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Batavia mutiny
Jeronimus Cornelisz led a violent mutiny following the shipwreck of the Batavia on the Houtman Abrolhos islands, specifically Beacon Island, with countless men and young boys being slain and several women kept as sex slaves. Survivors informed a rescue ship of the murders which led to the capture and execution of Cornelisz and several of his accomplices. -
Tyntynder Aboriginal poisonings
Andrew Beveridge handed out flour laced with poison to a group of Aboriginal people, between 8 and 20 of those who ate the flour died and several more became ill. It isn't known what happened to Beveridge. -
Kangaroo Creek poisonings
Thomas Coutts handed out flour laced with poison to a group of Aboriginal people, nearly 30 of which died and several fell ill after eating it. Coutts was arrested and tried in Sydney, however the case was dropped. -
J.J.M Greer shootings
John James MacGregor Greer shot his wife, Annice, and M.A. Louis Soudry, an affair of Annice; both survived their injuries. Greer then committed suicide at the Melbourne Opera House. -
Cavanagh massacre
Joseph Thyer killed his wife and five children at their home in Cavanagh, near Peterborough, South Australia. Thyer then committed suicide. -
Triabunna familicide
Catherine Mary Glover murdered her six children with a razor blade at their home in Triabunna, Tasmania. Glover then committed suicide. -
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Gatton mystery
Triple-homicide of Michael Murphy and his three sisters, Honora and Theresa at their home in Gatton, Queensland. The case has never been solved. -
Mawbrey family massacre
Jimmy Governor and Jack Underwood murder four members of the Mawbrey family and a school teacher at Breelong near Gilgandra. Governor is also noted as a serial killer as he is responsible for five other murders, committed either by himself or his accomplices. -
Victoria River massacre
Aboriginal prisoners being transported by boat along the Victoria River in Northern Territory escaped their restraints and murdered seven people after the boat broke down; including four white men and three Aboriginal boys. One Aboriginal boy survived and reported the incident. -
Alligator Creek massacre
George David Silva murdered six members of the Ching family, a family whom he worked as a farmhand for, while property owner Charles was travelling to town for supplies. Silva was arrested after he confessed to the crime, he was executed by hanging. -
Battle of Broken Hill
Badsha Mohammed Gool and Mullah Abdullah opened fire on an open-cart train from an embankment about 30 metres from the tracks, killing four and injuring seven in what has been described as the first terrorist attack in Australian history. Both men were killed by police and military forces in response to the massacre. -
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Sydney Church shooting
Lee Hing opened fire on a congregation inside the Church of Christ Chinese Mission School with two revolvers in Sydney, New South Wales, killing 1 and injuring 16. Hing was fatally shot by an American, who had travelled from Arizona. -
Botanic Gardens massacre
Norman Alfred List opened fire on people enjoying the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Victoria, killing four people and injuring an unknown number of others. List was found dead after committing suicide by cutting his wrists. -
Adelaide post office shooting
James Hannivan shot and wounded two employees at the Adelaide General Post Office before committing suicide via self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was apparently upset after being fired from his job at the post office. -
Don familicide
Andrew Thomas Edgar Archer murdered his wife and five children presumably with a razor before setting the house on fire in Don, Tasmania. Archer then committed suicide with a double-barrel shotgun. -
Rothbury riot
Armed police opened fire on striking miners locked out from their work in the town of North Rothbury, New South Wales, killing one person named Norman Brown and injuring approximately 45 others. The mine resumed work in 1930 and officially closed in 1974. -
Perth familicide
Roderick A. Davies killed his wife and five children in Perth, Western Australia. Davies committed suicide. -
Boulder-Kalgoorlie bombings
Pero Raecivich detonated bombs at a boarding house and a pub in Boulder-Kalgoorlie, killing 14 and injuring 15 others. He then committed suicide at Boulder Cemetery by blowing himself up. -
Cowra prison break
1,104 Japanese prisoners-of-war attempted to escape from a prison camp near Cowra, New South Wales; sparking one of the bloodiest prison breaks and manhunts as 235 people were killed. The remaining escapees were re-captured and imprisoned. -
Glen Innes child murders
Frederick Charles Hall shot and killed his six children with a rifle at their home in Glen Innes, New South Wales while his wife was in hospital. Hall was arrested and convicted. -
Collie familicide
Raymond Armanasco killed his wife and five children at their home in Collie, Western Australia. Armanasco was arrested and sentenced to death. -
Narella Street shootings
Marian Ryszard Majka killed six people, including his wife and daughter, and injured 1 with a semi-automatic rifle, a knife, and a hammer in Brisbane, Queensland, he also burnt down his house. Majka then committed suicide. -
Sydney theatre axe attack
Bogdan Mazurski killed one person and injured at least ten others with an axe inside a film theatre in Sydney, New South Wales. Mazurski was quickly arrested and was imprisoned in Morisset Psychiatric Hospital, where he died by suicide. -
