Frontier or History Wars

In response to: What is it about the nature of frontier conflict that led historians to overlook for so long?

The relationship between Indigenous Australian’s and European Settlers has been a long ignored historical aspect within Australian history. There are many explanations for this, all with validity. Firstly, there is a lack of information to describe the hostilities between the two groups. As a result, historian Henry Reynolds has become a prominent figure in Australian history involving Indigenous history. He challenges the conventional ideas of the ways in which Australians have regarded Indigenous history by suggesting aboriginals were massacred at previously ignored events, such Waterloo Creek in January 1838. This event has been poorly recorded, and can be linked to the fact authorities ignored the atrocities committed to people they were frightened of, and saw as inferior to themselves during pioneering times. Secondly, there is little indigenous history documented as Aboriginals themselves, rely greatly on verbal stories and have not documented their early encounters with white settlers. Most prominent is the idea of black armband history. This concept highlights the black stain in Australian history that many want to ignore as it taints the accomplishments of the Australian pioneer and Australian history in general.  Historians such as such as Keith Windschuttle do not believe in the validity of the atrocities committed to Aboriginals because of a lack of documentation. Yet, Reynolds argues that this is rather ignorance due to embarrassment. This lack of knowledge is often linked to former Prime Minister John Howard, who said there was no point apologizing to aboriginals because the current generation did not effect the Indigenous people and there was little evidence to suggest that massacres ever occurred. In essence, the relationship between Indigenous Australians and white settlers is clearly a debated issue amongst historians, and the lack of evidence to support aboriginals will see many white Australians continue to ignore the rich Aboriginal history.

Massacre at Waterloo Creek, New South Wales, 1838

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/07/01/wbgrenville_wideweb__430x316.jpg