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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)
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Reading List Selections
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First Nations History
65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art (2024)
Marcia Langton and Judith Ryan (eds)
Sixty-five thousand years of continuous culture, Indigenous knowledge and powerful art. First Peoples’ cultural and design traditions flourished for thousands of generations. Their art shaped the continent as we know it today and the societies that thrived here; but these continuing artistic practices and new art forms were disregarded by the settlers, and not considered to be ‘fine art’ until the late 1980s. In this publication, twenty-five writers urge us to reconsider the art history that is unique to the Australian continent and to acknowledge its rise to prominence in modern times.
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.
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.
Other Resources
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
Thomas Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is the …
Patron
Clare Wright
Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster who has worked in …
Patron
Henry Reynolds
Professor Henry Reynolds of the University of Tasmania is Australia’s leading historian of the …
Patron
Megan Davis
Professor Megan Davis AC is Co-chairof the Uluru Dialogue and was a leading campaigner for the YES …