List of massacres in Australia


This is a list of massacres and mass murders that have occurred in Australia and its predecessor colonies. Many of the massacres not listed here may instead be found in the list of massacres of Indigenous Australians. There is no uniform, global standard for what constitutes a mass murder. For the purposes of this list, the Australian Institute of Criminology definition of mass murder as having a "threshold of four or more fatalities" is used.

Massacres and mass murders

IncidentYearLocationDeathsInjuriesNotes
Batavia massacre1629Houtman Abrolhos, Western AustraliaunknownMassacre of survivors after the sinking of Dutch merchant ship Batavia following a mutiny.
Shipwreck survivors of the Maria massacred1840Coorong, South Australia0Ship travelling from Port Adelaide to Hobart was shipwrecked on the SE coast of South Australia, with all surviving the wreck. The survivors were being guided to safety by the local Narrindjeri people, but were massacred by them.
Cullin-la-ringo massacre17 October 1861Central QueenslandMassacre of newly arrived white settlers by Indigenous Australians.
Response to the Cullin-la-ringo massacreOctober 1861Central QueenslandIn response to the Cullin-la-ringo massacre, "sixty or seventy" Aboriginals were massacred by a vigilante party of eleven heavily armed white settlers accompanied by two Aboriginal trackers.
Cavanagh murders11 October 1896Peterborough, South Australia6 0Joseph Thyer, a sheep farmer, murdered his wife and five children before hanging himself.
Murder of the Glover family1 March 1898Triabunna, Tasmania6 0A mother murdered her six children and then committed suicide.
Breelong murdersJuly 1900Breelong, New South Wales9 0Jimmy Governor and Jack Underwood murdered four members of the Mawbrey family and a school-teacher at Breelong near Gilgandra. Underwood was captured soon afterwards, but the Governor brothers took to the bush. During the period they were at large, ranging over a large area of north-central New South Wales, the brothers committed further murders and multiple robberies.
Bradshaw massacre26 November 1905 Victoria River, Northern TerritoryFour white men and three Aboriginal boys massacred with tomahawks by Aboriginal prisoners being transported by boat to Palmerston to stand trial for the earlier murder of two white men. One Aboriginal boy survived and reported the incident.
Ching family murders16 November 1911Alligator Creek, Mackay, QueenslandGeorge David Silva murdered six members of the Ching family by shooting and bashing. Silva was hanged at Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane on 10 June 1912.
Battle of Broken Hill1 January 1915Broken Hill, New South Wales Spree shooting by two Ghans gunmen
Botanic garden massacre1924Melbourne 2Mass shooting; perpetrator committed suicide.
Murder of the Archur family26 February 1929Devonport, Tasmania6 0Andrew Thomas Edgar Archur murdered his five children and his wife and then set fire to their house. He killed himself after the attack.
Murder of the Davies family21 August 1931Perth6 0Roderick A. Davies, a 36-year-old carpenter, shot his wife and five children dead before taking his own life.
Boulder bombings1 February 1942Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia 15Bombing of a boarding house containing 30 people in Boulder, Western Australia by 45-year-old Pero Raecivich.
Glen Innes shooting2 July 1948Glen Innes, New South Wales60Frederick Charles Hall, a 48-year-old labourer shot his six children to death He was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment.
Murder of the Armanasco family12 October 1950Collie, Western Australia6040-year-old Raymond Armanasco killed his wife and five of his children in Collie near Perth. Armanasco was later sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment.
Narella Street massacre18 February 1957Brisbane, Queensland Marian Ryszard Majka killed six and injured a baby in two houses on Narella Street in Brisbane before taking his own life.
Warwick Farm gassing5–6 May 1964Warwick Farm, New South Wales70An entire family was found gassed to death in their Warwick Farm home. The victims were Herbert Darnley, his wife, Joyce, and their five children. A note was found on the front door of the scene, indicating a murder-suicide, although no perpetrator was reported as identified.
