Timeline of major crimes in Australia

Last updated

Contents

This is a timeline of major crimes in Australia.

19th century

1800s

1820s

1830s

1840s

1850s

1860s

1870s

1880s

1890s

20th century

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Port Arthur Prison Colony, site of the Port Arthur massacre Port arthur outside.jpg
Port Arthur Prison Colony, site of the Port Arthur massacre

21st century

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also

Citations

  1. "Williams, Francis (1780–1831)". Biography - Francis Williams - Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. "Our history | Westpac".
  3. Baxter, Carol Breaking the Bank: An Extraordinary Colonial Robbery, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 2008 ISBN   978-1-74175-449-0
  4. Corfield, Justin, Wickham, Dorothy, Gervasoni, Clare, Ballarat Heritage Services, The Eureka Encyclopaedia, 2004 ISBN   1-876478-61-6
  5. "Note: Massacre". duckdigital.net.
  6. Phillips, Nan. "Clarke, John (1846–1867)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN   1833-7538 . Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  7. "J. J. MacGregor Greer, wife Annice & lover – A. M. Louis Soudry – October 27th". 5 September 2003.
  8. "19 Nov 1881 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] A..." nla.gov.au.
  9. Gurvich, Maurice; Wray, Christopher (2007). The Scarlet Thread: Australia's Jack the Ripper, A True Crime Story. Sydney: Fairfax Books. ISBN   978-1-921190-42-1.
  10. A terrible tragedy – A sheep farmer murders his wife and five children, The West Australian (14 October 1896)
    The Brisbane Courier – Thursday, 13 October 1896, The Brisbane Courier (13 October 1896)
    A dreadful tragedy – Murder of a wife and five children, The Brisbane Courier (15 October 1896)
  11. A Terrible Tragedy – A mother murders six children, The West Australian (3 March 1898)
    The Tasmanian Tragedy – Later Particulars, The West Australian (4 March 1898)
    The Tasmanian Tragedy – Results of Inquests, The West Australian (5 March 1898)
    The Tasmanian Tragedy – Three Bodies Exhumed, The West Australian (15 March 1898)
    The Triabunna Tragedy- A Municipal Inquiry, The West Australian (6 April 1898)
  12. Whiticker. pp12 – 25
  13. "Razor Gang Feuds – Tilly Devine vs Kate Leigh", Dimensions in Time, ABC
  14. "EVENTS – The Six O'clock Swill". dinkumaussies.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  15. See Page 6 of the Victorian Government Gazette, 5 June 1918
  16. Charlie Tredrea. "South Australia Police Historical Society Newsletter for July 2008". sapolicehistory.org. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  17. Family perish in fire – Murder arson, and suicide, The Canberra Times (27 February 1929)
    Father's crime, The Brisbane Courier (20 March 1929)
  18. Family tragedy, The Sydney Morning Herald (22 August 1931)
  19. Whiticker. pp 26 – 41
  20. Whiticker. pp 42 – 55
  21. Skehan, Peter (13 February 2023). "1942 Boulder & Kalgoorlie Bombings". Western Australia Police Historical Society Inc.
  22. "The day terror struck the streets of WA's Boulder". ABC News. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  23. Demented father shoots 6 children, The Canberra Times (3 July 1948)
    Killer of 6 convicted, The Sydney Morning Herald (1 September 1948)
  24. Mother and five children are slain, Toledo Blade (13 October 1950)
    Woman, five children murdered in W.A.: Man questioned, The Canberra Times (14 October 1950)
    Man charged with murder of family, The Canberra Times (16 October 1950)
    Death sentence for murderer of son, The Advertiser (20 December 1950)
    Armanasco appeal – "Conjecture" about mental condition, The West Australian (2 March 1951)
    Armanasco refused leave to appeal, The West Australian (22 March 1951)
  25. "Queensland Police Service". Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  26. Leiper, Jason (18 February 2014). "FROM the VAULT – The Narella Street Tragedy". Museum. Qld Police Museum. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  27. "Kenneth Desmond COUSSENS". www.australianpolice.com.au. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  28. Gas kills family of seven, The Sydney Morning Herald (8 May 1964)
    – Most fascinating crimes, The Sydney Morning Herald (13 February 1965)
    Gas kills seven, note found, The Age (7 May 1964)
  29. "Who put baby in mailbag and posted to Darwin?". News.com.au. 18 September 2015.
  30. "Elmer Crawford electrocuted family, bashed daughter".
  31. "Father charged after 10 killed". The Age . 7 September 1971.
  32. Jory, Rex (12 February 2007). "Courts at risk from showcase legislation". The Advertiser. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  33. Cullen, Denise (15 May 2018). "The Margaret River shooting shows that we must stay vigilant about gun access". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  34. "Mass murderer who killed his seven biological kids remembered as a 'gentleman' by adopted children". Express Digest. 2 June 2018.
  35. ""Man Questioned:" - Pg. 1". The Sydney Morning Herald . 14 November 1973.
