| Site Name | Dent Island |
| Aboriginal Place Name | |
| Language Group | |
| Present State/Territory | QLD |
| Colony/State/Territory at the time | QLD |
| Police District | Cardwell |
| Latitude | -20.349 |
| Longitude | 148.934 |
| Date | Between 1 Aug 1878 and 20 Sep 1878 |
| Attack Time | Day |
| Victims | Aboriginal People |
| Victim Descriptions | Aboriginal |
| Victims Killed | 30 |
| Victims Killed Notes | |
| Attackers | Colonists |
| Attacker Descriptions | Native Police |
| Attackers Killed | 0 |
| Attackers Killed Notes | |
| Transport | Boat |
| Motive | Reprisal |
| Weapons Used | Snider(s) |
| Narrative | The schooner Louisa Maria was wrecked on the Whitsunday Islands in late August or early September 1878, and the crew attacked by Aboriginal warriors. One of the crew, Johnston, was tomahawked and his body thrown into the sea. Sub-Inspector George Nolan led 10 troopers and Captain McIvoy from the Louisa Maria, to Dent Island, a stronghold of the Aboriginal people, spent a week there and 'permanently dispersed' them (BC, Sept 21, 1878, p 6). |
| Sources | Brisbane Courier, September 21, 1878, p 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1375165; Richards, 2008, p 147. (Sources PDF) |
| Corroboration Rating | * |
Colonial Frontier Massacres
in Australia, 1788-1930
