'Why weren't we told?' remains a common response to stories of the Australian Wars. The complainers could be referred to our Defending Country reading list, which we know is incomplete, but brings together 150 (and counting) titles under the general headings of First Nations History, Frontier Wars, Indigenous Affairs: Government, and each State and Territory, filtered by types of media (book, TV program, website and so on).
We also keep coming across books published previously - sometimes long previously. Here are three that recently came to hand and that we'll add to the list:
Six Australian Battlefields, by Al Grassby and Marji Hill, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1988: covers First Nations battles in the first decade or so of the Sydney settlement, around Bathurst, at Pinjarra, WA, and at Battle Mountain, Queensland, as well as Vinegar Hill (convict uprising, 1804) and the Eureka Stockade (1854), their inclusion explained by the sub-title of the book in some printings: 'the black resistance to invasion and the white struggle against colonial oppression'. 'Generations of Australians have been taught that no wars have ever been fought on Australian soil. Yet as many as 20,000 black Australians died fighting a war of resistance that lasted for more than a century. Six Australian Battlefields presents an alternative view of history. Through detailed accounts of four great clashes, it confronts the reader with the realities of life on the Australian frontier. And through a retelling of the stories of Vinegar Hill and Eureka it reminds the reader of the central place of resistance in our past.'
Hidden Histories: Black Stories from Victoria River Downs, Humbert River and Wave Hill Stations, by Deborah Bird Rose, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 1991: contact history based on Aboriginal oral accounts; prehistory, traditional culture and territorial groupings; Captain Cook mythology and contradictions of early settlement; case studies of killings; role of police and police trackers; destruction of Karangpurru and Nyiwanawu culture; Humbert River Mudbura Aboriginal Reserve; Aboriginal perception of social justice; wages and unionism; Vesteys and labour issues; effects of Welfare policies; station violence, interpersonal relations and sexual conflict; working lives on stations; demographic estimates; the Wave Hill strike (1966); and more.
Mowanjum: 50 Years Community History, Mowanjum Aboriginal Community and Mowanjum Artists Spirit of the Wandjina Aboriginal Corporation, Derby, WA (compiled and edited by Mary Anne Jebb), 2008: 'This book was made so Mowanjum people and their families could speak in their own words about their lives and their community, relocated away from their countries for 50 years. It is a book of many voices, and many historical and contemporary images designed to be dipped into to generate further stories.' Richly illustrated; many authors. Mowanjum was established in 1956 on the outskirts of Derby, although its people came from the coastal areas and islands north of Derby.
Picture credit: detail of cover of Mowanjum: Filenka Dolby with her baby, 2007.
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