‘A defiant stand’: histories of Australia’s frontier wars are revealing their true complexity, but there’s more to be done

Reynolds documented the many and varied acts of resistance, from the first days of Sydney Cove until the start of the 20th century. Anthropologist Barry Morris has written about the violent dynamics of the colonial frontier, focusing on the experiences of the Dhan-Gadi people on the north coast of New South Wales. Uprising extends Gapps’ two earlier studies of Aboriginal warfare: The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the Early Colony, 1788–1817 and Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance – The Bathurst War, 1822–1824.

Author: Heidi Norman, Professor of Australian and Aboriginal History, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, Convenor: Indigenous Land & Justice Research Group, UNSW Sydney

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