New paragraph for the "Australian frontier wars" article
Background and Proportions
The British invasion and settlement of Australia commenced with the First Fleet in mid-January 1788 in the south-east in what is now the federal state of New South Wales. This process then continued into Tasmania and Victoria from 1803 onward. Since then the population density of white people has remained highest in this section of the Australian continent. The Australian frontier wars however, were never as intense and bloody in the south-eastern colonies as they were in Queensland or the north-eastern sections of the continent. More settlers as well as Indigenous Australians were killed on the Queensland frontier than any other Australian colony. The reason is simple, and is reflected in all evidence and sources dealing with this subject: There were Aborigines in Queensland. The territory of Queensland was the single most populated section of pre-contact Indigenous Australia, reflected not only in all pre-contact population estimates, but also in the mapping of pre-contact Australia (see Horton's Map of Aboriginal Australia) [1].
The indigenous population distribution illustrated below is based on two independent sources, namely the distribution of tribal land and the population estimates made by anthropologist and others over the years. [2]
| State/Territory | Indigenous Population Estimates 1930 | Indigenous Population Estimates 1988 | Distribution of tribal land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 38.2% | 37.9% | 34.2% |
| Western Australia | 19.7% | 20.2% | 22.1% |
| Northern Territory | 15.9% | 12.6% | 17.2% |
| New South Wales | 15.3% | 18.9% | 10.3% |
| Victoria | 4.8% | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| South Australia | 4.8% | 4.0% | 8.6% |
| Tasmania | 1.4% | 0.6% | 2.0% |
All evidence suggest that the territory of Queensland had a pre-contact Indigenous population density more than double that of New South Wales, at least six times that of Victoria and almost twenty times that of Tasmania. Equally there are signs that the population density of Indigenous Australia was comparatively higher in the north-eastern sections of New South Wales, and along the northern coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria and westward including certain sections of Northern Territory and Western Australia.
While the early history of southern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania may be significant for the history of European settlement, Queensland and the northern coastal districts of Australia remain at the forefront of any attempt to understand the history of the frontier wars. The south-eastern sections of Australia cannot be classified as the primary ground for the studies of the history of the colonial frontier wars.
The size and scale or number of Indigenous people populating the continent of Australia is still a hotly debated topic, although one should think it possible to model this on the basis of the amount of tribes and the size of the food reserves available. The earliest population estimates were minimum figures gathered form information by former frontier settlers. These naturally had the problem, as pointed out by professor Noel Butlin, that the early settlers rarely experienced the impact of small pox had n
| State/Territory | Population in numbers | Population in percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 300,000 | 37.9% |
| New South Wales | 160,000 | 18.9% |
| Western Australia | 150,000 | 20.2% |
| Northern Territory | 100,000 | 12.6% |
| Victoria | 45,000 | 5.7% |
| South Australia | 32,000 | 4.0% |
| Tasmania | 5,000 | 0.6% |
| Minimum Total | 795,000 | 100% |
- ^ http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/map-aboriginal-australia
- ^ Robert Ørsted-Jensen: Frontier History Revisited - Colonial Queensland and the History War (Brisbane 2011), chapter 1, page 6-15.
- ^ Statistics compiled by Ørsted-Jensen for Frontier History Revisited (Brisbane 2011), page 10-11 & 15. Column one is the distribution percentage calculated on the estimates gathered and publicised in 1930 (Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia XXIII, 1930, pp672, 687-696) by the social anthropologist Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown. The percentage in column two was calculated on the basis of N.G. Butlin: Our Original Aggression and ‘others’, by M. D. Prentis for his book A Study in Black and White (2 revised edition, Redfern NSW 1988, page 41). Column three however, is calculated on the basis of the 'Aboriginal Australia’ map, published by Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Canberra 1994.
- ^ Statistics compiled by Ørsted-Jensen for Frontier History Revisited (Brisbane 2011), page 15. The figures and percentage in column two was calculated on the basis of N.G. Butlin: Our Original Aggression and ‘others’, by M. D. Prentis for his book A Study in Black and White (2 revised edition, Redfern NSW 1988, page 41).
New paragraph for the "History wars" article
Invasion, war and guerrilla warfare debate
In his Quadrant 2000 article The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, Keith Windschuttle argued,
| “ | If Reynolds wants to continue to talk about a state of "open warfare" on the pastoral frontier, he has to actually put up his evidence. Until he does, no one should believe him. [1] | ” |
It has since been argued that while Queensland represented the single most populated section of pre-contact indigenous Australia (with 34.2% of the designated portion of tribal land and 35% to 39% share of the continental population in all population estimates), this colony might be viewed as a primary litmus-test for this ongoing controversy. Was or was not the Australian landmasses invaded and conquered and was there a state of war between British settlers and various indigenous tribes? [2]
Colonial frontier violence and Indigenous casualties debate
A key pillar in Keith Windschuttle's attack on Henry Reynolds was the allegation that,
| “ | The notion popularised by Henry Reynolds that ten thousand Aborigines met violent deaths in Queensland between 1841 and 1897, with very few of their bodies ever discovered or reported, is inherently implausible. [3] | ” |
- ^ Keith Windschuttle: The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, The Fabrication of the Aboriginal Death Toll, Quadrant, November 2000.
- ^ Robert Ørsted-Jensen: Frontier History Revisited, see chapter 1 (Queensland and Australian Colonial History) and 2 (pages 40-46)
- ^ Keith Windschuttle: The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, The Fabrication of the Aboriginal Death Toll, Quadrant, November 2000, see also Windschuttle’s articles in Quadrant September, October and December 2000.
