Bathurst War 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 . Settlement 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 guerilla - style approach , after Governor Thomas Brisbane declared martial law the resistance soon collapsed in late 1824 . Background . Blaxland , Wentworth and Lawson . Attempts to cross the Blue Mountains had been made from 1790 onwards with convicts seeking a way to escape and adventurers eager to explore the region . However , all of these attempts failed and it was to be over 20 years before a way across was found . In May 1813 , Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth set out with a plan to find a passage through the impenetrable Blue Mountains . After 21 days of traveling through of rugged terrain , the party reached Mount Blaxland . From here they saw a vast expanse of forest and grass in which Blaxland wrote was rich enough " to support the stock of the colony for the next thirty years " . This was in fact the land of the Wiradjuri people , one of the largest language groups in Australia . The Wiradjuri inhabited an area bounded by the Blue Mountains in the east , the western slopes in the south , and the change of open forest to grassy plains in the north and west . The tribes lead by Windradyne lived in the eastern parts of this territory , connected to the other groups by a common language as well as cultural and trade links . Governor Lachlan Macquarie . After passage through the Blue Mountains had been secured , assistant surveyor George Evans and his party had been instructed to further explore the country . Evans ' reports confirmed of excellent pastures beyond the mountains to which Governor Macquarie ordered a road be built from the Nepean River . In less than six months the road had been completed . Soon after Governor Lachlan Macquarie and a large accompanying party set out to view the country . The journey took nine days by coach from Parramatta and on arrival Macquarie ' s welcoming ceremony was observed by seven Wiradjuri . Macquarie wrote : Three days later Macquarie inaugurated the town of Bathurst , then continued to tour the surrounding country . In his journal , Macquarie writes of being visited by three male natives and that " to the best looking and stoutest of them I gave a piece of yellow cloth in exchange for his mantle , which he presented me with " . It has been theorised that this unknown Wiradjuri man may have been Windradyne , but this cannot be proven . Nevertheless , it would be another eight years before he would become famous to the colony . In 1820 , the population of Bathurst was only 114 due to Macquarie ' s slow and cautious approach to new settlement . His experience of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars of 1795 – 1816 may also have made him hesitant to start a new conflict . It seems that the Wiradjuri were willing to tolerate this slow level of growth and peaceful relations were maintained during this period . Governor Thomas Brisbane . In December 1821 , Macquarie resigned partly due to undermining forces within his own government . His replacement was Governor Thomas Brisbane who had different views through which he began asserting his authority . Under Brisbane ' s hand settlement laws were changed leading to a flood of land grants across the Blue Mountains . An enormous influx of the British onto the Wiradjuri lands put great strain on traditional food sources , and destroyed some of the Wiradjuri social and sacred sites . In response , the Wiradjuri resistance was born , well aware that they had no chance against guns , they adopted a guerilla - warfare approach in which attacks were made against outlying and undefended stations . Pre - war violence . Following Governor Brisbane ' s decision to open the flood gates to the west of the Blue Mountains , various attacks were soon made against the growing settlement . In 1822 , Wiradjuri warriors attacked a station on the Cudgegong River in which they drove away the stockman , let the cattle out of the yard and killed several of the sheep . More attacks followed with the murder of convict hut - keepers , scattered herds and speared cattle . Stockmen were intimidated and would not leave their huts to round up the cattle and bring them in without protection . The government centre at Swallow Creek was soon abandoned in fear of attack . In late 1823 , Windradyne ( known as Saturday by the British ) was captured for the first time . The " Sydney Gazette " described the situation in the following : Course of the war . Potato Field Incident . In early 1824 , on the river flats opposite of the town of Bathurst , a farmer in a friendly gesture offered a group of passing natives some potatoes . The next day the families returned to the field , however , with no concept of private ownership of food supplies they began helping themselves . The farmer then fired upon the group and in the mayhem several natives were killed and some wounded . One of the survivors of this misunderstanding was Windradyne , enraged at the attack he and his warriors immediately began a series of violent attacks against nearby stations . One settler account describes an encounter that took place soon after the Potato Field Incident : Revenge attacks . Similar attacks occurred at nearby stations " The Mill " and " Warren Gunyah " . These attacks included men being speared , weapons stolen , buildings burned and stock killed . While Windradyne and his warriors engaged the area north - east of Bathurst , to the south relative tribes also attacked , terrorising settlers and driving off cattle . Revenge parties were formed in which a group of armed servants attacked and killed three Wiradjuri women . For several months the attacks by the Wiradjuri continued , they struck at unexpected locations then retreated back to the bush . By August 1824 , the " Sydney Gazette " described it as " to have exposed the strength and wealth of the Colony . . . to destruction " . Proclamation of martial law . On August 14 , Governor Brisbane issued a proclamation of martial law . Governor Brisbane ' s declaration read : A detachment of the 40th Regiment was rushed to Bathurst , bringing the total number of soldiers to 75 . Together with an armed militia of settlers they began murdering the native population . Despite martial law being declared it seemed to have had little impact on the activities of the Wiradjuri . According to W . H . Suttor , " The proclamation of martial law was as undecipherable to the natives as an Egyptian hieroglyph " . The natives continued with their attacks against the British , and skirmishes followed by massacres of warriors attempting to bury their dead . However , the majority of victims were native women and children gunned down from horseback , poisoned or driven into gorges . In October , the " Sydney Gazette " summed up the situation stating that " Bathurst and its surrounding vicinity is engaged in an exterminating war " . Battle of Bathurst . The Battle of Bathurst began on 10 September when a Wiradjuri war party attacked a station on the Cudgegong River , they drove off the cattle before being pursued by the station hands . In an ambush , the stationhands were chased back and in the retreat three Wiradjuri warriors were shot . The following day the station hands returned to find the war parties ' camp deserted as they were burying their dead , however most of the weapons were left in the camp and were subsequently destroyed . As the Wiradjuri returned to the war camp , the station hands fired on them killing at least sixteen and wounding many more . Peace . At the outset of martial law , Windradyne ' s people had been informed that military operations against them would continue until their leaders were given up . Windradyne himself had a reward of 500 acres of land . By late 1824 , large numbers of Wiradjuri were surrendering themselves to the government however , Windradyne continued to elude the soldiers and as such martial law remained in place for a further seven weeks . On 11 December 1824 , martial law was finally repealed , and on 28 December Windradyne appeared at the head of his people in Parramatta to attend the Governor ' s annual feast . He wore the word " peace " on his hat and knew the soldiers could not arrest him because of the possibility of a riot with so many Aborigines there . The " Sydney Gazette " described Windradyne as :