| Site Name | The 'Sperwer', Prince of Wales Island, Torres Strait |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place Name | |
| Language Group, Nation or People | |
| Present State/Territory | QLD |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | QLD |
| Police District | Somerset |
| Latitude | -10.625 |
| Longitude | 142.167 |
| Date | Between 1 Jun 1869 and 30 Jun 1869 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Colonists |
| Victim Descriptions | |
| Victims Killed | 17 |
| Victims Killed Notes | Men, women and children. |
| Attackers | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People |
| Attacker Descriptions | Torres Strait Islander(s) |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | |
| Motive | Opportunity |
| Weapons Used | Waddies/Nulla-nulla(s), Spear(s) |
| Narrative | The brig 'Sperwer' founded on a reef off Prince of Wales Island in June 1869. The 14 Javanese crew members came on shore at Prince of Wales Island to collect wood and fish for food. The master, Captain Gascoigne and possibly his wife and child and the 14 crew were killed by the Torres Strait Islander people on Prince of Wales Island. The bodies of the master and the woman and her child were found two months later, along with the bodies of the 14 crew members. There is no first hand account of exactly what happened. |
| Sources | SMH December 3, 1869: 5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13196353; Inquirer and Commercial News, (Perth WA), January 5, 1870: 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66033796. (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | ** |