Maitland double-headless murders
Terrence O'Connor brutally murdered and decapitated Sydney and Elva Shelley, along with their second unborn child, while their first baby was found alive in their cot. O'Connor was convicted despite the absence of an apparent motive and the gun used to kill the two was never found. -
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Darnley family gassing
Six members of the Darnley family died after being gassed inside their home. Police believe it to be a murder-suicide, probably by patriarch Herbert Darnley, though there is no available source verifying a perpetrator. -
Hope Forest massacre
Clifford Bartholomew murdered 10 members of his family at his dairy farm in Hope Forest near Willunga, South Australia with a single-shot rifle and a mallet. Bartholomew was initially sentenced to death but it was commuted to life imprisonment, he was released on parole in 1979. -
Whiskey Au Go Go fire
James Richard Finch and John Andrew Stuart deliberately started a fire at the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Brisbane, Queensland, killing 15 and injuring several. Both men were arrested and insisted on their innocence, Stuart died from an acute heart infection while imprisoned while Finch was released. -
Malvern and Glen Waverley attacks
Martin Phillip Parkinson killed a 3-year-old girl and injured 12 others in a rampage across the Melbourne suburbs of Malvern and Glen Waverly, Victoria, using a shovel and his car. Parkinson was fatally shot by police when he attempted to strike a senior constable with a shovel. -
Savoy Hotel fire
Reginald Lyttle, a serial arsonist and petty thief, killed 15 people and injured 25 others after setting a stack of newspapers on fire, causing it to rapidly spread upstairs. Lyttle was reportedly upset at the time of the incident and desired to become infamous on the news. -
Connellan air crash
Colin Richard Forman deliberately crashed a Beechcraft Baron plane into the Connair complex at Alice Springs airport, killing four people and injuring four more. He died in the crash. -
Mount Isa murders
Bruce John Preston (suspected) murdered three people north of Mount Isa near Spear Creek, Queensland sometime between October 5 - 24, 1978. The case remained unsolved until Preston was arrested and charged in 2019. -
Sydney Ghost Train fire
Under suspicious circumstances, a fire broke out on the Ghost Train ride at Luna Park Sydney, resulting in the deaths of seven people, including six children. The cause of the fire is disputed though many believe it to be an arson attack attributed to organised crime figure Abe Saffron. -
Campsie murders
Fouad Daoud shot dead five members of his family in Campsie, New South Wales. Daoud then killed himself. -
Tweed Heads mass shooting
Philip Eric Layton fatally shot six members of the Ross family after discovering that Margaret, whom he was having an affair with, was reconciling with her husband in Tweed Heads, New South Wales. Layton then committed suicide. -
Canley Heights mass shooting
Peter Sinfield, his brother Derek, and friend Adrian John Mills opened fire on a party in Canley Heights, Sydney, New South Wales, killing 2 and injuring 8. All three were charged with the shootings. -
Uluru inland motel truck attack
Douglas Crabbe ploughed his 25-tonne Mack truck into the crowded bar area of a motel at the base of Ayers Rock (Uluru), Northern Territory; killing five and injuring sixteen. Crabbe was arrested at the construction site of the Yulara Tourist Village and was sentenced to life imprisonment. -
Wahroonga murders
John Brandon shot and killed five members of his family in Wahroonga, New South Wales. He then committed suicide. -
Father's Day massacre
Members of the Bandidos and Comancheros biker gangs engaged in a gunfight in a carpark in Milperra, Sydney, New South Wales; resulting in the deaths of seven people, including a 15-year-old bystander, and the woundings of 28 others. Several members who participated in the massacre were tried and charged for their role, with the Bandidos National President Anthony Spencer hanging himself in prison before he could stand trial. -
Pymble shooting
Richard Maddrell fatally shot his teenage ex-girlfriend, her two sisters, and a friend present before fleeing the scene; the three sisters were daughters of author and army officer Sandy MacGregor. Maddrell was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, and MacGregor has since forgiven him and gone on to hold workshops and seminars for mental health. -
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Top End killings
Joseph Schwab murdered five people in the Top End region of Northern Territory and the Kimberly region of Western Australia in a five-day killing spree. Schwab was killed in a shootout with police. -
Hoddle Street massacre
Julian Knight killed 7 people and injured 19 others in a series of shootings along Hoddle Street in Clifton Hill, Melbourne, Victoria. Knight was arrested after a police chase lasting over 30 minutes. -
Huynh family murders
John Tran fatally shot five members of the Huynh family and injured 1 with a sawn-off semi-automatic rifle at their home in Canley Vale, Sydney, New South Wales. Tran then left a suicide note and killed himself. -
Queen Street massacre
Frank Vitkovic fatally shot 8 people and injured 5 in a mass shooting attack at an Australian Post office in Melbourne, Victoria; apparently in an attempt to kill a former friend. He committed suicide by plummeting 11 stories to his death. -
Oenpelli shootings
