Massacre at Margaret River

Date: 1 Jun 1895 – 30 Jun 1895
Place: Margaret River
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
Police records document that in mid-1895 PC Pilmer and his native assistants were sent to MacDonald's station following reports of 'wholesale killing of cattle in the Margaret River area'. Pilmer reported coming across a group, who were likely Gooniyandi people, of about thirty, twenty of whom were males. They immediately fled after the police raid and the group started making use of their 'spears, dowirks and quondis to such an extent that we were compelled to fire upon them���' He reported killing nine men whose names were Murjarri, Widali, Wonboni, Coolya, Mulabia, Mungar, Calapi, Mulyalli and Culcul, who were in possession of 'between 12 and 13 Cwt [centum weight] of beef' (SROWA, Cons. 430, File 1808/1895). The MacDonald's owned Fossil Downs Station, near where the Margaret River meets the Fitzroy River (Fossil Downs Homestead Group).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: ***
LanguageGroup: Goonyiyandi, Bunuba
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 9

People involved

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Sources

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Margaret River
    1 Jun 1895 – 30 Jun 1895 — Margaret River — massacre
    Police records document that in mid-1895 PC Pilmer and his native assistants were sent to MacDonald's station following reports of 'wholesale killing of cattle in the Margaret River area'. Pilmer reported coming across a group, who were likely Gooniyandi people, of about thirty, twenty of whom were males. They immediately fled after the police raid and the group started making use of their 'spears, dowirks and quondis to such an extent that we were compelled to fire upon them���' He reported killing nine men whose names were Murjarri, Widali, Wonboni, Coolya, Mulabia, Mungar, Calapi, Mulyalli and Culcul, who were in possession of 'between 12 and 13 Cwt [centum weight] of beef' (SROWA, Cons. 430, File 1808/1895). The MacDonald's owned Fossil Downs Station, near where the Margaret River meets the Fitzroy River (Fossil Downs Homestead Group).
    Source: WAPD, 'Wholesale killing of cattle on Margaret River,' 23 July 1895, SROWA, Cons. 430, File 1808/1895; Shaw, 1981, p 47; Owen, 2016, pp 322-324; Fossil Downs Homestead Group, Heritage Council https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/details/2be7b844-d799-4d16-9a38-09e22c36ef95.