| Site Name | Cattle Chosen, Busselton (2) |
| Aboriginal Place Name | |
| Language Group | Wardandi |
| Present State/Territory | WA |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | WA |
| Police District | Busselton |
| Latitude | -33.674 |
| Longitude | 115.358 |
| Date | 30 Jul 1837 |
| Attack Time | |
| Victims | Aboriginal People |
| Victim Descriptions | Aboriginal |
| Victims Killed | 7 |
| Victims Killed Notes | men, women and children |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Settler(s) |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | Horse |
| Motive | Opportunity |
| Weapons Used | Musket(s) |
| Narrative | On 30 July 1837, Wardandi Noongar people were heard shouting on the nearby estuary. Bessie Bussell reported in a day-by-day diary entry (cited in Shann 1978, p 19) : ‘Everyone immediately armed themselves, and in a little while we heard the firing of guns. After two hours' absence, they returned amidst crowds of natives. I fear more women were slain than men. All our little party returned safely. All was intended to be right, so I hope this skirmish will turn out for the best. Three women, one man, one boy are known to be dead, but more are supposed to be dying.' |
| Sources | Allbrook, 2014 https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13wwvzc.10; Jennings, 1983; Shann, 1978 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Cattle_Chosen/Chapter_7. See Also: Carmody, 2021https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-17/wonnerup-minninup-massacre-the-ghosts-are-not-silent/100458938 (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | *** |
Colonial Frontier Massacres
in Australia, 1788-1930