Crawford family murders1 July 1970Glenroy, Victoria40Elmer Crawford electrocuted and bludgeoned his pregnant wife and three children at their home, before putting the bodies into his car and pushing the car over a cliff at Loch Ard Gorge.
Hope Forest shooting6 September 1971Hope Forest, South AustraliaRampage killing by Clifford Bartholomew, who shot dead ten members of his family. It is the deadliest familicide in Australian history.
Whiskey Au Go Go fire8 March 1973Fortitude Valley, QueenslandunknownArson attack that killed fifteen and injured many more at a nightclub.
Savoy Hotel fire5 December 1975Kings Cross, New South Wales15unknownReginald John Lyttle set fire to newspapers in a hotel. Fourteen died from carbon monoxide poisoning and one from burns as a result of the fire.
Connellan air disaster5 January 1977Alice Springs Airport, Northern Territory4 5Suicide attack on Alice Springs Airport.
Weir family massacre18 January 1977Echuca, Victoria5 0Roger Bruce Weir, 32, shot and killed his five children at their home in Echuca with a.22 calibre single shot rifle before using the weapon to commit suicide.
Campsie murders24 September 1981Campsie, New South Wales Rampage killing by Fouad Daoud, who shot dead five members of his family before killing himself.
Inland Motel murders18 August 1983Uluru, Northern TerritoryVehicular attack by Douglas Crabbe, who drove a truck into the bar of the Inland Motel after being refused service.
Wahroonga murders1 June 1984Wahroonga, New South Wales Rampage killing by John Brandon, who shot dead five members of his family before killing himself.
Milperra massacre2 September 1984Milperra, New South WalesShootout between two rival motorcycle gangs. One bystander was among those killed in the incident.
Pymble shooting23 January 1987Pymble, New South Wales40Richard Maddrell went to the family home of his former girlfriend, shot her and three others.
Top End shootingsJune 1987Top End, Northern Territory5 0Spree killing by Joseph Schwab over a five-day period. Shot dead by police.
Hoddle Street massacre9 August 1987Clifton Hill, Victoria19A spree shooting by Julian Knight.
Huynh family murders10 October 1987Canley Vale, New South Wales0Rampage killing by John Tran, who shot dead five members of a family.
Queen Street massacre8 December 1987Melbourne 5A spree shooting/murder–suicide by Frank Vitkovic.
Oenpelli shootings25 September 1988Gunbalanya, Northern TerritoryRampage killing by Dennis Rostron, shooting five members of his family at Molgawo, a remote Arnhem Land outstation near Gunbalanya.
Surry Hills shootings30 August 1990Surry Hills, New South WalesA spree shooting by Paul Anthony Evers who killed five people and injured seven with a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun at a public housing precinct in Surry Hills before surrendering to police.
Strathfield massacre17 August 1991Strathfield, New South Wales 6A spree shooting/murder–suicide by Wade Frankum.
Central Coast massacre27 October 1992Terrigal, New South Wales1A spree shooting by Malcolm George Baker.
Greenough Family Massacre21 February 1993Greenough, Western Australia0William Mitchell murdered and sexually assaulted Karen MacKenzie, also murdering her three children with an axe at their remote rural property in Greenough, Western Australia. Mitchell was later convicted of the massacre and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years and has been denied parole in 2013 and 2016, and in 2019 was banned from applying for parole for six years.
1993 Cangai siegeMarch 1993Cangai, New South WalesLeonard Leabeater, Robert Steele and Raymond Bassett went on a nine-day rampage resulting in their taking hostages in a siege in a farmhouse at Hanging Rock Station in Cangai.
Wollongong Knife Murders1994Wollongong, New South Wales40Ljube Velevski, used a knife to kill his wife and three children in their Berkeley home near Wollongong in 1994.
Hillcrest murders25 January 1996Hillcrest, Queensland Mass shooting. Peter May shot dead six members of his family before killing himself.
