Civil disturbances in Western Australia

This is a list of civil disturbances in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. Some of the disturbances in this list are considered to be race riot

Race riot

A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...

s, prison riot

Prison riot

A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....

s, and religious conflicts - often Protestant versus Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

groups.

The earliest civil disturbances were actions by the local indigenous population dealing with European settlers.

Demonstrations

Demonstration (people)

A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

and Protests are linked to a range of issues over time.

In the convict era, there were collective action

Collective action

Collective action is the pursuit of a goal or set of goals by more than one person. It is a term which has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences.-In sociology:...

s by convicts. Organised labour had to deal with issues on the Goldfields in the 1890s and 1900s with demonstrations and protest actions, while in Perth these occurred in the 1960s and 1970s over war and race issues.

There are some incidents in the 19th century where the causes are less clear. A restricted press and limited means of some groups to gain avenues to express their grievances in a dominated society, means that some disturbances were suppressed literally and disguised in the public record.

In some cases some smaller disturbances (alcohol related fights) in the Goldfields (Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

, Boulder

Boulder, Western Australia

Boulder was a town in the Western Australian goldfields east of Perth and bordering onto the town of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields region. Until 1989 it was part of its own municipality. In 1989 the towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder were merged to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder...

and Coolgardie

Coolgardie, Western Australia

Coolgardie is a small town in the Australian state of Western Australia, east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 800 people....

for instance) would not be considered full scale riots, but nonetheless the charges found either in newspaper or police records would suggest a significance beyond a simple incidence of drunken behaviour.

Incidents within strikes or labour related issues tend to be under-reported also.

Incidents

Many of these events/incidents are difficult to find from direct references, and require diligent examination of sources. Some are unlikely to show up in newspaper reports at all. In some cases incidents need checking and more accurate dating.

1834 - Race riots against Laska's - Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

(Portuguese creole sailors)
1840's (early) - Riot against American Whalers - Albany
1850 - Assaults against Chinese - Fremantle
1850 - Drunken Street Brawl - Perth
1852 - Convicts overpower Guards - York
1853 - Convicts on 'Phoebe Dunbar' - aggravated disturbance while at anchor.
1854 - Convicts revolt over food - Bunbury
1854 - Irish riot over religious issue - Fremantle Prison
1861 - Pensioner Guards vs Ticket of Leave Convicts - Perth
1894 - Riot at Mallina over Goldfield Warden Decision - Goldfields
1897 - Riot after Catholics attacked Protestants during 12th July parade
Orange walk
Orange walks are a series of parades held annually by members of the Orange Order during the summer in Northern Ireland, to a lesser extent in Scotland, and occasionally in England, the Republic of Ireland, and throughout the Commonwealth...

- Coolgardie
1898 - Riot in September on leases - Kalgoorlie
1899 - Riot on Wharf during Lumper Strike - Fremantle
1899 - Riot in September on leases over alluvial regulations made by '10 ft Ned' Wittenoom - Kalgoorlie
1901 - Conflict between Catholics and Protestants - Kalgoorlie
1901 - Anti-Protestant conflict on 12 July - Boulder 12th July parade
Orange walk
Orange walks are a series of parades held annually by members of the Orange Order during the summer in Northern Ireland, to a lesser extent in Scotland, and occasionally in England, the Republic of Ireland, and throughout the Commonwealth...
1902 - Riots on 12 July - Boulder 12th July parade
Orange walk
Orange walks are a series of parades held annually by members of the Orange Order during the summer in Northern Ireland, to a lesser extent in Scotland, and occasionally in England, the Republic of Ireland, and throughout the Commonwealth...
1905 - Race riots - between Chinese, Japanese, Malay - Broome
1905-10? - Race riots Anti-Italian riots - Gwalia and Leonora
1910 - Tramway Strike riots - Perth and East Perth
1914 - Race riots - between Japanese, Malay - Broome
1915 - Race riots - anti-German riot - Fremantle
1917 - Anti-Conscription riot - Cue
1917 - Race riots - anti-Greek - Perth (William Street)
1919 - Strike riot - Fremantle
1919 - Race riots - anti-Slav riot - Fremantle
1920 - Broome Race Riots of 1920
Broome race riots of 1920
A series of riots involving some members of the Japanese and Indonesian communities took place in Broome, a town in northern Western Australia in December 1920....

- Japanese vs Malay and returned servicemen - Broome
1923 - Hotel Workers Strike incidents - Perth
1924/6 - Seamen's Strike - Fremantle
1929 - Mutiny at Fremantle Prison over shaving - Fremantle
1932 - 'Treasury Building' incident - Perth
1934 - Anti-Italian/Slav riot - Kalgoorlie *
1940/45 - American/Australian Servicemen incidents - various locations *
1946 - Pilbara Pastoral Strike meetings in Perth - broken up
1947-55 - 'Cold War Violence' - incidents between CPA, and opponents and police - various locations
1957 - Dock strike scuffles and incidents - Fremantle
1967+ - Demonstration
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

Anti Vietnam war events until 1970's - various locations
1971 - Demonstration
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

Anti Apartheid/Springbok Tour incidents- various locations
1974+ - Demonstration
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

"54b of Police Act" incidents - various locations
1988 - Fremantle prison riot
Fremantle prison riot
The Fremantle prison riot was a prison riot that occurred on 4 January 1988 at Fremantle Prison, in Western Australia. The riot was organised as a diversion for an escape that was to take place. Prisoners created a fire as part of the diversion, and temperatures inside the cells were recorded at...

and Fire - Fremantle

Incidents

See also