Queensland’s frontier wars stand as one of the bloodiest and most brutal periods in Australia’s colonial history. Between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century, violent conflicts between European settlers and Aboriginal tribes resulted in massive loss of life, particularly for Indigenous communities. The wars are now considered by many historians to be acts of genocide, characterized by some of the most frequent and deadly massacres of First Nations people in Australian history.

The toll on Indigenous populations was staggering, with at least 66,680 people killed across 644 recorded clashes, the vast majority of whom were Aboriginal. It is estimated that around 65,180 of these fatalities were Aboriginal men, women, and children, with 24,000 of them falling victim to the violence of the Native Police between 1859 and 1897. The Native Police, a military force established by the Queensland government in 1849, played a pivotal role in these massacres. Composed of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander troopers under white officers, the Native Police were often forcibly recruited from remote communities and became central to the state’s colonial enforcement, carrying out violent retaliations against Aboriginal tribes.

Conflict in Queensland began in earnest after European settlement in 1838, particularly as settlers expanded into the Darling Downs, Brisbane Valley, and South Burnett regions. As settlements pushed further into Indigenous territories, violent clashes and retaliatory attacks ensued. Notably, the 1861 Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, in which 19 settlers were killed, led to brutal reprisals in which hundreds of Aboriginal people were murdered. Other infamous massacres, such as the Kilcoy and Whiteside poisonings, saw up to 70 Aboriginal people killed through the deliberate poisoning of flour laced with strychnine.

The violence intensified in the 1860s and 1870s, particularly in Central Queensland and the northern mining frontier. The 1861 Cullin-La-Ringo massacre was a turning point, as Aboriginal warriors retaliated against settlers, leading to the massacre of 370 Gayiri people by police and civilians. In the following years, the violence spread to the northern goldfields and remote areas, where raids by Indigenous groups, such as the Kalkadoon in the Cook district, forced settlers to retreat for a time. These attacks were met with brutal retribution by the Native Police, continuing the cycle of violence.

The legacy of the frontier wars in Queensland is a dark chapter in Australia’s history, marked by the immense suffering and destruction of Aboriginal communities. The historical record reveals a pattern of violence that resulted in the decimation of entire populations, and these events are now acknowledged as central to understanding the profound impact of European colonization on Indigenous peoples in Australia.