A message from the publisher of The Australian Wars

Read a message penned by Sally Heath, publisher of The Australian Wars.

The Australian Wars is the first book to tell the complete story of Indigenous resistance to the occupation of their lands and islands.

It is estimated these wars killed up to 100,000 people, equivalent to the combined total of all Australians killed in foreign wars. And yet there are few memorials to these battles. They were fought across every Australian state and territory, over a period of 150 years, only ending in the early 20th century.

Inspired by the Blackfella Films three-part documentary of the same name, this book was a three-year collaboration by Black and white writers across the country. It is necessarily told by the people who have carriage of these stories: members of communities and historians who have links with, and have researched, specific frontier conflicts. The result is a cohesive whole.

This is a landmark publication on an important and under-recognised part of our history, and I hope it will lead to greater understanding of the origins of the Australian nation. As the book concludes: ‘If reconciliation remains a national objective, there will have to be a burial of an unknown warrior beside the tomb of the unknown soldier.’

It has been a huge honour to work with everyone involved in this significant and revelatory book.

Sally Heath, Publisher

We’ve received incredible feedback on The Australian Wars.

Here are just some of the early reviews …

‘As it peels back the enduring veils of silence and denial about our shared past, The Australian Wars exposes a complex legacy of shame, pride, crime and valour. It offers us an opportunity to ask ourselves, in a spirit of humility and honesty, what it truly means to be an Australian patriot. The authors of this work have delivered a huge favour wrapped in a hard lesson.’

TIM WINTON

‘An inspiring, game-changing work of collective truth-telling about our shared history.’

KATE GRENVILLE

‘This book provides the most comprehensive account available of the continental violence against Aboriginal people during the colonial settlement and some of its consequences today. Rachel Perkins and her fellow editors have done us all a great service in bringing this history together. Some opinions will be disputed and there will be debate about how these conflicts will be characterised and memorialised, but it is for all Australians, whether descended from the pioneer generations or not, to respond to this history by ensuring that every person in today's Australia is treated with equal respect and dignity, and provided with the opportunities that all people deserve.’

DAVID KEMP AC

‘Together with the TV series The Australian Wars puts down a marker: no more denial, no more cant. These wars happened and we cannot blink them away. The Australian frontier was a battlefield, and we should recognise this as we recognise those other battlefields in Turkey, France and New Guinea. We should remember the dead, honour the brave. It will give us a firmer basis for thinking clearly about who we are and what to do.’

DON WATSON

‘There was a fight for this country and in many places an intense one where the colonials were held at bay. This book has the best of contemporary research. It will ensure that the original people of this nation are not denied the dignity of their resistance and the truth telling has the edge it should.’

KIM BEAZLEY

‘The Australian Wars is a compelling call to truth-telling and national reckoning. It exposes the historical amnesia surrounding Australia's foundation, comparing the silencing of the Frontier Wars to that of the Stolen Generations. Through sharp critique of national institutions like the Australian War Memorial and a demand for the inclusion of Indigenous histories, the authors urge Australians to confront the realities of colonial violence. This is more than a chronicle of the past—it is a challenge to reshape national memory, honour Indigenous resistance as patriotic, and build a future rooted in justice and shared truth. The Australian Wars is a powerful, meticulously researched, and deeply moving account that redefines Australia's colonial history through the lens of Indigenous resistance and truth-telling. Edited by Rachel Perkins, Stephen Gapps, Mina Murray, and Henry Reynolds, the book confronts the long-denied reality of the Frontier Wars, offering a compelling blend of personal testimony, historical analysis, and cultural insight. It challenges the myths of peaceful settlement, honours the courage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and calls for national reckoning and remembrance. Essential reading for all Australians, this book is a landmark contribution to our understanding of the violent foundations of modern Australia.’

THE HON KEN WYATT AC

‘Extremely accessible and highly informative, this wide-ranging, and at times unsettling, book firmly corrects long-running inaccuracies in mainstream views of our nation’s not-so-distant past.’

Books+Publishing

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The Australian Wars

by Rachel Perkins, Stephen Gapps, Mina Murray and Henry Reynolds (eds)

For the first time, The Australian Wars brings what for too long has been considered the historical past into connection with its reverberations in the present.

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