  36. (13 March 1976) Life sentence for Weckert murder, The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  37. (24 February 1977) Murder: two men jailed for life, The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  38. "KingsCross.Tv 25.12.75". darlinghurst.biz. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  39. "The Sydney Morning Herald – Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  40. Kramer, Tarla. "The Silent Grief of Alice Springs". BushMag. Retrieved 20 November 2010.[ dead link ]
  41. "Connellan Air Disaster Survivor Commemorates Anniversary". ABC News. 5 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  42. "Police Hunt for Killer of Two Women - Pg. 2". The Sydney Morning Herald . 14 January 1977.
  43. "Five Children Shot Dead - Pg. 5". The Sydney Morning Herald . 19 January 1977.
  44. Mackay, Donald Bruce (1933–1977), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University
  45. "Hilton Bombing". tripod.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  46. "The Magnetic Drill Gang". Australian Crimes.
  47. Chenery, Susan (7 January 2022). "'They got the lot': the mystery of the biggest bank heist in Australia's history". The Guardian.
  48. E. R. Baker; P. I. Rose (2000). "Opas, David Louis (1936–1980)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN   1833-7538 . Retrieved 8 September 2014. About 7 p.m. on 23 June 1980, ... Opas answered a call at the security gate to the courtyard of his Woollahra home. When he opened the gate, he was shot in the abdomen by a single bullet from a .22-inch (5.6 mm) calibre rifle. He died that night ...
  49. "Thrown out of house three days before family was killed Daoud got gun licence from Campsie police". The Sydney Morning Herald . 7 October 1981.
  50. "Lawyer guilty of murder". Canberra Times. 12 March 1983.
  51. "21 years' jail for 'body in barrel' murderer". ABC News. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  52. Family Court Tragedy Monument Australia
  53. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-07-29/man-charged-over-sydney-family-law-court-bombings-in-1980s/1475274 Man charged over Sydney family law court bombings in 1980s
  54. "Man killed his family to spare them 'disgrace'". The Sydney Morning Herald . 26 June 1984.
  55. Kyriacou, Kate (11 August 2013). "Sharron Phillips cold case: car speeding to mine dump site 26 years ago could be crucial evidence". The Sunday Mail. Queensland. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  56. "The deadly silence that doomed Samantha". The Sydney Morning Herald . 8 June 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  57. "Man shot four girls after being jilted, court told". The Sydney Morning Herald . 15 March 1988.
  58. R v Rodney Thomas Clarke [2005] NSWSC 413 (4 May 2005), Supreme Court (NSW,Australia)
  59. "Port Arthur Massacre – Part Three: Australia Reacts".
  60. Bradley, Zarisha. "Mass murderer who shot his wife, their children and her parents released on parole". 9 News. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  61. "Court Told of Drum Purchase". reconditioning.com.au.
  62. Liz Porter (2007). Written on the Skin: An Australian Forensic Casebook. Pan Macmillan Australia Pty, Limited. p. 219. ISBN   978-0-330-42334-2.
  63. "Leigh Leigh's killer set free". The Age. Melbourne. 20 May 2005.
  64. "The Dark Secrets of Queensland's Lesbian Vampire Killer". The Courier Mail . 11 November 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  65. "Recent random mass shootings in Australia". Sydney Morning Herald . 21 October 2002. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  66. "Girl, 7, wrote of death prior to her murder". Canberra Times . 9 April 1991. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  67. mako-Robert Lowe Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  68. "Ivan Milat, the notorious Australian Backpacker serial killer – the Crime Library". crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  69. Milliken, Robert (31 March 1993). "Besieged gunman vows fight to death: Five killed during Australia shootings" . The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  70. "DO TOO MANY PEOPLE OWN GUNS?". guncontrol.org.au. 25 July 2006.
  71. "Shots fired at Prince Charles (1994) | RetroFocus". YouTube .
  72. "Police officer shot 14 times now helps others face adversity". ABC News. 6 July 2016.
  73. "Australian Story". abc.net.au.
  74. mako-Paul Stephen Osbourne Archived 15 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  75. "Victory for Brisbane women's services". greenleft.org.au. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  76. "Suddenly One Sunday". crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  77. "The Snowtown Murders—History—Crime Library". crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  78. "Geoffrey Dobbs". Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  79. Willis, Louise (24 July 2003). "Child sex offender receives indefinite sentences". PM . ABC-Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  80. "Shocking places bodies are found". News.com.au. 22 June 2017.
  81. "Community devastated by deadly hit-and-run". Australian Broadcasting Commission. 19 February 2006.
