10 To 49 Deaths
Disaster | Location | Deaths | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyclonic effects | North coast, New South Wales | 46 | 1923 | |
Rail accident | Sunshine, Victoria | 44 | 1908 | Sunshine train disaster. Rear end collision |
Air Disaster | near Mackay, Queensland | 40 | 14 June 1943 | Bakers Creek air crash. USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress crashes shortly after take-off. |
Fire | Queenstown, Tasmania | 42+ | 1912 | 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster. Mine fire. True toll may be higher due to subsequent deaths from the effects of the fire |
Shipwreck | near Edithburgh, South Australia | 40 | 31 January 1909 | SS Clan Ranald |
Sinking | Sydney | 40-42 | 3 November 1927 | Sydney ferry disaster |
Flooding | Queensland | 38 + 6 missing presumed dead | December 2010-January 2011 | 2010–2011 Queensland floods |
Shipwreck | Cardwell, Queensland | 36 | 1872 | Shipwreck Maria. Some of the survivors were killed by Aborigines although others were helped |
Flood | Melbourne suburbs and Southern Victoria | 35 | 29 November to 1 December 1934 | Torrential rainfall of up to 350 mm. Yarra River becomes raging torrent. Extensive damage with 35 dead, 250 injured, and 3,000 homeless. |
Shooting | Port Arthur, Tasmania | 35 | 28 April 1996 | Port Arthur massacre. |
Shipwreck | Jervis Bay, New South Wales, | 35 | 1 September 1876 | The steamer Dandenong lost during severe storm. |
Shipwreck | Cheviot Beach, Victoria | 35 | 20 October 1887 | SS Cheviot |
Bridge collapse | Melbourne | 35 | 15 October 1970 | West Gate Bridge. 35 construction workers died due to a collapse during construction |
Road accident | Kempsey, New South Wales | 35 | 22 December 1989 | Kempsey bus crash. Two tourist coaches collided head-on |
Cyclone | Queensland coast, particularly Mackay | 30 | January 1918 | Mackay Cyclone |
Shipwreck | near Southend, south east South Australia | 31 | 14 June 1876 | Geltwood. Wreck not found for two weeks. No survivors. |
Shipwreck | off Wilsons Promontory in Bass Strait | 31 | 1 December 1935 | SS Paringa Sunk during storm while towing another vessel. All officers and crew lost. |
Fire | Melbourne | 30 | 13 August 1966 | William Booth Memorial Hostel fire. Convalescent home for men |
Air accident | York near Perth | 29 | 26 June 1950 | 1950 Australian National Airways Douglas DC-4 crash. |
Air accident | Mackay | 29 | 10 June 1960 | TAA Fokker Friendship disaster. Crashed into sea. |
Cyclone/sinking. | Western Australia | 29 | April 1991 | Cyclone Fife. 27 lost in shipwreck of Mineral Diamond |
Riot and insurrection | Ballarat, Victoria | 28 | 3 December 1854 | Eureka Stockade. Exact death toll remains unknown. |
Massacre | Myall Creek, near Inverell, New South Wales | 28 | 9 June 1838 | Myall Creek massacre. 28 Aboriginal people killed by white stockmen |
Cyclone | Darwin, Northern Territory | 28 | January 1897 | |
Shipwreck | Kangaroo Island, South Australia | 27 | September 1905 | Loch Vennachar |
Air accident | Cleveland Bay, Townsville, Queensland | 27 | 7 August 1943 | C-47 Dakota plane crash. Plane crashed after takeoff. |
Shipwreck/Massacre | Coorong, South Australia | 26 | 1840 | Maria. Survivors murdered. Exactly what took place remains controversial. |
Explosion | Wagga Wagga, New South Wales | 26 | 21 May 1945 | Kapooka Army Base soldiers received instruction of demolition work in a bunker which was 3 metres (9.8 ft) below the ground when an explosion took place which resulted in Australia's largest military funeral. |
Cyclone | Gold Coast and northern New South Wales | 26 | February 1954 | |
Air accident | Port Hedland, Western Australia | 26 | 31 December 1968 | In-flight break up of MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 (Vickers Viscount) |
Flood | Hunter Valley, New South Wales | 25 | February 1955 | 1955 Hunter Valley floods. Most deaths were around Singleton and Maitland, but most other river systems in the state were also in flood. |
Rail accident | Wodonga, Victoria | 25 | 1943 | Train hit bus carrying army personnel |
Air accident | Seven-Mile Beach, near Hobart | 25 | March 1946 | 1946 Australian National Airways DC-3 crashed into the sea. |
Air accident | Winton, Queensland | 24 | 22 September 1966 | Ansett-ANA Viscount disaster. Flight 149 en route Mount Isa - Longreach |
Shipwreck | Gosford | 24 | 6 May 1898 | Maitland |
