AUSSIES: History! HELP.

Loren Michael

Hey! I'm going to do some research on the Australian aboriginal population, specifically regarding their treatment by the colonialists when they arrived and thereafter and the movements of their population.

Any reading you might suggest?

Chanus

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara is a good one... the movie version is pretty good also.


Edit: It may not stand-alone as research, but it's based on fact and will give you some pointers as to what avenues to pursue... and it's good.

bsjezz

probably the saddest, and one of the most important, stories of the colonial impact on aboriginals is that of the tasmanian aborigines - i'm sure there's a lot that's been written on the matter, but the wiki should give you the basics of it

the stolen generation is also really required reading

bennelong was also a very important case in australia's very early colonial history. the wiki page is not so great, but there must be a lot out there from different sources - if you're interested in delving into something more dramatasied and fictional (but very well researched - trust me) my creative MA thesis featured bennelong and his relationships with the europeans significantly and i'd be happy to send it over to you

Spindizzy

As a colonial historian my area of expertise isn't this area though the standard popular history on the early period regarding Europeans in Australia is this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fatal-Shore-Robert-Hughes/dp/0099448548/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256513093&sr=1-3

Robert Hughes - Fatal Shore

Deals with the convicts alot but also the aboriginees that were living near sidney and the other first settlements.

Whats the research for? personal reading/writing or school/university work?

Loren Michael

It's for university work, I'm writing a paper on human migration, particularly with respect to displaced persons and refugees. I got interested in Australia a little while ago after reading one of Jared Diamond's books, and the plight of the Australian aboriginal population struck me as particularly salient to the subject of the paper.

mooshoepork

Spindizzy wrote: »

Sydney

Make sure you look into the amount of domestic abuse in aboriginal families in addition to slamming the government.

I'm not saying it was justified or anything, but you know, it's worth having a look at.

Seldom

http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/reconciliation-resources/history-of-reconciliation

firewaterword

With the disclaimer that it's certainly not a book, nor is it non-fiction (as far as I know anyway) check out The Proposition.

The Cat

...for, like, actual scholarship, Manning Clark's work is the go-to. Keith Windschuttle gives the 'opposing' view of Australian history, which is to say revisionist, reactionary, denialist tripe. Cover him for completion's sake, though. I have Raymond Evans' 'A History of Queensland' on my shelf, and its a decent read with a couple of useful chapters in the beginning, but you'll probably have trouble getting a copy outside Aus.

Kalkino

I know you are interested specifically in the experiences of the various Aborigine peoples but I did recently read a new work on migration around the Empire, written by a guy called James Belich and titled "Replenishing the Earth". It does seem to be available in the US/UK and the Commonwealth. It does touch on the Aborigine experiences as well, but only as part of the migration wider picture. The author is also a reasonably well respected academic historian, who has written a fair bit of revisionist work on the New Zealand Land Wars, which involved many of the North Island Maori iwi/tribes, Colonial and Imperial forces in the 1860s (primarily).