This is the last of my books on this subject, well at least until something new is published, so you should get a break from this topic for a while!!
The Frontier Wars in Queensland were by the the largest and most vicious in the early Australian Frontier. Some would say that the attitudes of then are still represented in the conservative nature of Queensland’s politics today. In the last thirty years Queensland has been the birthplace of two right wing conservative parties who attitudes to land rights do not sit with their pro-mining policies.
This book is another excellent addition to fill the gap in a dark period of Austrlia’s history. I cannot do better than the description b y the publisher on the back cover:
“Jack Drake’s Queensland’s Frontier Wars is an attempt to document the known confrontations between either white settlers or white and native police and First Nations people where deaths were reported. It is now an accepted premise that these confrontations were wars to gain access to the land, because, if not wars, then it was mass murder. No one in Queensland was charged with the murder of First Nations during these confrontations.
The book shows the invasion from New South Wales into southern Queensland and the advances from the sea in central and north Queensland. The ‘dispersement’ of the First Nations people from their land was violent and efficient using far superior weaponry.
This book adds significantly to the true and uncomfortable history of Queensland.” From the back jacket of the book.
An awkward read but still one that I enjoyed and again it is a must for those interested in this dark period of Australia’s history.
Sounds like another great book Dave
It was a good read, but I have had enough of the grimness of the times for a while.
Sounds fascinating if grim reading.
Cheers,
Pete.
Thanks Pete.
Sounds fascinating, utterly dark reading. When my wife worked in a museum they had an aboriginal skull, sorry I don’t know the correct term,which they had a bit of a quandary about. They wanted to repatriate it to Australia, but had no idea as to whom to contact. It had ended up in the museum as a donation from an anthropologist who had visited Australia and wanted to study the people who were there. He had asked if the local townspeople had an idea where he could get a ‘native’ skull from … so a pile of the men went off into the Bush and brought him a newly acquired one. Basically they went and shot a person, boiled him down and presented the skeleton to said anthropologist. I mean that in no way could be described as a war casualty, it was murder.
Thanks.
There is a “Return of Cultural Heritage” initiative which is currently funded until June 2024 and aims to:
1. Facilitate and secure the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage materials from overseas to Australia.
2. Enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to understand where their cultural heritage material is held overseas.
3. Influence the development of changes to institutional repatriation practices, policy and guidelines.
4. Foster relationships between overseas collecting institutions and Indigenous communities.
They can be contacted on https://aiatsis.gov.au/about/connect-us/contact-us
looks like another book to add to the collection, I received the two others for my birthday earlier in the month which will keep me going for some time as I’m such a slow reader.This one I will put on the christmas list as it sounds very interesting as my wife is a Queenslander and has told me a few stories about how savage the wars were up there, thanks for doing these reviews Dave and when I get to read them I’ll give you a report. Cheere Pat.
Thanks Pat. Glad you like them.
PS
I told Jack’s widow, Stella, about your review and sent her the link. She was very grateful.
(Ray Kerkhove – I sent you a comment a few days ago)