  82. Rennie, Reko (20 June 2007). "Suspect surrenders to police". The Age . Melbourne. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  83. Welch, Dylan (19 August 2009). "Two likely to have killed the Lin family". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  84. Benny-Morrison, Ava (27 October 2015). "Girl in suitcase: mother Karlie Pearce-Stevenson's identity used to rake in $90,000". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  85. Sam Kelton (18 July 2015). "South Australian suitcase murder: Post-mortem confirms child dumped at Wynarka met violent end". The Advertiser. News Corp. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  86. "Girl in suitcase identified as Khandalyce Kiara Pearce; mother Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson found in Belanglo State Forest". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  87. "Note reveals why dad killed 3 kids". The Age. 8 May 2012.
  88. "Rajesh Osbourne warned friends he'd murder children Grace, Jarius and Asia".
  89. "Moama double murder accused remanded in custody until January". ABC News. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  90. "3 killed in shooting in Australia". The Jakarta Post. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  91. "Adelaide gunman arrested after siege". SBS World News. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  92. "Nurse Roger Dean admits arson murder of 11 Quakers Hill nursing home residents". ABC News. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  93. "Roger Dean jailed for life for deliberately lighting deadly fire at Quakers Hill nursing home". ABC News. August 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  94. "Brisbane's Queen St Mall gunman jailed for 4.5 years". ABC News. ABC-Australia. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2016. A gunman who brought Brisbane city's Queen Street Mall to a standstill last March has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. Lee Matthew Hillier sent the mall into lock-down, with terrified shoppers and CBD workers forced to evacuate or take cover in local businesses.
  95. Carlyon, Peta (1 May 2015). "Homeless man Scott Miller jailed over murder, rape in Melbourne Botanic Gardens". ABC (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  96. "Murder victim Renea Lau was kind, devoted". 9 News (Australia). 1 May 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  97. "'Egocentric delusion' drove Geoff Hunt to kill family then himself, coroner says". ABC News. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  98. "Sydney siege: Two hostages and gunman dead after heavily armed police storm Lindt cafe in Martin Place". ABC News. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  99. "Sean Price jailed for life for murder of Melbourne schoolgirl Masa Vukotic". ABC (Australia). 18 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2023. Convicted rapist Sean Price has been jailed for life over the murder of 17-year-old schoolgirl Masa Vukotic, who was stabbed to death during a random attack in a Melbourne park.
  100. "Masa Vukotic's killer sacks lawyer after revealing he wanted to kill someone rich". 9 News (Australia). 14 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023. Sean Christian Price, 31, forced the 17-year-old into bushes at Doncaster Park on March 17, where he killed her in broad daylight, stabbing her 49 times with a large kitchen knife.
  101. 1 2 Bachelard, Michael (27 August 2015). "Sean Price was on bail when he killed teenager Masa Vukotic". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 January 2023. Sean Price: a history of violence – July, 2003: Sean Price, 19, hands himself in at Doncaster police station over a series of sex attacks in Melbourne's eastern suburbs during a six-week period from May to June 27. He is eventually charged with 22 offences, including some that date back to 2002... ...March 19, 2015: Price goes on a rampage in the western suburbs, robbing a man in Sunshine, attempting a carjacking, and raping a woman at a bookshop, before handing himself in.
  102. "Killer Sean Price's violent past proves Victoria's justice system is failing, Victims of Crime Commissioner says". ABC (Australia). 28 August 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023. He had at the age of 27, 200 prior criminal convictions. I don't know how you amass 200 prior criminal convictions while you're still in your 20s.
  103. "'Thrill killers' get life". PerthNow. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  104. "Brighton hostage drama: police investigate terror link to deadly siege". 6 June 2017.
  105. "Four children, three adults found shot dead in Margaret River murder-suicide". ABC Online . 11 May 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  106. Percy, Karen; Farnsworth, Sarah (29 October 2019). "Codey Herrmann jailed for 36 years for rape and murder of Aiia Maasarwe". ABC (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  107. "'It sounded like a man screaming': Doctor dies after being shot in Brisbane home". ABC News. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  108. Tran, Danny (9 October 2020). "Christopher Bell sentenced over murder of Natalina Angok in Melbourne's Chinatown". ABC (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  109. "Man to stand trial for murder of Natalina Angok, found dead in Melbourne's Chinatown". The Guardian. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  110. McDonald, Tamara (29 April 2019). "Family seeks to bring remains of Natalina Angok home to South Sudan". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 12 January 2023. "Help us to pay for a memorial for Natalina, and so we can fly her remains back to South Sudan for final tribute by her father and relatives who have not seen her in years," it says. "We still can't believe we won't see her again."
