| Site Name | Daly River This massacre is part of a group of massacres |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place Name | Nauiyu |
| Language Group, Nation or People | Murrinh-patha, Malak Malak, Woolwonga |
| Present State/Territory | NT |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | SA |
| Police District | Port Darwin |
| Latitude | -13.713 |
| Longitude | 130.687 |
| Date | Between 2 Sep 1884 and 17 Oct 1884 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People |
| Victim Descriptions | Warrior(s) |
| Victims Killed | 70 |
| Victims Killed Notes | The official estimate was 20-30, however some reports estimate it to be between 70-150. The Protector of Aborigines, Dr Robert Morice, put the deaths at 'not less than 150'. |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Settler(s), Police |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | Horse |
| Motive | Reprisal |
| Weapons Used | Firearm(s) |
| Narrative | Markus (1974), Wilson (2000), Nettelbeck (2004), Morris (2019) and others have detailed that on 2 September 1884 at Mt Hayward Copper Mine on the Daly River, four miners were killed in an attack. John Landers and Johannes Noltenius were speared at or near the mine, their cook, Thomas Schollert, was killed near the kitchen and Henry Hauschildt, who was absent at the time, was later found dead some way from the mine (Morris 2019, p 36). A reprisal operation was carried out by Mounted Constable George Montagu and took in Argument Flat and Marrakai Station along the Mary River. Montagu's report documented 20-30 Aboriginal deaths, but other contemporary reports suggest between 70-150, and modern estimates are higher. Inspector Paul Foelsche also led a reprisal party. A third, civilian, party, known as the 'Hauschildt Rescue' party, led by former police officer August Lucanus and split into three groups, was provisioned by the Government but not accompanied by any police and did not account for ammunition used. See also Argument Flat. |
| Sources | Nettelbeck, 2004; Wilson, 2000; Morrison https://www.australianfrontierconflicts.com.au; Evening Journal, June 4, 1885 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198397078; SA Register, June 11, 1885 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44534459; Roberts, 2005, pp 125-131; Roberts, 2009, np; North Australian, November 27, 1885 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47995004; Markus 1974, p 12-34; 'Report on the pursuit of the Daly River murderers', North Australian, January 8, 1886 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47995130; SAPP, No.170, 1885; Morris 2019; Reid, B, 2020; Clement & Bridge, 1991, p 16; Daly 1887, pp 257-263; SA Register, 12 February 12, 1886, p 6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50184608 (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | *** |
Colonial Frontier Massacres
in Australia, 1788-1930
