| Site Name | Mission Beach (1) This massacre is part of a group of massacres |
| Aboriginal Place Name | |
| Language Group | Djiru |
| Present State/Territory | QLD |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | QLD |
| Police District | Cardwell |
| Latitude | -17.944 |
| Longitude | 146.091 |
| Date | Between 12 Mar 1872 and 31 Mar 1872 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal People |
| Victim Descriptions | |
| Victims Killed | 8 |
| Victims Killed Notes | 8 dead and 8 wounded |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Military |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | Horse |
| Motive | Reprisal |
| Weapons Used | Firearm(s), Carbine(s) |
| Narrative | Sailors led by Lt Sabben RN and another officer were sent with a detachment of sailors from Brisbane to Mission Beach to recover any survivors of the brig Maria which had been wrecked on Bramble reef on 26 February 1872. Some survivors had reached the British settlement at Cardwell but the captain and 13 crew were killed by Djiru at present day Mission Beach. Sabben and his men landed at Mission Beach and were confronted by about 120 Djiru. According to Moresby: "Suddenly there was a yell, and about 120 natives, making hostile demonstrations, rushed from the mangrove bushes 300 yards off the boat, and made for her; Mr. Sabben and his men ran also, gained her first, and opened fire on the blacks at eighty yards, who returned it with a volley of spears, and took to their heels after a while, leaving eight dead and eight wounded behind them" (Moresby, 1876, ch 4). |
| Sources | Queenslander, April 13, 1872, p 8 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27270598; Bottoms, 2013, pp 134-136; Moresby, 1876 http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1301151h.html (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | ** |
Colonial Frontier Massacres
in Australia, 1788-1930
