What were the Australian frontier wars?

The Australian frontier wars were a series of violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians and mostly British settlers, spanning from the colonial period following the First Fleet's arrival in 1788 to the early 20th century. These clashes arose largely because traditional Aboriginal food-gathering practices conflicted with new European land-use practices based on agriculture and capitalism. The interpretation of these events and their overall scale remain subjects of significant public debate and historical research in Australia today.

What we know

• The Australian frontier wars involved violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians and predominantly British settlers starting several months after the landing of the First Fleet in January 1788. [1, 2]
• The conflicts extended from the colonial period past the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, lasting into the early 20th century with some conflicts occurring as late as 1934. [2]
• Clashes occurred because Indigenous food gathering practices were at odds with new European land-use practices based on agriculture and capitalism. [4]
• Henry Reynolds published The Other Side of the Frontier in 1981, providing the first comprehensive research on Aboriginal resistance and profoundly changing Australian historiography. [5]

Still open

• Estimates of the exact number of people killed in the fighting vary considerably.
• Public and political debate, known as the history wars, continues over whether the period should be characterized as violent frontier warfare and invasion or as a minor conflict marked by humane government intent.

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureWhat are the Australian history wars?
• how we knowHow did Henry Reynolds document Aboriginal resistance?
• a case in pointWhat did the documentary series The Australian Wars reveal?
• what caused itHow did the landing of the First Fleet trigger conflict?
• what followedHow did the Australian War Memorial respond to the documentary?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a 2022 television documentary force a national war memorial to change its exhibits?The television series sparked enough public and critical discussion that the Australian War Memorial formally announced it would work toward greater inclusion of violence against Indigenous Australians in its exhibitions.

Sources

• [1]Australian frontier wars (Wikidata Q2889339) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Australian frontier wars · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]The Australian Wars · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Australian history wars · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]The Other Side of the Frontier · CC BY-SA 4.0