Bathurst War

Bathurst War

The Bathurst county in which the war was fought
DateJanuary 1824 – 28 December 1824
Location
Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Wiradjuri
Commanders and leaders
Governor Thomas Brisbane
Major James Morisset
Windradyne
Strength
75 British soldiers
Several cavalry
200+ armed settlers
1,500 (unable to verify)
Casualties and losses
~20 killed
others wounded
~100 killed
others wounded

The Bathurst War (1824) was a war between the Wiradjuri nation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the successful Blaxland, Lawson, and Wentworth expedition to find a route through the "impenetrable" Blue Mountains in 1813, this allowed the colony to expand onto the vast fertile plains of the west.

Invasion of the new land was initially slow, but following a change of government, Governor Thomas Brisbane came to power allowing a flood of land grants to the west of the Blue Mountains. The enormous influx of British colonists put massive strain on the traditional food sources and sacred landmarks of the Wiradjuri. By early 1824, war had broken out in which the Wiradjuri adopted a guerrilla-style approach. After Governor Thomas Brisbane declared martial law, the resistance soon collapsed in late 1824.