Port Arthur massacre28 April 1996Port Arthur, TasmaniaA spree shooting by Martin Bryant. The deadliest mass shooting in Australia. Led to the National Firearms Agreement between Australia's states, territories and federal government, mandating licenses and registration for gun owners and users, and banning semi-automatic long guns in most cases. See Gun laws in Australia.
Shoobridge family murders28 June 1997Richmond, Tasmania4 0Peter Shoobridge cut the throats of his four daughters whilst they slept then took his own life with a rifle after cutting off one of his hands with an axe.
Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire23 June 2000Childers, QueenslandunknownArson attack by Robert Paul Long, which killed fifteen international backpackers.
Churchill Fire7 February 2009Churchill, VictoriaunknownArson attack by Brendan Sokaluk that killed ten people, during the Black Saturday bushfires period.
Lin family murders18 July 2009North Epping, New South WalesunknownBlunt instrument attack that killed five members of the Lin family.
Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire18 November 2011Quakers Hill, New South WalesunknownArson attack by Roger Kingsley Dean, a nurse, which killed eleven people.
Hunt family murders9 September 2014Lockhart, New South Wales4 Murder–suicide, mass shooting, familicide. Geoff Hunt killed his wife and three children before turning the gun on himself.
Cairns child killings19 December 2014Cairns, QueenslandStabbing attack and Familicide. Eight children aged 18 months to 15 years killed. Thirty-seven-year-old woman also found injured. The woman, Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday, was later charged with the murder of the children, seven of whom were hers, plus her niece.
January 2017 Melbourne car attack20 January 2017Melbourne, VictoriaVehicular attack. Dimitrious Gargasoulas drove a Holden Commodore into Bourke St Mall, resulting in the deaths of six people and injuring 27 others. Should not be confused with the December 2017 Melbourne car attack which killed one person.
Osmington shooting11 May 2018Osmington, Western Australia Murder–suicide, mass shooting, familicide. A grandfather shot his four grandchildren at their home, his daughter, his wife, and then himself.
September 2018 Bedford massacre9 September 2018Bedford, Western AustraliaStabbing, familicide. Five people were fatally stabbed or bashed in a house in the suburb of Bedford near Perth. The victims were two adult women, one three year old girl, and two girls aged 18 months. In April 2019, 25-year-old Anthony Harvey pleaded guilty to murdering his five family members. Should not be confused with the 1879 Cape Bedford Massacre against aboriginal people.
2019 Darwin shooting4 June 2019Darwin, Northern TerritorySpree shooting. Four people were killed and one person suffered a critical leg injury in a mass shooting allegedly carried out with a prohibited pump-action shotgun. The shooter, 45-year-old Benjamin Glenn Hoffman, was charged with four counts of murder and later pleaded guilty to three counts. The shooter had been released from prison on parole in January 2019 and was wearing a GPS-tracked electronic monitoring bracelet at the time of the offence.
Camp Hill carjacking19 February 2020Camp Hill, Queensland4 0Domestic violence incident. Rowan Baxter set fire to his estranged wife's car, killing all four occupants, before committing suicide at the scene.
2024 Westfield Bondi Junction stabbings13 April 2024Bondi Junction, New South Wales6 12 hospitalisedMass stabbing. Joel Cauchi entered Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre where he stabbed multiple people before being shot by police. Five victims, four women and one man, died at the scene, while a sixth victim, a woman, died in hospital. The injured victims include a young child, whose mother was the sixth victim.
2025 Bondi Beach shooting14 December 2025Bondi Beach, New South Wales15 40 Mass shooting incident. Occurred at Bondi Beach in Sydney during a Hanukkah celebration. According to New South Wales Police 15 people were killed, and 40 were wounded. One of the perpetrators was killed in a shootout with police, while the other was injured and arrested.

Attacks causing multiple non-fatal injuries

Mass violent attacks which caused many injuries but few deaths.