  111. Zagon, Chanel (9 October 2020). "Man jailed for strangling girlfriend Natalina Angok to death in Melbourne's Chinatown". 9 News (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023. Christopher Bell, 34, was today sentenced to 21 years behind bars over girlfriend Natalina Angok's murder, with a non-parole period of 15 years.
  112. Cucchiara, Sam (2021). "Father's unstoppable crusade for justice after his daughter was killed". 9 News (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023. On the night of May 24, 2019, the 25-year-old and her killer Henry Hammond, then aged 27, arrived at the Vegie Bar in Brunswick. Courtney appeared friendly and tender, while at one stage Hammond began bizarrely examining a knife. The pair were talkative as they shared dinner. Then, in a final act of kindness, aspiring social worker Courtney paid for the meal – which would ultimately be her last. Hours later, Hammond would bludgeon her to death at Royal Park in an attack that lasted almost an hour.
  113. Tran, Danny (17 March 2021). "Courtney Herron's killer, Henry Hammond, ordered to spend 25 years in psychiatric hospital". ABC (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023. Henry Hammond, who used a tree branch to beat a woman to death in a Melbourne park, has been ordered to spend 25 years in a secure psychiatric hospital. Victoria's Supreme Court on Wednesday committed Hammond to the Thomas Embling Hospital after he was found not guilty of murdering Courtney Herron because of mental impairment. Hammond was in the grips of a schizophrenic relapse when he killed Ms Herron, whose body was found underneath branches at Royal Park in May 2019.
  114. Cucchiara, Sam (2021). "Courtney Herron: Family describe court's decision not to jail Melbourne woman's killer a double blow". 9 News (Australia). Retrieved 12 January 2023. Court records reveal Hammond was sentenced to 10 months' jail in December 2018 for his sickening attack on a former partner, which happened while he was out on bail for resisting police.
  115. "Why it matters that Courtney Herron was homeless - The Frant". SBS (Australia). 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2023. In the reporting around the incident, Courtney is described as having "no fixed address", meaning she was "homeless".
  116. Neda Vanovac (4 June 2019). "Darwin shooting: Up to five people killed in CBD, 45yo alleged gunman arrested by NT Police". ABC News . Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  117. "'Perpetrator of violence': Man who pledged to love wife killed her and three kids after they fled". News.com.au. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  118. "WA police shoot man dead after seven people stabbed in Pilbara rampage". The Guardian . 1 May 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  119. Rachel Pannett; Michael Birnbaum (8 June 2021). "FBI-controlled Anom app ensnares scores of alleged criminals in global police sting". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   1330888409.
  120. "Cleo Smith: How Australian police found the missing four-year old". bbc.com. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  121. "Charlise Mutten's Gold Coast community mourns allegedly murdered schoolgirl". ABC News. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  122. Smee, Ben (13 December 2022). "Wieambilla shooting: property owner Gareth Train posted regularly on online conspiracy website before police killed". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  123. Read, Chloe; Wuth, Robyn; Cosoleto, Tara (13 December 2022). "Six dead, including two police officers, after shooting and siege at rural property". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  124. "'What was he hiding?': Former principal identified as Queensland siege gunman". ABC News. 13 December 2022.
  125. "Five people killed in stabbing attack at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction, alleged offender shot dead". ABC News. 13 April 2024. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  126. "Multiple people killed in Bondi Junction stabbing attack". Sydney Morning Herald . 13 April 2024. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  127. "Five dead, multiple injured after knife attack on Sydney shopping centre". Al Jazeera. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  128. McSweeney, Jessica (15 April 2024). "Sydney stabbings live updates: Wakeley church attack declared terrorist event just days after Bondi Junction tragedy". WAtoday. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  129. Touma, Rafqa (15 April 2024). "Sydney church stabbing: multiple people, including bishop, stabbed during mass". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  130. Vyas, Heloise (15 April 2024). "Four people stabbed at church in Sydney's west including preacher". Sky News. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.

