From the first British settlement in 1788 to the 1930s, wars and resistance occurred across the continent of Australia. These were mortal conflicts between colonists and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over land, water, resources and the ability to exist as a people. These were undeclared guerilla wars, waged through raids, killings and massacres. Colonisation, violence and resistance did not end but continued in different forms during the 'mission phase' and after. Sovereignty has never been ceded.

Australian Wars and Resistance Movements

This map shows 39 areas where there were periods of intensity of open violence between colonists and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the colonial frontier, based on data from the Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 project (ARC DP140100399). The methodology for producing this map was developed by Dr Bill Pascoe as part of the Historical Frontier Violence project (ARC DP220101336), and is supported by approximately 50 leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and historians.

This website follows a century of demands for and work towards acknowledgement of these conflicts, but is just one step on a long journey. The information on this website is provisional and will be updated as research continues. We estimate there are roughly 10,000 events that comprise these wars and resistance movements, involving 100s of named and 1000s of unnamed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as colonists.

Aims

• Identify Australian Wars and resistance movements and the people involved in them, as a basis for answering who, what, where, when, how and why.
• Provide access to reliable information and tools for research and education, and to inform public debate.
• Encourage and conduct collaborative and autonomous regional research, combining Indigenous Knowledge, colonial archives and computational methods.