Wominjeka! Yumalundi!*

We pay respect to First Nations people and to their Elders past, present and emerging. This website was developed in Naarm (Wurundjeri Country, Kulin Nation) and Kamberri (Ngambri and Ngunnawal people) on land that always was and always will be Aboriginal and has never been ceded. This website contains information and images (including images of people who have died) that may cause distress to First Nations people. 
* Wominjeka means ‘welcome’ or ‘come with purpose’ in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Yumalundi means ‘Hello’ in the Ngunnawal language of the Canberra traditional owners.

Defending Country

Defending Country applies to all who have fought for Australia or parts of it. It applies just as much to First Australians (Arrernte, Noongar, Wiradjuri, and others), defending their Country on Country (and dying on Country), as it does to uniformed Australians fighting our overseas wars.

For an expanded explanation of Defending Country, link here.

As a veteran I can’t see how my service was somehow more deserving of being commemorated than that of First Australians warriors who fought bravely against superior forces. (Noel Turnbull, 104 Field Battery, Vietnam, 1968-69)

The Australian Frontier Wars

Read why the Australian Frontier Wars are important to Australia and Australians. In summary:

  • Australia is built on the Frontier Wars.
  • The Frontier Wars killed tens of thousands of Australians.
  • Intergenerational trauma cannot be left in the silence.
  • What we commemorate shows what we regard as important.
  • We need to close the Commemoration Gap.
Australia was fought for in an endless war of little, cruel battles. (David Marr, Killing for Country, 2023, p. 131)

Reading List Selections

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First Nations History
Defending Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Military Service Since 1945 (2016)
Riseman, Noah and Richard Trembath
Few Australians realise the extent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in the military. Using compelling personal narratives and rigorous archival research, Defending Country explores how military service impacted the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruits. It also reveals how their involvement in Australia’s defence contributed to the advancement of Indigenous rights.
First Nations History
First Knowledges Law: The Way of the Ancestors (2023)
Langton, Marcia and Aaron Corn (Edited Margo Neale)
How Indigenous law has enabled people to survive and thrive in Australia for more than 2000 generations. The sixth in a series on First Knowledges; others cover songlines, architecture, design, land management, botany, and astronomy.
Frontier Wars
First Nations History
How They Fought: Indigenous Tactics and Weaponry of Australia’s Frontier Wars (2023)
Kerkhove, Ray
Written as an introductory guidebook, it is broken into chapters covering organisation, strategies, weaponry, and defences. It considers both traditional practices and technological and tactical adaptations. To make this complex topic more accessible, How They Fought includes numerous tables, figures and diagrams that illustrate and summarise the contents.

Related sites and organisations

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Patrons and Supporters

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Defending Country thanks these distinguished Australians for agreeing to be Patrons of our website and project. While each of them supports the objectives of the Defending Country campaign, they do not necessarily endorse every post or every word on the defendingcountry.au website and do not necessarily agree with each other on everything.

Patron
Thomas Mayo
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Patron
Clare Wright
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Patron
Henry Reynolds
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Patron
Megan Davis
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Testimonials

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Season's greetings
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Recent posts on Yoorrook Justice Commission website on Truth-telling and related matters
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A lot of things scientists study are part of Country – the lands, waters and skies to which First Nations peoples are…
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Commentary triggered by Peter Stanley's book Beyond the Broken Years
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Headings of 17 FAQs with links to answers and discussion
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