Dennis Rostron shot and killed five members of his family at Molgawo, an outstation near Gunbalanya (formerly known as Oenpelli), Northern Territory. Rostron turned himself in after several days of pursuit, he was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but was granted parole in 2019. -
Sydney hostel fire
An unidentified person deliberately set fire to the Downunder Hostel in Sydney, New South Wales, killing six and injuring 15. Gregory Alan Brown confessed to starting the fire however his confession is considered unreliable due to his history of mental illness. -
Surry Hills shootings
Paul Anthony Evers killed five people and injured seven others with a shotgun at a public housing precinct in Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales. Evers then surrendered to police. -
Orara High School shooting
A 13-year-old boy opened fire with a rifle on a sports field crowded with 1,000 people at Orara High School in retaliation for being sent home for misbehaviour, he injured three people; two teachers and a student. The shooter was quickly apprehended. -
Strathfield massacre
Wade John Frankum fatally stabbed a teenage girl inside a cafe before producing an SKS rifle, opening fire and killing a further six people and injuring six others. Frankum committed suicide as police arrived on the scene shortly after carjacking a woman. -
Kalgoorlie council offices shooting
George Karanatsios opened fire inside the council offices in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, killing city architect Hart Kerspien before shooting around the office. During a police standoff in which four workers were trapped inside the building, Karanatsios committed suicide. -
Central Coast massacre
Malcolm George Baker killed seven people, including an unborn baby, and injured one other in a shooting spree along the Central Coast region, New South Wales. Baker surrendered himself in a police station and was sentenced to life imprisonment. -
Cangai siege
Leonard Leabeater, Robert Steele, and Raymond Bassett engaged in a nine-day rampage, killing five people across two states after kidnapping four children, before engaging in a stand-off with police in a farmhouse in Cangai, New South Wales. Leabeater committed suicide while Steele and Bassett surrendered to police. -
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Greenough Family massacre
William Patrick Mitchell brutally murdered four members of the MacKenzie family at their home in Greenough, Western Australia with an axe. Mitchell, who was an acquaintance of the MacKenzies, was later arrested. -
Wollongong murders
Ljube Velevski stabbed his wife and three children to death with a knife at their Berkeley home near Wollongong, New South Wales. He was arrested but then released on bail after serving 25-years, he was then rearrested after failing to report in but was let out on bail again. -
Hillcrest shooting
Peter May shot and killed his estranged wife, three children, and parents-in-law with a rifle in Hillcrest, Queensland. May then committed suicide. -
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Port Arthur Massacre
Martin Bryant used an AR-15 and an L1A1 to gun down tourists at the Port Arthur historic site, killing 35 and injuring 23. He was captured after a lengthy stand-off with police at a Seascape guest house, during which he killed his hostage and started a fire. -
Shoobridge murders
Peter Shoobridge slit the throats of his four daughters as they slept at their home in Richmond, Tasmania. Shoobridge then cut off his own hand with an axe before committing suicide with a rifle. -
La Trobe University shooting
Jonathon Brett Horrocks shot and killed one person and attempted to shoot several others in a campus bar at La Trobe University before being subdued. He was subsequently arrested. -
Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire
Robert Paul Long set a backpacker hostel, which used to be a hotel, on fire, killing 15 people and injuring several others. Long, who was known to have a hatred towards backpackers, was arrested after non-fatally stabbing a police dog and a police officer five days later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. -
Monash University shooting
Huan Yun Xiang (also known as "Allen") fatally shot two people and injured five others at Monash University in Melbourne Victoria; the incident is known as the deadliest Australian school shooting. Xiang was subdued and arrested shortly after. -
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Sharpe family murders
John Myles Sharpe killed his pregnant wife and their 20-month-old daughter with a spear gun at their home in Mornington, Melbourne, Victoria. Sharpe initially tried to seem innocent and pleaded for information on his family's whereabouts, but eventually confessed to murdering them and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years. -
Oakhampton Heights mass shooting
Sally Winter fatally shot her husband and her two infant children with a rifle at their Oakhampton Heights home. She then turned the gun on herself. -
Winchelsea drownings
Robert Farquharson deliberately drove his car, which contained his three sons, into a dam, resulting in the boys drowning. Farquharson survived and claimed he lost control and that the incident was an accident, however, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 33-year minimum; he was released in 2009 on bail but was convicted of murder again in 2010 after some reconsideration. -
Cardross hit-and-run
Thomas Graham Towle struck thirteen teenagers with his car, killing six and injuring eight, in what is determined to be an accident before driving off. Towle was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in jail, he was released in 2016. -