New paragraph for the "Australian frontier wars" article
Background and Proportions
The British invasion and settlement of Australia commenced with the First Fleet in mid-January 1788 in the south-east in what is now the federal state of New South Wales. This process then continued into Tasmania and Victoria from 1803 onward. Since then the population density of white people has remained highest in this section of the Australian continent. The Australian frontier wars however, were never as intense and bloody in the south-eastern colonies as they were in Queensland or the north-eastern sections of the continent. More settlers as well as Indigenous Australians were killed on the Queensland frontier than any other Australian colony. The reason is simple, and is reflected in all evidence and sources dealing with this subject: There were Aborigines in Queensland. The territory of Queensland was the single most populated section of pre-contact Indigenous Australia, reflected not only in all pre-contact population estimates, but also in the mapping of pre-contact Australia (see Horton's Map of Aboriginal Australia) [1].
The indigenous population distribution illustrated below is based on two independent sources, namely the distribution of tribal land and the population estimates made by anthropologist and others over the years. [2]
| State/Territory | Indigenous Population Estimates 1930 | Indigenous Population Estimates 1988 | Distribution of tribal land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 38.2% | 37.9% | 34.2% |
| Western Australia | 19.7% | 20.2% | 22.1% |
| Northern Territory | 15.9% | 12.6% | 17.2% |
| New South Wales | 15.3% | 18.9% | 10.3% |
| Victoria | 4.8% | 5.7% | 5.7% |
| South Australia | 4.8% | 4.0% | 8.6% |
| Tasmania | 1.4% | 0.6% | 2.0% |
All evidence suggest that the territory of Queensland had a pre-contact Indigenous population density more than double that of New South Wales, at least six times that of Victoria and almost twenty times that of Tasmania. Equally there are signs that the population density of Indigenous Australia was comparatively higher in the north-eastern sections of New South Wales, and along the northern coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria and westward including certain sections of Northern Territory and Western Australia.
While the early history of southern New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania may be significant for the history of European settlement, Queensland and the northern coastal districts of Australia remain at the forefront of any attempt to understand the history of the frontier wars. The south-eastern sections of Australia cannot be classified as the primary ground for the studies of the history of the colonial frontier wars.
The size and scale or number of Indigenous people populating the continent of Australia is still a hotly debated topic, although one should think it possible to model this on the basis of the amount of tribes and the size of the food reserves available. The earliest population estimates were minimum figures gathered form information by former frontier settlers. These naturally had the problem, as pointed out by professor Noel Butlin, that the early settlers rarely experienced the impact of small pox had n
| State/Territory | Population in numbers | Population in percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 300,000 | 37.9% |
| New South Wales | 160,000 | 18.9% |
| Western Australia | 150,000 | 20.2% |
| Northern Territory | 100,000 | 12.6% |
| Victoria | 45,000 | 5.7% |
| South Australia | 32,000 | 4.0% |
| Tasmania | 5,000 | 0.6% |
| Minimum Total | 795,000 | 100% |
- ^ http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/map-aboriginal-australia
- ^ Robert Ørsted-Jensen: Frontier History Revisited - Colonial Queensland and the History War (Brisbane 2011), chapter 1, page 6-15.
- ^ Statistics compiled by Ørsted-Jensen for Frontier History Revisited (Brisbane 2011), page 10-11 & 15. Column one is the distribution percentage calculated on the estimates gathered and publicised in 1930 (Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia XXIII, 1930, pp672, 687-696) by the social anthropologist Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown. The percentage in column two was calculated on the basis of N.G. Butlin: Our Original Aggression and ‘others’, by M. D. Prentis for his book A Study in Black and White (2 revised edition, Redfern NSW 1988, page 41). Column three however, is calculated on the basis of the 'Aboriginal Australia’ map, published by Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Canberra 1994.
- ^ Statistics compiled by Ørsted-Jensen for Frontier History Revisited (Brisbane 2011), page 15. The figures and percentage in column two was calculated on the basis of N.G. Butlin: Our Original Aggression and ‘others’, by M. D. Prentis for his book A Study in Black and White (2 revised edition, Redfern NSW 1988, page 41).
New paragraph for the "History wars" article
Invasion, war and guerrilla warfare debate
In his Quadrant 2000 article The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, Keith Windschuttle argued,
| “ | If Reynolds wants to continue to talk about a state of "open warfare" on the pastoral frontier, he has to actually put up his evidence. Until he does, no one should believe him. [1] | ” |
It has since been argued that while Queensland represented the single most populated section of pre-contact indigenous Australia (with 34.2% of the designated portion of tribal land and 35% to 39% share of the continental population in all population estimates), this colony might be viewed as a primary litmus-test for this ongoing controversy. Was or was not the Australian landmasses invaded and conquered and was there a state of war between British settlers and various indigenous tribes? [2]
Colonial frontier violence and Indigenous casualties debate
A key pillar in Keith Windschuttle's attack on Henry Reynolds was the allegation that,
| “ | The notion popularised by Henry Reynolds that ten thousand Aborigines met violent deaths in Queensland between 1841 and 1897, with very few of their bodies ever discovered or reported, is inherently implausible. [3] | ” |
- ^ Keith Windschuttle: The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, The Fabrication of the Aboriginal Death Toll, Quadrant, November 2000.
- ^ Robert Ørsted-Jensen: Frontier History Revisited, see chapter 1 (Queensland and Australian Colonial History) and 2 (pages 40-46)
- ^ Keith Windschuttle: The myths of frontier massacres in Australian history, Part II, The Fabrication of the Aboriginal Death Toll, Quadrant, November 2000, see also Windschuttle’s articles in Quadrant September, October and December 2000.