Related Research Articles

The Melbourne gangland killings were the murders of 36 underworld figures in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, between January 1998 and August 2010. The murders were retributive killings involving underworld groups. The deaths caused a power vacuum within Melbourne's criminal community, and rival factions fought for control and influence. Many of the murders remain unsolved, although detectives from the Purana Taskforce believe that Carl Williams was responsible for at least ten of them. The period culminated in the arrest of Williams, who pleaded guilty on 28 February 2007 to three of the murders.

A thrill killing is premeditated or random murder that is motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. While there have been attempts to categorize multiple murders, such as identifying "thrill killing" as a type of "hedonistic mass killing", actual details of events frequently overlap category definitions making attempts at such distinctions problematic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Bryant</span> Australian mass murderer

Martin John Bryant is an Australian mass murderer who shot and killed 35 people and injured 23 others in the Port Arthur massacre between 28 and 29 April 1996. He is serving 35 life sentences plus 1,652 years without the possibility of parole at Risdon Prison in Hobart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matricide</span> Act of killing ones own mother

Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Rogerson</span> Australian disgraced detective sergeant and convicted murderer (1941–2024)

Roger Caleb Rogerson was an Australian detective sergeant in the New South Wales Police Force and a convicted murderer. During his career, Rogerson received at least thirteen awards for bravery, outstanding policemanship and devotion to duty, before being implicated in two killings, bribery, assault and drug dealing, and then being dismissed from the force in 1986.

<i>Forensic Investigators</i> 2004-06 Australian television series

Forensic Investigators: Australia's True Crimes is an Australian television show hosted by Lisa McCune which aired on the Seven Network. It aired for three seasons from 2004 to 2006.

Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.

A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which an individual kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-suicide. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.

