| Site Name | Mistake Creek |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Place Name | Mistake Creek |
| Language Group, Nation or People | Malngin and Nyinin |
| Present State/Territory | NT |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | SA |
| Police District | Gordon Creek and Wyndham |
| Latitude | -17.109 |
| Longitude | 129.043 |
| Date | Between 1 Jan 1890 and 31 Dec 1890 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander People |
| Victim Descriptions | Warrior(s) |
| Victims Killed | 60 |
| Victims Killed Notes | |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Mounted Police |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | NA |
| Transport | Horse |
| Motive | Opportunity |
| Weapons Used | Firearm(s) |
| Narrative | Austin (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. |
| Sources | Austin, 1992, p 17; Shaw & McDonald, 1978, p 130. See also Lewis, 2018, p 291. (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | *** |
