Reading list

Here you will find a list of books, websites and other resources below dealing with the Australian Frontier Wars and First Nations. Our listings of Related sites and organisations and Latest news may also be useful.

Note that this list does not include articles in academic or similar journals. Many of the books listed, however, have comprehensive bibliographies, including articles.

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Frontier Wars
Northern Territory
Simply the Survival of the Fittest: Aboriginal Administration in South Australia’s Northern Territory, 1863-1910 (1992)
Austin, Tony
Overview of the reaction of government authorities to Aborigines in the Northern Territory during the period 1863 to 1910, when the Territory was controlled by South Australia; what policy development there was is set in the context of how the government and white settlers viewed Aborigines; influence of social Darwinism on policy and attitudes; contact history and violent conflict on the frontier as Europeans attempted to realise the economic promises made by government; use of Aboriginal labour, policies on education and welfare.
First Nations History
Six Australian Battlefields (1988, 1998)
Al Grassby and Marji Hill
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.'
Frontier Wars
New South Wales
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in New South Wales
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
Queensland
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in Queensland
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
South Australia
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in South Australia
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
Tasmania
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in Tasmania
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
Western Australia
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in Western Australia
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
Northern Territory
Some Known Frontier Conflicts in the Northern Territory
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
Frontier Wars
Victoria
Some known Frontier Conflicts in Victoria
Morrison, Jane
Seeks to document the frontier conflicts between European colonists and Australia’s First Peoples. Maps, timelines, names of warriors, memorials, resources, latest news. Separate sites for each state.
First Nations History
Speaking Out
Larissa Behrendt, presenter
Long-running ABC program with First Nations themes, presented by Defending Country Supporter, Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, UTS.
First Nations History
Still We Rise (2022)
Harvey, John, Director; Tamarind Tree Pictures
In 1972, activists erect an Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns opposite Parliament House—fifty years on, with the Embassy still there, this documentary looks at a year of protest and revolutionary change for First Nations people.
Frontier Wars
New South Wales
Surviving New England: A History of Aboriginal Resistance and Resilience Through the First Forty Years of the Colonial Apocalypse (2020)
Clayton-Dixon, Callum
The first people thrived on the New England Tableland since the first sunrise. But in the 1830s, squatters began invading the region with their plagues of livestock. Colonisation plunged Aboriginal society into utter chaos, driving us off our lands and decimating the traditional way of life. Our people's remarkable history of resistance and survival has faded into obscurity. It is their story which this book sets out to reclaim, co-opting the colonial archive and subverting the colonial narrative, deconstructing their story in order to uncover our own.