal
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-26
- Interaction type
- assault; wounding
- Direct violence
- Yes
- Quotation
- "On receiving this intelligence the Commissioner and I remained there that night, with the intention of pursuing them the next day, but, about one o'clock in the morning those five black ruffians visited the station again and most brutally beat and left almost lifeless a poor old black man named 'Charley,' who was with his gins at camp, quite close to Mr. E. Huon's house where we were sleeping."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_002__actor_001
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
- Number of people
- 5
- Side
- Aboriginal
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-26
- Interaction type
- pursuit
- Direct violence
- No
- Quotation
- "we got information that the five black ringleaders who had committed the dreadful depredations at Dr. Mackay's station on the Ovens River, were there on the 19th instant, and that Mr Huon attempted to take them, but they made their escape by taking to the rivers and lagoons."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_003__actor_006
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
Unnamed Colonists
- Side
- Colonist
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-26
- Interaction type
- pursuit
- Direct violence
- No
- Quotation
- "next morning very early Mr Bingham the Commissioner, with his two policemen together with Mr Huon, myself, and a few other volunteers started in pursuit of them."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_003__actor_004
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
- Number of people
- 2
- Side
- Colonist
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-26
- Interaction type
- pursuit
- Direct violence
- No
- Quotation
- "With the assistance of our two blacks we traced them as far as the Ovens River where we lost their track."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_003__actor_005
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
- Number of people
- 2
- Side
- Colonist
- Date mentioned
- 1840-09-26
- Interaction type
- pursuit
- Direct violence
- No
- Quotation
- "next morning very early Mr Bingham the Commissioner, with his two policemen together with Mr Huon, myself, and a few other volunteers started in pursuit of them."
- Citation
- NEWS FROM THE INTERIOR. (From various Correspondents.) HUME RIVER. (1840, October 30). The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved August 10, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- URL
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265
- External ID
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12866265__event_003__actor_002
- External system
- openai_event_extract_v1
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.