This is a list of massacres and mass murders that have occurred in Australia and its predecessor colonies (some historical numbers may be approximate). Many of the massacres not listed here may instead be found in the list of massacres of Indigenous Australians. There is no uniform, global standard for what constitutes a mass murder. For the purposes of this list, the Australian Institute of Criminology definition of mass murder as having a "threshold of four or more fatalities" is used.
Massacres and mass murders
Incident Date Location Deaths Injuries Notes Batavia massacre Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia unknown Massacre of survivors after the sinking of Dutch merchant ship Batavia following a mutiny. Shipwreck survivors of the Maria massacred Coorong, South Australia 0 Ship travelling from Port Adelaide to Hobart was shipwrecked on the SE coast of South Australia, with all surviving the wreck. The survivors were being guided to safety by the local Narrindjeri people, but were massacred by them. Cullin-la-ringo massacre Central Queensland Massacre of newly arrived white settlers by Indigenous Australians. Response to the Cullin-la-ringo massacre 1861 Central Queensland In response to the Cullin-la-ringo massacre, "sixty or seventy" Aboriginals were massacred by a vigilante party of eleven heavily armed white settlers accompanied by two Aboriginal trackers. Cavanagh murders Peterborough, South Australia 6 (plus culprit) 0 Joseph Thyer, a sheep farmer, murdered his wife and five children before hanging himself. Murder of the Glover family Triabunna, Tasmania 6 (plus perpetrator) 0 A mother murdered her six children and then committed suicide.A Terrible Tragedy – A mother murders six children, The West Australian (3 March 1898)
– The Tasmanian Tragedy – Later Particulars, The West Australian (4 March 1898)
– The Tasmanian Tragedy – Results of Inquests, The West Australian (5 March 1898)
– The Tasmanian Tragedy – Three Bodies Exhumed, The West Australian (15 March 1898)
– The Triabunna Tragedy- A Municipal Inquiry, The West Australian (6 April 1898) Breelong murders Breelong, New South Wales 9 (plus perpetrator) 0 Jimmy Governor and Jack Underwood murdered four members of the Mawbrey family and a school-teacher at Breelong near Gilgandra. Underwood was captured soon afterwards; Governor and his brother Joe, who was present during the murders, escaped. During the period they were at large, ranging over a large area of north-central New South Wales, the brothers committed further murders and multiple robberies. Bradshaw massacre (approx) Victoria River, Northern Territory Four white men and three Aboriginal boys massacred with tomahawks by Aboriginal prisoners being transported by boat to Palmerston to stand trial for the earlier murder of two white men. One Aboriginal boy survived and reported the incident.Massacre in the Territory, The Adelaide Advertiser, 18 December 1905 Ching family murders Alligator Creek, Mackay, Queensland George David Silva murdered six members of the Ching family by shooting and bashing. Silva was hanged at Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane on 10 June 1912. Battle of Broken Hill Broken Hill, New South Wales (plus 2 perpetrators) Spree shooting by two Ghans gunmen Botanic Gardens massacre Melbourne (plus perpetrator) 1 Mass shooting; perpetrator committed suicide. Murder of the Archur family Devonport, Tasmania 6 (plus perpetrator) 0 Andrew Thomas Edgar Archur murdered his five children and his wife and then set fire to their house. He killed himself after the attack.Family perish in fire – Murder arson, and suicide, The Canberra Times (27 February 1929)
– Father's crime, The Brisbane Courier (20 March 1929) Murder of the Davies family Perth 6 (plus perpetrator) 0 Roderick A. Davies, a 36-year-old carpenter, shot his wife and five children dead before taking his own life.Family tragedy, Sydney Morning Herald (22 August 1931) Boulder bombings Kalgoorlie, Western Australia (plus perpetrator) 15 Bombing of a boarding house containing 30 people in Boulder, Western Australia by 45-year-old Pero Raecivich. Glen Innes shooting Glen Innes, New South Wales 6 0 Frederick Charles Hall, a 48-year-old labourer shot his six children to death He was sentenced to death,Demented father shoots 6 children, The Canberra Times (3 July 1948)
– Killer of 6 convicted, Sydney Morning Herald (1 September 1948) later commuted to life imprisonment. Murder of the Armanasco family Collie, Western Australia 6 0 40-year-old Raymond Armanasco killed his wife and five of his children in Collie near Perth. Armanasco was later sentenced to death,Mother and five children are slain, Toledo Blade (13 October 1950)
– Woman, five children murdered in W.A.: Man questioned, The Canberra Times (14 October 1950)
– Man charged with murder of family, The Canberra Times (16 October 1950)
– Death sentence for murderer of son, The Advertiser (20 December 1950)
– Armanasco appeal – "Conjecture" about mental condition, The West Australian (2 March 1951)
– Armanasco refused leave to appeal, The West Australian (22 March 1951) later commuted to life imprisonment. Narella Street massacre Brisbane, Queensland (plus perpetrator) Marian Ryszard Majka killed six and injured a baby in two houses on Narella Street in Brisbane before taking his own life. Warwick Farm gassing –6 May 1964 Warwick Farm, New South Wales 7 0 An entire family was found gassed to death in their Warwick Farm home. The victims were Herbert Darnley, his wife, Joyce, and their five children. A note was found on the front door of the scene, indicating a murder-suicide, although no perpetrator was reported as identified.Gas kills family of seven, Sydney Morning Herald (8 May 1964)
– Most fascinating crimes, Sydney Morning Herald (13 February 1965)