The Hornet Bank massacre was the killing of eleven British settlers, which included eight members of the Fraser family, by a group of mostly Yiman Indigenous Australians. The massacre occurred at about one or two o'clock in the morning of 27 October 1857 at Hornet Bank station on the upper Dawson River near Eurombah in central Queensland, Australia. It has been moderately estimated that 150 Aboriginal people succumbed in subsequent punitive expeditions conducted by Native Police, private settler militias, and by William Fraser in or around Eurombah district. Indiscriminate shootings of "over 300" Aboriginal men, women, and children, however, were reportedly conducted by private punitive expedition some 400 kilometres eastward at various stations in the Wide Bay district alone. The result was the near-extermination of the entire Yiman tribe and language group by 1858; this claim was disputed, however, and descendants of this group have recently been recognised by the High Court of Australia to be the original custodians of the land surrounding the town of Taroom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dulcie Markham</span> Australian prostitute

Dulcie May Markham was a prominent Sydney prostitute and associate of gangland figures in Sydney during the 1930s, 1940's and 1950s, when she was closely involved with the razor gang milieu of that era of organised crime within that city. During her criminal career, she had amassed 100 convictions in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia for prostitution, vagrancy, consorting, assaulting police and the public, keeping a brothel, drunkenness, and drunk driving, and was sent to prison on numerous occasions. Markham was known in the media as The Angel of Death, The Black Widow, Pretty Dulcie, Australia's most beautiful bad woman, Bad Luck Doll, and The One-Way Ticket.

The Port Arthur massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 28 April 1996 at Port Arthur, a tourist town in the Australian state of Tasmania. The perpetrator, Martin Bryant, killed 35 people and wounded 23 others, the deadliest massacre in modern Australian history. The attack led to fundamental changes in Australia's gun laws.

On 19 December 2014, at 11:20 a.m., police were called to 34 Murray Street in the Cairns suburb of Manoora in Australia, where eight children were found dead. The victims were aged between 18 months and 14 years. The bodies, with stab wounds, were discovered by the children's 20-year-old brother. Neighbours reported that fighting could be heard from the house the night before and in the early hours of the morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Justine Damond</span> 2017 police killing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

On July 15, 2017, Justine Damond, a 40-year-old Australian-American woman, was fatally shot by 31-year-old Somali-American Minneapolis Police Department officer Mohamed Noor after she had called 9-1-1 to report the possible assault of a woman in an alley behind her house. Occurring weeks after a high-profile manslaughter trial acquittal in the 2016 police killing of Philando Castile, also in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the shooting exacerbated existing tensions and attracted national and international press.

The Osmington shooting was a familicide in Osmington, Western Australia, on 11 May 2018, in which Peter Miles, a 61-year-old retired high school farm manager, shot dead his wife, daughter, and four grandchildren, before calling police and then committing suicide. It was the worst shooting incident in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre of 1996.

Criminal activity in New South Wales, Australia is combated by the New South Wales Police Force and the New South Wales court system, while statistics about crime are managed by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Modern Australian states and cities, including New South Wales, have some of the lowest crime rates recorded globally with Australia ranked the 13th safest nation and Sydney ranked the 5th safest city globally. As of September 2018 the City of Penrith (475.7) and City of Blacktown (495.1). Rural areas have comparatively high crime rates per 100,000 with rural shires such as Walgett Shire (1350.3) and Moree Plains Shire (1236.2) having some of the highest violent crime rates in the state. The overall NSW crime rate has been in steady decline for many years.

Criminal activity in Victoria, Australia is combated by the Victoria Police and the Victorian court system, while statistics about crime are managed by the Crime Statistics Agency. Modern Australian states and cities, including Victoria, have some of the lowest crime rates recorded globally with Australia ranked the 13th safest nation and Melbourne ranked the 5th safest city globally. As of September 2018 the CBD of Melbourne had the highest rate of overall criminal incidents in the state (15,949.9), followed by Latrobe (12,896.1) and Yarra (11,119.2). Rural areas have comparatively high crime rates, with towns such as Mildura (9,222.0) and Greater Shepparton (9,111.8) having some of the highest crime rates in the state.

The Sydney gangland wars were a series of murders and killings of several known criminal figures and their associates that took place in Sydney, Australia, during the 1980s. A vast majority of the murders were seen as retributive killings, attempts to control Sydney's drug trade, and expansion of criminal territory. A significant number of the murders that took place during the Sydney gangland war went unsolved, mainly due to corrupt police and their association with members of the Sydney Underworld.

References