| Appin Massacre | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars | |||||||
 Drawing of the skull of Cannabaygal, killed at Appin | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Darug and Gandangara people | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Cannabaygal | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 37 grenadiers | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 4 settlers killed | 16 Aboriginals killed | ||||||
The Appin Massacre was the mass murder of Aboriginal men, women and children in the New South Wales settlement of Appin, South Western Sydney, on 17 April 1816 by members of the 46th Regiment. The massacre resulted in the loss of a large number of the local Dharawal population (mainly due to displacement).[1] The event was the first military ordered massacre of Aboriginal people in Australia.[1]
Occurring during the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars, the regiment had been ordered by Governor Macquarie to lead disciplinary commissions in and around Liverpool, the Hawkesbury, the Nepean and Grose Valley. Officer Captain James Wallis raided and killed the natives indiscriminately, driving them off ravines and shooting them. The attack violated Governor Macquarie's instructions to seek the Aboriginals' surrender as "prisoners of war" and to preserve the lives of women and children.[2]
- ^ a b "Appin Massacre". Campbelltown City Council. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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