Civil disturbances in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

include race riots,

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. Prison riots have not been the subject of many academic studies or research inqui ...

s, and religious conflicts – often

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

versus

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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

Demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

and protests are linked to a range of issues over time. In the convict era, there were collective actions 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, Boulder and Coolgardie 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

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 An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positi ...

against Lascars (Portuguese creole stokers) -

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

* 1853 - Convicts on 'Phoebe Dunbar' - "a disturbance of a rather serious nature" while at anchor. * 1854 - Convicts riot over religious issue - Fremantle Prison. Prisoners revolted when mass was canceled due to the suspension of the Roman Catholic Chaplain for calling the Protestant Chaplain "an Agent of the Devil" during a sermon. Five prisoners received 100 lashes each as an example. - see also Riots at Fremantle Prison between this date and 1988 * 1894 - Riot at Mallina - Pilbara Goldfield - over Goldfield Warden Decision - * 1897 - Riot after Catholics attacked Protestants during 12th July parade - 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 * 1905 -

- between Chinese, Japanese, Malay - Broome * 1905-10? -

Anti-Italian riots - Gwalia and Leonora * 1910 - Tramway Strike riots - Perth and East Perth * 1914 -

- between Japanese, Malay - Broome * 1915 -

- anti-German riot - Fremantle * 1916 - Anti-Greek riots - Perth (October), Kalgoorlie (December) * 1917 - Anti-Conscription riot - Cue *

1919 Fremantle Wharf riot The 1919 Fremantle Wharf riot, also known as the ''Battle of the Barricades'', arose out of a strike by stevedores in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1919. The strike was called by the Waterside Workers' Federation (WWF) over the use of Natio ...

* 1919 -

- anti-Slav riot - Fremantle * 1919 - Inter union violence Kalgoorlie/Boulder * 1919 - Protests against increase in price of beer - Kalgoorlie * 1920 -

Broome race riots of 1920 A series of riots involving some members of the Japanese and Indonesian (mainly from Kupang in Timor) communities took place in Broome, a town in northern Western Australia in December 1920. At the time of the riots, Broome—a town of aro ...

- Japanese vs Malay and returned servicemen - Broome * 1922 - Demonstrations against Mitchell government * 1923 (1925?) - Hotel Workers Strike - Perth * 1924/6 - Seamen's Strike - Fremantle * 1929 - Mutiny at Fremantle Prison over shaving - Fremantle * 1931 - 'Treasury Building' incident - Perth * 1934 - Anti-Italian/Slav riot - Kalgoorlie * 1940/45 - American/Australian Servicemen incidents - various locations * 1944 - 11 April "Huge riot" in Fremantle High st involving 500-600 people * 1946 - Pilbara Pastoral Strike meetings in Perth - broken up * 1947–55 - 'Cold War Violence' - incidents between CPA, and opponents and police - various locations * 1956+ - Dock strike scuffles and incidents - Fremantle * 1967+ - Demonstration Anti Vietnam war events until the 1970s - various locations * 1971 - Demonstration Anti Apartheid/Springbok Tour incidents - various locations * 1974+ - Demonstration "54b of Police Act" incidents - various locations * 1988 -

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 diversi ...

and Fire - Fremantle * 2016 - Aboriginal protest - Kalgoorlie

Incidents

See also

References

Further reading