Site NameMistake Creek
Aboriginal Place NameMistake Creek
Language GroupMalngin and Nyinin
Present State/TerritoryNT
Colony/State/Territory at the timeSA
Police DistrictGordon Creek and Wyndham
Latitude-17.109
Longitude129.043
DateBetween 1 Jan 1890 and 31 Dec 1890
Attack TimeDay
VictimsAboriginal People
Victim DescriptionsWarrior(s)
Victims Killed60
Victims Killed NotesMen.
AttackersColonists
Attacker DescriptionsMounted Police
Attackers Killed0
Attackers Killed NotesNA
TransportHorse
MotiveOpportunity
Weapons UsedFirearm(s)
NarrativeAustin (1992, p 17) and Shaw and McDonald (1978, p 130) relate oral histories of how 60 Aboriginal men were in chains under police escort from the Victoria River region to Wyndham for alleged cattle stealing. At Mistake Creek, police received a telegraph instructing them to release the prisoners because the culprit (who allegedly killed one bullock) had been found elsewhere. Police shot the prisoners and burnt the bodies.
SourcesAustin, 1992, p 17; Shaw & McDonald, 1978, p 130. See also Lewis, 2018, p 291. (Sources PDF)
Corroboration Rating***