Central Gippsland fires
Brendan Sokaluk deliberately started several fires in a pine plantation near Churchill, Victoria during the Black Saturday bushfires, killing 10 people and injuring an unknown amount of people as it spread toward populated areas. Sokaluk was charged for the arsons and killings, and additionally for possession of child pornography. -
Lin family murders
Lian Bin "Robert" Xie bludgeoned five members of the Lin family to death with a hammer-like object at their home in North Epping, New South Wales. Xie was arrested and charged with the murders, however, he was released after a hung jury in 2015, he was then found guilty after a retrial in 2017. -
Quakers Hill arson
Roger Kingsley Dean intentionally started a fire at Quakers Hill Nursing Home, killing 11 and injuring several others, apparently in an attempt to cover up his theft of prescription painkillers at the home. Dean was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in 2013. -
Modbury High School shooting
A Year 8 student at Modbury High School fired a revolver, however, no one was hurt or killed. The student was apprehended and banned from school for 10 weeks. -
Hunt family murders
Geoff Hunt fatally shot his wife and three children at their home in Lockhart, New South Wales. He then committed suicide. -
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Lindt Cafe siege
Man Haron Monis took eighteen people hostage inside the Lindt Chocolate cafe in Sydney, New South Wales; during which he killed one of the hostages. Monis was later killed by a SWAT team along with another hostage, killed by a police bullet ricochet. -
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Cairns child killings
Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday drugged and murdered eight children, seven of which she was their mother and one she was their aunt, by stabbing them to death at her home in Manoora, Cairns, Queensland. Thaiday was arrested and has since been held in a psychiatric facility as it was determined to be of "unsound mind". -
Enmore axe attack
Evie Amati, a transgender woman, suddenly attacked people inside a 7/11 store with an axe, injuring two, before attempting to attack a third on the street. It was argued that Amati was upset that a woman she met on Tinder rejected her due to her being transgender, all three people attacked were strangers to Amati. -
Melbourne CBD car-ramming attack
Dimitrious "James" Gargasoulas struck pedestrians with his Holden Commodore in Melbourne, Victoria, killing 6 and injuring 27. Gargasoulas, who was in a drug-induced psychosis at the time, was arrested after being tasered and shot in the arm. -
Flinders Street-Elizabeth Street car attack
Saeed Noori struck pedestrians with his car, a Suzuki Vitara, at the corner of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in Melbourne, Victoria, killing 1 and injuring 17. Noori was injured after his car hit a bollard, he was then subdued and arrested by an off-duty police officer. -
Osmington familicide
Peter Miles used three rifles to gun down seven members of the Miles-Cockman family; his wife, daughter, and four grandchildren. Miles then called the police to inform them of the murders then committed suicide while sat on a chair on the veranda. -
Bedford massacre
Anthony Harvey murdered five members of his family, including three young girls, with a blunt instrument in the suburb of Bedford, Perth, Western Australia; he also allegedly lived with the bodies several days after. Harvey was sentenced to life imprisonment. -
Darwin shooting spree
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann shot and killed four people and injured one other with a shotgun during a shooting spree across multiple locations, including a motel, in Darwin, Northern Territory. Hoffmann was tasered and taken to hospital for apparent knife injuries, he was sentenced with three life sentences and 15-years imprisonment for manslaughter of a fourth victim. -
Cessnock City arson attacks
A man deliberately started a fire along Wine County Drive near the North Rothbury suburbs during the 2019-2020 Bushfire period; though no one was seriously hurt, two houses were damaged, several hectares of bush were burnt, and a transformer was destroyed. Two other deliberately lit fires were also reported in the region (near Greta and Cessnock), likely started by the same man who is still under investigation. -
Camp Hill carjacking
Rowan Baxter set fire to the car of his estranged wife, Hannah Clarke, which contained his three children after jumping inside. Baxter, Clarke and the three children all died in the blaze. -
Tullamarine murders
Katie Perinovic murdered her three children while her husband was not present at home. She then committed suicide. -
Coogee murders
Selvamma Doreswamy killed her two children in a car fire in Coogee, Western Australia while her husband was in the USA at the time. Doreswamy died in the blaze. -
Northern Territory outstation murders
A 41-year-old man killed his 30-year-old partner (a woman named "A.K."), a 14-week-old infant and then himself in what police have described as a domestic violence situation turned murder-suicide. The murders occurred at a property 25 kilometres north of Alice Springs. -
Bogie farm shooting
Darryl Young fatally shot three people and injured another on a cattle property in Bogie, Queensland over a property dispute. He was arrested and charged with the shooting. -
Wieambilla shooting
Three sovereign citizens fatally shot a civilian and two police officers investigating a missing persons report at a rural property in Wieambilla, Queensland. Both were killed in a shootout with armed police.