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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First Nations History
Indigenous Affairs: Government
Voices on the Voice
Pearson, Noel
A public conversation on Voice to Parliament with lawyer and land rights activist Noel Pearson. Hosted by Professor Jennifer Barrett, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Indigenous (Academic) at the University of Sydney. Vote of Thanks from Teela Reid, Indigenous lawyer and activist.
Frontier Wars
Queensland
Warrior: A Legendary Leader's Dramatic Life and Violent Death on the Colonial Frontier (2015)
Connors, Libby
In the 1840s, white settlement in the north was under attack. European settlers were in awe of Aboriginal physical fitness and fighting prowess, and a series of deadly raids on homesteads made even the townspeople of Brisbane anxious. Young warrior Dundalli was renowned for his size and strength, and his elders gave him the task of leading the resistance against the Europeans' ever increasing incursions on their traditional lands.
Frontier Wars
New South Wales
Waterloo Creek: The Australia Day Massacre of 1838: George Gipps and the British Conquest of New South Wales (1992, 1994)
Milliss, Roger
The contact history and political background to race relations in early colonial New South Wales; Kamilaroi territorial groupings, traditional subsistence social organisation, religion and language; pastoral expansion, government policy and attitudes toward Aborigines; violent conflict and the legal and political response; Waterloo Creek, Slaughterhouse Creek, Gravesend and Myall Creek massacres; subsequent inquiries; establishment of the Australian Aborigines Protection Society and Aboriginal Protectorate.
First Nations History
Northern Territory
We Come with This Place (2022)
Dank, Debra
Dank faces head on the ingrained racism, born of brutal practice and harsh legislation, that lies always under the skin of Australia … She describes sudden terrible violence, between races and sometimes at home. But overwhelmingly this is a book about strong, beloved parents and grandparents, guiding and teaching their children and grandchildren what country means, about joyful gatherings and the pleasures of eating food provided by the place that nourishes them, both spiritually and physically.
First Nations History
Webinar 13 June 2013 with the authors of The Voice to Parliament Handbook, with around 2000 people watching and listening. Questions followed.
Australia Institute, The (with Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien)
The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and acclaimed journalist Kerry O’Brien is a clear, concise and simple guide for the millions of Australians who have expressed support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but who want to better understand what a Voice to Parliament actually means.
Frontier Wars
First Nations History
What First Nations people said about invasion, the Frontier Wars and sovereignty: extracts from the Referendum Council report 2017
Referendum Council
These were the words of delegates to the Uluru Dialogue meetings held around the country leading up to the First Nations Constitutional Convention at Uluru, May 2017, whose work was distilled into the Statement.
Frontier Wars
New South Wales
When the Sky Fell Down: The Destruction of the Tribes of the Sydney Region, 1788-1850s (1979)
Willey, Keith
History of early contact based on documentary sources; traces changing attitudes of both Aborigines and whites and the increasingly devastating effects of settlement.
First Nations History
Why didn’t we know? is no excuse. Non-Indigenous Australians must listen to the difficult historical truths told by First Nations people, The Conversation, 4 July 2023
Norman, Heidi and Anne Maree Payne
Comprehensive listing and analysis of many decades of First Nations writing on Australian history
First Nations History
Frontier Wars
Why weren’t we told: A Personal Search for the Truth about Our History (2000)
Reynolds, Henry
His personal journey towards the realisation that he, like generations of Australians, grew up with a distorted and idealised version of the past. From the author's unforgettable encounter in a North Queensland jail with injustice towards Aboriginal children, to his friendship with Eddie Mabo, to his shattering of the myths about our 'peaceful' history,