Massacre at Batavia area (1), Chulangun Campground

Date: 1 Jun 1889 – 15 Jun 1889
Place: Batavia area (1), Chulangun Campground
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
On 11 May 1889, a group of Kaanju warriors were alleged, in a night time attack, to have killed Edmund Watson, a worker at Pine Tree Station (now Archer River Roadhouse) near Mein Telegraph station on Cape York Peninsula and severely wounded another station worker, James Evans (BC, 28 May 1889, p 5). On 18 May Sub-Inspector Frederick Urquhart, left Thursday Island for Mein Telegraph Station (BC, 20 May 1889, p5) and when he arrived, he put together a party of 40 armed men on horseback, comprising three detachments of native police, Watson's brother and overseers and stockmen in the region. In early June the party set off to disperse the Kaanju on the right hand side of the telegraph line in the Batavia (Wenlock) River area. Over the next two weeks, the party carried out five massacres of the Kaanju (Bottoms, 2013, p 124).
Notes:
CorroborationRating: *
LanguageGroup: Kaanju
Victims: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People
VictimsDead: 20

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Sources

Event mentions

  • Massacre at Batavia area (1), Chulangun Campground
    1 Jun 1889 – 15 Jun 1889 — Batavia area (1), Chulangun Campground — massacre
    On 11 May 1889, a group of Kaanju warriors were alleged, in a night time attack, to have killed Edmund Watson, a worker at Pine Tree Station (now Archer River Roadhouse) near Mein Telegraph station on Cape York Peninsula and severely wounded another station worker, James Evans (BC, 28 May 1889, p 5). On 18 May Sub-Inspector Frederick Urquhart, left Thursday Island for Mein Telegraph Station (BC, 20 May 1889, p5) and when he arrived, he put together a party of 40 armed men on horseback, comprising three detachments of native police, Watson's brother and overseers and stockmen in the region. In early June the party set off to disperse the Kaanju on the right hand side of the telegraph line in the Batavia (Wenlock) River area. Over the next two weeks, the party carried out five massacres of the Kaanju (Bottoms, 2013, p 124).
    Source: Brisbane Courier, 20 May 1889, p 5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3496350; 28 May 1889, p 5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3496688; Queenslander, The, 1 June 1889, p 1013 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19814504; Vogan, 1890, p 137; Loos, 1982, p 61; Bottoms, 2013, p 124.