Air accident | Kudjeru Gap, in the Australian territory of Papua New Guinea | 24 | August 1972 | RAAF Caribou aircraft crashes in rugged mountainous country en route from Lae to Port Moresby, killing 24 of the 28 people on board. |
Bushfire | Southern regions of Victoria | 23 | January 1969 | 280 fires. 17 casualties at Lara |
Mine disaster | Creswick, Central Victoria | 22 | 12 December 1882 | New Australasia gold mine. 44 miners trapped when a flooded mine shaft is breached. 22 men drown. |
Flood | Northern Tasmania | 22 | April 1929 | Eight drowned when truck ploughed into river and 14 died when dam collapsed and wall swept into town |
Heatwave | South-east Queensland | 22 | January 2000 | |
Road accident | Grafton, New South Wales | 21 | 20 October 1989 | Grafton bus crash. A head-on collision between a tourist coach and a truck. |
Air accident | Coolangatta, Queensland | 21 | 10 March 1949 | 1949 Queensland Airlines Lockheed Lodestar crash - aircraft crashed shortly after take-off due to incorrect loading. |
Shipwreck | Trial Bay, New South Wales | 19-21 | September 1816 | |
Shipwreck | Smokey Cape, New South Wales | 21 | 25 August 1969 | Noongah sank |
Shipwreck | off Gabo Island, Bass Strait | 21 | 1 March 1901 | SS Federal vanished without trace. All crewmembers lost. |
Air accident | Mossman, Queensland | 20 | 7 September 1944 | Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force Douglas C-47 Dakota crashes en-route between Merauke, Dutch East Indies and Cairns. |
Fire | Kings Cross, New South Wales | 19 | 25 August 1981 | Rembrant Hotel. |
Shipwreck | Adelaide, South Australia | 18+ | 13 July 1888 | Star of Greece. Exact number of lives lost uncertain. |
Road accident | Tumut Pond, New South Wales | 18 | 1 September 1973 | Brake failure caused bus to plummet into reservoir |
Air accident | Townsville, Queensland | 18 | 12 June 1996 | Two Army Blackhawk helicopters collided |
Landslide | Thredbo, New South Wales | 18 | 30 July 1997 | 1997 Thredbo landslide |
Air accident | Perth Airport | 18 | 2 July 1949 | 1949 MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 crash - aircraft crashed a minute after take-off, killing all 18 people on board. |
Air accident | Dandenongs, Victoria | 18 | 25 October 1938 | 1938 Kyeema Crash |
Rail accident | Brooklyn, New South Wales | 17 | 1944 | Train ploughed into bus at Hawkesbury River station |
Rail accident | Wasleys Crossing, near Gawler, South Australia | 17 | 12 April 1970 | Wasleys Crossing (Gawler) disaster. Bus collided with a passenger train |
Explosion | Ipswich, Queensland | 17 | 31 July 1972 | Mine gas explosion in the Box Flat Colliery |
Heatwave | South-Eastern regions, Australia | 17 | February 1993 | Possibility of additional unreported deaths |
Shipwreck | Bass Strait Victorian coast | 16 | 29 November 1934 | SS Coramba left Warrnambool for Melbourne and was never seen again. Believed lost during storm. |
Rail accident | Camp Mountain, Queensland | 16 | 5 May 1947 | Camp Mountain train disaster. A crowded picnic train derailed on bend |
Fire | Sylvania Heights, New South Wales | 16 | 29 April 1981 | Pacific Nursing Home fire. |
Air accident | Botany Bay, New South Wales | 15 | 30 November 1961 | Ansett-ANA Flight 325 - Vickers Viscount aeroplane crash. All on board died. |
Fire | Kings Cross, New South Wales | 15 | 25 December 1975 | Savoy Hotel fire. Arson |
Shipwreck | near Cape Schanck, Victoria | 15 | 28 December 1893 | SS Alert |
Fire | Fortitude Valley, Queensland | 15 | 8 March 1973 | Whiskey Au Go Go fire. Arson |
Cyclone/Sinking | near Carnarvon, Western Australia | 15 | 1979 | Cyclone Hazel |
Heatwave | South-eastern regions of Australia | 15 | February 1981 | |
Air accident | Lockhart River, Queensland | 15 | 7 May 2005 | In the Lockhart River air disaster an aeroplane crashed on approach to land, killing all on board. |
Fire | Childers, Queensland | 15 | June 2000 | Robert Long received a life sentence for starting the Childers Palace backpackers hostel fire |
Bushfire | Dandenong Ranges and Lara, Victoria | 14* | 14–16 January 1962 | Casualty numbers vary between 9, 14, and 32. |
Bushfires | Sydney, Blue Mountains and Illawarra, New South Wales | 14* | January 1968 | *Sources vary on death toll but most say 14. |
Cyclone | Whitsunday Islands, Queensland | 14 | January 1970 | Cyclone Ada |
Cyclone | Brisbane, Queensland | 14 | 27 January 1974 | 1974 Brisbane flood. Cyclone Wanda |
