Massacre at Battle Mountain

Date: 1 Sep 1884 – 30 Sep 1884
Place: Battle Mountain
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
There are many later accounts of this incident, some of them sensationalised.


According to Richards' research, a detachment of six Native Police led by Sub Inspector Frederick Urquhart and assisted by settler Alexander Kennedy set out to avenge the killing of 'a Chinese shepherd on Granada station 70kms north of Cloncurry.' They encountered 150 Kalkadoon warriors on a hill and called on them to surrender. There was an affray in which 'an unknown number of men, women and children were killed.' None of the attacking party was wounded (Richards, cited in Bottoms, 2013, p 166). Urquhart's report is in Urquhart to Ahern, 15 March 1885. QSA A/41765. ID 290473.


In 1965 Wittington summarised that after the massacre at Battle Gorge which was a response to the killing of Powell, 'The Kalkadoons were, however, by no means subdued. Soon afterwards, at a lonely outpost on Granada Station, they raided and burnt the camp and killed the Chinese shepherd. Urquhart, with Hopkins, the owner, and a strong force of Native Police, tracked the Kalkadoons to Prospector's Creek, some 60 miles north-west of Cloncurry.
In one of the few recorded pitched battles between whites and aborigines, the Kalkadoons fought to the bitter end. Most of their warriors were wiped out in repeated charges against the rifles of the firmly established police force.' (Wittington, 1965 p519)


This conflict was mentioned in 1900 in the Brisbane Courier, 'In their day the Kalkadoons formed the most warlike and desperate of the tribes that the early pioneers had to contend with. They occupied the mountain ranges, and knowing all the country round, terrorised the blacks of the lowlands, always making good their escape to their mountain fastnesses. At
Battle Mountain they kept a certain police
inspector at bay for the greater part of the
day. One of the survivors of the encounter
is "Tabby," still on Glenroy, and still wears
a bullet wound on his head.' (Brisbane Courier, 13/10/1900, p 6)


A description of the 'Battle of Kalkadoon' published in 1951 remarked that 'On the battlefield as late as the writer's time out there (early in this century) sunbleached
shank bones and pieces of blackfellows' skulls were to be found lying amongst the spinifex' (The Beaudesert Times, 17 Aug 1951, p 5).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: **
LanguageGroup: Kalkadoon
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 30

People involved

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Sources

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Battle Mountain
    1 Sep 1884 – 30 Sep 1884 — Battle Mountain — massacre
    There are many later accounts of this incident, some of them sensationalised.


    According to Richards' research, a detachment of six Native Police led by Sub Inspector Frederick Urquhart and assisted by settler Alexander Kennedy set out to avenge the killing of 'a Chinese shepherd on Granada station 70kms north of Cloncurry.' They encountered 150 Kalkadoon warriors on a hill and called on them to surrender. There was an affray in which 'an unknown number of men, women and children were killed.' None of the attacking party was wounded (Richards, cited in Bottoms, 2013, p 166). Urquhart's report is in Urquhart to Ahern, 15 March 1885. QSA A/41765. ID 290473.


    In 1965 Wittington summarised that after the massacre at Battle Gorge which was a response to the killing of Powell, 'The Kalkadoons were, however, by no means subdued. Soon afterwards, at a lonely outpost on Granada Station, they raided and burnt the camp and killed the Chinese shepherd. Urquhart, with Hopkins, the owner, and a strong force of Native Police, tracked the Kalkadoons to Prospector's Creek, some 60 miles north-west of Cloncurry.
    In one of the few recorded pitched battles between whites and aborigines, the Kalkadoons fought to the bitter end. Most of their warriors were wiped out in repeated charges against the rifles of the firmly established police force.' (Wittington, 1965 p519)


    This conflict was mentioned in 1900 in the Brisbane Courier, 'In their day the Kalkadoons formed the most warlike and desperate of the tribes that the early pioneers had to contend with. They occupied the mountain ranges, and knowing all the country round, terrorised the blacks of the lowlands, always making good their escape to their mountain fastnesses. At
    Battle Mountain they kept a certain police
    inspector at bay for the greater part of the
    day. One of the survivors of the encounter
    is "Tabby," still on Glenroy, and still wears
    a bullet wound on his head.' (Brisbane Courier, 13/10/1900, p 6)


    A description of the 'Battle of Kalkadoon' published in 1951 remarked that 'On the battlefield as late as the writer's time out there (early in this century) sunbleached
    shank bones and pieces of blackfellows' skulls were to be found lying amongst the spinifex' (The Beaudesert Times, 17 Aug 1951, p 5).
    Source: Bottoms 2013, pp164-166; Richards, 2010; Urquhart to Ahern, 15 March 1885. QSA A/41765. ID 290473. https://qsa-archivessearch.gaiaresources.com.au/items/ITM290473; Whittington, 1965 https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/15094936.pdf; Brisbane Courier, 13/10/1900, p 6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19086249; The Beaudesert Times, 17 Aug 1951, p 5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/216167221