I hope this post is of interest to you

Hear hear!

There's always another side to the story, but unfortunately often the only records that exist are from one perspective, or worse, one source. And history being just that, events in the past, it's kinda hard to get a view from a differing perspective. Dead people don't publish much......!

One of the duties, IMHO, of those interested in history is to prevent myth from being being regarded as fact. But what if we have, as Kim alludes to, only 'the reported accuracy of our history'. In other words, an attempt at establishing or defending the truth may in reality be an exercise in establishing/defending a distorted accuracy?

Case in point - I recently had second hand of evidence of aboriginal skeletal remains in a place not so remote that many of us will have never heard of its inland location - a region in Kim's alleged massacre list. But is that second hand report a fact ? What responsibilities do people with these sort of perspectives have?

Having been in the past a stickler for accuracy, I now accept the role of historical novels - perhaps they are not so far from the real deal?

Anyhow, food for thought, eh?

Cheers

G'day Kim,

Yes, history is certainly an interesting topic. However, history is inevitably always written by the victors in lieu of the vanquished and will always be embellished to put the writers in good light.

I have studied world history many years ago and can only come to the conclusion that the British Empire for one was built on cruelty and death. Whilst atrocities occured on both sides (Aborigines and British settlers) you don't need to second guess who came out in front on the killing stakes. Good thing they didn't have the human rights tribunal around in the early 1800's yeah.

Nevertheless, history serves one main purpose today........don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Hopefully we can all strive to live together regardless of colour or creed in this country and not experience the events that have ocurred in other overseas countries.

Cheers.

Gday Kim,

There is one thing for sure!
We can change the future,.........But never the past.

If we are going to talk about blackfellas we need to look forward, not backwards.

Cheers
Hairy

I agree that you have to look forward, but looking back at the same time to make sure none of it happens again. We all know that our history isnt pretty, but at the same time its not as bad as what other countries are doing to this day. Thats no excuse though, we want to move forward in order to make Australia an even better place to live for future generations. I havent read any of these books, but have been told many stories from people who were around other places and experienced similar events.

All i know is that i hope Australia never repeats its past.

G'Day Kim, I'm surprised that it's taken you so long to come to that conclusion.
But there is one word missing, and that word is "context."
Have you ever tried tio nail down a historical "fact"? Slippery little buggers you know. The reports are written in the all the contexts (ie social, economic etc.. ) of the time.
I'm pretty sure that if I were asked to write the history of a politicians legacies, it might be accurate to some, but not to others. What I see as a self evident truth, you might see as a load of bull.
I can remember interviewing two men from the same platoon that fought in the same battle. Put the two remembrances together and you'd swear that neither of them were anywhere near what happened. And yet they both had medals from that particular action.
It can become even more murky if you look at our indigenous people's history which was largely passed by word of mouth. One story about the killing of some white people was claimed by many groups as their own. AFAIK. (Reported during the search for Leichart around the Lake Eyre north region, and as far as Qld...can't quote the book at the moment sorry).
I doubt if historians mean to lie, but it can all be a bit confusing especially if you're unaware of all the competing factors within the job. A good history student will attempt to distil or "tease out" what might have actually happened. The problem is when they then turn around and write the definitive book on the subject.
And so it goes on.
Who was it that said that history is bunk ?

Good post, Kim.
Who knows the story behind the mound next to the old Dederang Homestead? (Left hand side heading towards Mt Beauty)
How did 'Poisoned Waterholes Creek' just out of Narrandera get it's name?
Sadly we know more about American history than our own.
Why doesn't Ernest Giles mention any encounters with Aborigines,
yet he travelled into the Petermann Ranges where the locals were known to be very fierce? Still are, if you cross them, no joke!
Same with Lasseter, Iddriess and the bloke that found Lasseter's grave, all compelling and eye opening accounts of what life was like back then. Shame all my books are back home.
We do need to move on but the minute we forget to look back....

Good post.

But beware of judging history by todays societies values - the future will most likely judge us as barbaric!

History is written by historians. Best to read journals and put your mind in the place and time.

Regards, David

History is generally written by the victors and that history is going to reflect the glorious achievements of the victors, not recount events that actually took place.

Toolman

"poisoned waterholes?"
Maybe because some European found dead fish all over the place. I was just in NT and the locals explained how its done. Do not assume that it is the result of some European aggression.

For every massacre, there was also a lot of benevolence. Go to Braidwood and have a read of the local governor's diary. The aboriginals showed the Macquarie pass to the Europeans , and the governor's log notes how extra blankets were issued to aboriginals because it was a cold winter. Also there was some discussion on the efficiency of aboriginal workers. This was in the 1820-30s.

The incidences of good relationships between whites and aboriginals are generally not publicised .

I am afraid I got a little tired of hearing how the aboriginals lived in harmony with the land in Kakadu/Arnhem Land on my recent visit, and the whites knew nothing etc. There were only ever a few (<5000?)there!!! if they couldn't live off millions of ducks/geese/crocs/barra there would have been something wrong.
I received about 6 lectures on "skin names" and who could marry who. I asked "What about when they kidnapped women. did they just give them a convenient skin name?" No answer to that one.
Just remember it was not only Europeans that warred with aboriginals, they constantly fought each other.
Regards Philip A

Hi Kim,
I always maintain in any discussion or dispute there is more than one truth.

What person A said, what person B said and what really happened.

When your talking about tribes and lets face it both sides of this one are just tribes the number of "Truths" grow exponentially until what really happened is buried in the flood of stories.

Geoff.

Hi Kim,

Thanks for your post and thanks to to previous replies for thoughtful and varied responses no matter what your opinions are.

I too have tried to get to the truth about Aboriginal history from 'the beginning' up to the present (including the massacres and their context) and have found it difficult.

The most helpful book for me has been 'The Original Australians' by Josephine Flood, Allen & Unwin, 2006.

Flood is an prominent archaeologist and clearly has a respect for Aboriginal people but this has not prevented her from writing a balanced account, sometimes very surprising, and answering questions put to her from ordinary people who wanted to understand. The book is supported by copious notes and photographs which are testament to thorough research.

Some of the questions she tries to answer are:
: where did Aborigines came from,
: did they cause the extinction of the megafauna,
: was traditional life idyllic,
: why did Capt. Cook consider Australia to be ownerless,
: who introduced smallpox,
: was conflict or new disease was the main factor in Aboriginal depopulation,
: did the colonists attempted genocide,
: were Aboriginal children stolen and if so why and what are the results,
: what are the problems in modern Aboriginal communities, etc.

Getting to the truth about anything can be exhausting but it's worth the trouble to try and to keep asking questions even when you think you know the answers.