More than 10,000 First Nations people killed in Australia’s frontier wars, final massacre map shows

<p>‘Horrendous’ eight-year long project has ended with final fact check, leaving a legacy ‘nobody can argue’ with, says researcher</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2019/mar/04/massacre-map-australia-the-killing-times-frontier-wars">The Killing Times map of sites where violence occurred on the Australian frontier</a></li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/feb/23/australia-news-live-one-dead-after-overnight-police-standoff-in-tamworth">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></li><li>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></li></ul><p>The final findings of the “horrendous” eight-year long “massacre map”, tracing the violent history of the Australian colonial frontier have been released.</p><p>The <a href="https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/">Colonial Frontier Massacres Digital Map Project</a>, spearheaded by the late emerita professor of history at the University of Newcastle, Dr Lyndall Ryan, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/16/almost-half-the-massacres-of-aboriginal-people-were-by-police-research-finds">officially concluded in 2022</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=copyembed">Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email</a></strong></p><p>At least 10,657 people were killed in at least 438 colonial frontier massacres.</p><p>10,374 of them were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people killed by colonists.</p><p>Only 160 of those killed were non-Indigenous colonists.</p><p>There were 13 massacres of colonists by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.</p><p>The most intense period of massacres was from the late 1830s into 1840s, with a pivotal point being the Myall Creek massacre in 1838 – the first time any perpetrators had been punished.</p><p>After the Myall Creek convictions, the government could no longer involve the military and new “police” forces were created, which set a pattern for the rest of the conflict.</p><p>About half of all massacres of Aboriginal people were carried out by police and other government agents. Many others were perpetrated by settlers acting with tacit approval of the state.</p><p>Some perpetrators were involved in many massacres.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/23/more-than-10000-first-nations-people-killed-in-australias-frontier-wars-final-massacre-map-shows-ntwnfb">Continue reading...</a>