Site Name | Daly River This massacre is part of a group of massacres |
Aboriginal Place Name | Nauiyu |
Language Group | Murrinh-patha |
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 People |
Victim Descriptions | Warrior(s) |
Victims Killed | 70 |
Victims Killed Notes | 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 | Colonisers |
Attacker Descriptions | Settler(s), Police |
Attackers Killed | 4 |
Attackers Killed Notes | Miners John Landers, Henry Hauschildt & Johannes Noltenius and their cook Thomas Schollert. |
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, John Landers, Henry Hauschildt and Johannes Noltenius were speared as they ran for safety. Back at camp, they found their cook, Thomas Schollert, dead. 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 armed by the Government but not accompanied by any police and did not account for ammunition used. See also Argument Flat massacre. |
Sources | Nettelbeck 2004; Wilson 2000; Morrison www.australianfrontierconflicts.com.au; Evening Journal, June 4, 1885 |
Corroboration Rating | *** |