Massacre at Batavia area (4), Archer River (3)

Date: 6 Jun 1889 – 14 Jun 1889
Place: Batavia area (4), Archer River (3)
Event type: massacre
Direct violence: Yes
Kaanju people were attacked by a party of at least 40 armed men on horseback, comprising three detachments of native police and men from cattle stations at Cape York. The party was conducting a two-week dispersal campaign of the Kaanju in reprisal for their killing of Edmund Watson from Pine Tree Station in early May 1889 (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 (4), Archer River (3)
    6 Jun 1889 – 14 Jun 1889 — Batavia area (4), Archer River (3) — massacre
    Kaanju people were attacked by a party of at least 40 armed men on horseback, comprising three detachments of native police and men from cattle stations at Cape York. The party was conducting a two-week dispersal campaign of the Kaanju in reprisal for their killing of Edmund Watson from Pine Tree Station in early May 1889 (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 1 June 1889, p 1013 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19814504; Vogan, 1890, p 137; Loos, 1982, p 61; Bottoms, 2013, p 124.