Explosion | Appin, New South Wales | 14 | 24 July 1979 | Appin Colliery Gas Explosion during a pre-planned ventilation change. |
Explosion | Wonthaggi, Victoria | 13 | 15 February 1937 | Dalyson Colliery |
Air accident | Tamworth, New South Wales | 13 | January 1960 | |
Explosion | Kianga, near Moura, Queensland | 13 | 20 September 1975 | Kianga Mine explosion |
Air accident | Sydney Airport | 13 | 21 February 1980 | Light aircraft suffers engine failure |
Air accident | near Alice Springs, Northern Territory | 13 | 13 August 1989 | 1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash |
Earthquake | Newcastle, New South Wales | 13 | 28 December 1989 | 1989 Newcastle earthquake |
Flood | Windsor, New South Wales | 12 | 21 June 1867 | 12 members of the Eather family swept away in flood. |
Bushfire | Gippsland, Victoria | 12 | 1 February 1898 | "Red Tuesday" bushfires. 2,600 km² burnt, 12 people killed, 2,000 buildings destroyed. |
Bushfire | Victoria – Portland, Plenty Ranges, Westernport, Wimmera and Dandenong districts | 12* | 6 February 1851 | "Black Thursday" bushfires. *Approximately 12 fatalities, one million sheep, thousands of cattle, 50,000 km² burnt. |
Shipwreck | Calgardup Bay, Western Australia | 12 | 1 December 1876 | SS Georgette |
Bridge collapse | Hobart, Tasmania | 12 | 5 January 1975 | Tasman Bridge disaster. The bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra collided with the bridge, causing a section to fall onto the vessel. 7 crewmen died as the ship sank. 5 people perished as their cars plummeted off the edge. |
Explosion | Moura, Queensland | 12 | 16 July 1986 | Explosion in Moura No 4 Mine |
Fire | Dungog, New South Wales | 12 | 2 August 1991 | Palm Grove Hostel fire |
Road accident | Boondall, Queensland | 12 | 1 October 1994 | Boondall bus crash |
Air accident | Adavale, Queensland | 12 | 28 August 1983 | Charter flight broke up in flight and crashed. |
Rail accident | Near Kerang, Victoria | 11 | 5 June 2007 | Kerang train crash. A V/Line train collides with a truck at a level crossing. |
Explosion | Moura, Queensland | 11 | 7 August 1994 | Explosion in Moura No 2 Mine |
Rail accident | Near Horsham, Victoria | 11 | 24 February 1951 | A train collides with a bus at a level crossing. |
Serial killing | Remains discovered in Snowtown, South Australia | 11 | 1992–1999 | Snowtown murders. |
Air accident | Mount Emerald, Queensland | 11 | 11 May 1990 | Cessna 500 jet aircraft collided with terrain 15 km south of Mareeba Airfield. |
Fire | Kingston, Queensland | 11 | 24 August 2011 | House fire |
Fire | Quakers Hill, New South Wales | 11 | 18 November 2011 | Quakers Hill Nursing Home fire |
Bushfire | Victoria | 10 | January 1965 | |
Air accident | Canberra | 10 | 13 August 1940 | Senior War Cabinet Ministers, Chief of Staff and others killed when their plane crashed in fine weather. |
Storm/Flood | Hunter and Central Coast regions, New South Wales | 10 | 8–11 June 2007 | Storm and flooding |
Rail accident | Near Traveston railway station, Queensland | 10 | 9 June 1925 | 10 died and 48 injured when a passenger carrige and luggage van of the Rockhampton Mail plunged off a high trestle bridge. |
Massacre | South Australia | 10 | Sept 1971 | Father kills 10 members of his family |
Air accident | Near Redesdale, Victoria | 10 | 31 January 1945 | Crash of Stinson Tokana caused by fatigue crack in wing spar. |
Heatwave | Eastern and Southern regions Australia | 10+ | January–February 1997 | Strong likelihood of additional unreported deaths |
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The Port Arthur massacre claimed 35 lives in 1996 when Martin Bryant opened fire in the former penal colony.
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Two Australian Army S-70A Blackhawk helicopters, similar to the one pictured, crashed in 1996 near Townsville, killing 18 Australian soldiers.
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A memorial stone to some of those who died during the Eureka Stockade in 1854.
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The 1950 Australian National Airways Douglas DC-4 crash claimed 29 lives.
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The 1946 Australian National Airways DC-3 crash claimed 25 lives.
Read more about this topic: List Of Disasters In Australia By Death Toll
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