On This Day

Battle of Pinjarra occurs in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia; British colonists kill 14

Battle of Pinjarra occurs in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia; British colonists kill 14 to 40 Aboriginal people

The Pinjarra massacre, sometimes inaccurately still called the Battle of Pinjarra, occurred on 28 October 1834 in Pinjarra, Western Australia when a group of Bindjareb Noongar people were attacked by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police, and settlers led by Governor James Stirling. According to Stirling, "about 60 or 70" of the Bindjareb people were present at the camp and John Roe, who also participated, estimated about 70–80. This roughly agrees with an estimate of 70 by an unidentified eyewitness.

Of the attackers, Captain Theophilus Tighe Ellis died and Corporal Patrick Heffron was injured. Of the attacked, an uncertain number of Bindjareb men, women, and children were killed.

Historical Significance

The Pinjarra massacre, sometimes inaccurately still called the Battle of Pinjarra, occurred on 28 October 1834 in Pinjarra, Western Australia when a group of Bindjareb Noongar people were attacked by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police, and settlers led by Governor James Stirling.

Events Before

  1. Curaçao census: 2,602 white people, 6,531 free people, 5,894 enslaved people

    Curaçao census: 2,602 white people, 6,531 free people, 5,894 enslaved people

  2. French composer Hector Berlioz (29) weds Irish actress Harriet Smithson (30) at the British Embassy in Paris, France

    French composer Hector Berlioz (29) weds Irish actress Harriet Smithson (30) at the British Embassy in Paris, France

  3. The British Royal Navy arrives at the Falkland Islands and reasserts sovereignty

    In December 1832, the United Kingdom sent two naval vessels to re-assert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), after the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata...

  4. Britain seizes control of Falkland Islands in South Atlantic

    The occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was the short-lived Argentine occupation of a group of British islands in the South Atlantic whose sovereignty...

  5. Boston Academy of Music, first US music school, is established

    Boston Academy of Music, first US music school, is established

Events After

  1. US national debt reaches $0 for the first and only time in history

    The history of the United States public debt began with federal government debt incurred during the American Revolutionary War by the first U.S treasurer, Michael Hillegas, after the country's…

  2. Maria II of Portugal marries Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg

    Dona Maria II (Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga de Habsburgo-Lorena e Bragança; 4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853)…

  3. First installment of Hans Christian Andersen's "Fairy Tales" is published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark

    Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales,...

  4. Soldier and politician Jefferson Davis (27) weds Sarah Knox Taylor (21) in Louisville, Kentucky

    Soldier and politician Jefferson Davis (27) weds Sarah Knox Taylor (21) in Louisville, Kentucky

  5. Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson files for a patent for his screw propeller design

    Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson files for a patent for his screw propeller design

More from the 1830s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 28, 1834?
The Pinjarra massacre, sometimes inaccurately still called the Battle of Pinjarra, occurred on 28 October 1834 in Pinjarra, Western Australia when a group of Bindjareb Noongar people were attacked by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police, and settlers led by Governor James Stirling. According to Stirling, "about 60 or 70" of the Bindjareb people were present at the camp and John Roe, who also participated, estimated about 70–80. This roughly agrees with an estimate of 70 by an unidentified eyewitness.
Why is Battle of Pinjarra occurs in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, W... significant?
The Pinjarra massacre, sometimes inaccurately still called the Battle of Pinjarra, occurred on 28 October 1834 in Pinjarra, Western Australia when a group of Bindjareb Noongar people were attacked by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police, and settlers led by Governor James Stirling.

Explore More