Australian Frontier Wars - 24FEB23 (update) - MANY New AFW books…

[Happy Wanderer]

Gents,

Much has been done in recent years documenting Frontier Conflict in Australia from archival sources.

Several books of recent times go into a great amount of detail describing the encounters as outlined in my blog posts about the Australian Frontier Wars.
https://agrabbagofgames.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/australian-frontier-wars-aboriginal-way-of-war-part-i/
These should be off interest to the colonial gamer and specifically those looking in detail at Australian Frontier Warfare.

These are worth adding to your colonial history library as they provide many details of Aboriginal vs European encounters as well as descriptions of inter tribal warfare.

FYI

Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance — The Bathurst War, 1822–1824 
Dr Stephen Gapps
https://www.historians.org.au/book-reviews/gudyarra

Stephen Gapps continues his study of settlement conflict following on from his excellent Sydney Wars book describing first settlement conflict in the Sydney basin area. This time the expansion over the mountains into western New South Wales is covered describing the Wiradjuri conflict where mounted troopers were first used to tip the balance in favor of the settlers, not without some significant ‘pushback’. Just as in his last book, this gives excellent detail on warfare on the Western Plains of NSW.

How They Fought: Indigenous Tactics and Weaponry of Australia’s Frontier Wars
Ray Kerkhove
https://www.bookdepository.com/How-They-Faught-Ray-Kerkhove/9781922643582?redirected=true&selectCurrency=USD&w=AFCCAU9604DQM9A8YC5B

I was contacted by Ray Kerkhove informing me of his pending release of his book which is sure to be a definitive work. I have discussed several topics covered in the book with him and his knowledge is wide and exhaustive. The initial reviews look very promising. Ray Kerkhove is one of the leading authorities dealing with Frontier Conflict emphasising an empirical and balanced approach to understanding the many conflicts that occurred.

https://boolarongpress.com.au/product/how-they-fought-indigenous-tactics-and-weaponry-of-australias-frontier-wars/

Queensland’s Frontier Wars
 Jack Drake
Preview

https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Queensland_s_Frontier_Wars/P38-EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

This looks to be a very detailed and in-depth analysis of the conflict in Queensland, arguably the most controversial and brutal of the theatres of war where Europeans encountered Aboriginal groups. The introduction of the breechloading rifle significantly shifted conflict in the settler’s favour and the blood letting was akin to that experienced in Africa at this time. Reading the preview the author seems a little prone to strong anti-settler sentiment and uses somewhat ‘charged’ terms within but nevertheless the detail looks very good and seems exhaustive. This is all a matter of perspective off course so each to their own on that account.

There are quite a few new books in this field, the above being geared toward the colonial gamer setting up background and scenarios for games set during this period. For a fairly complete outline of books and other ‘mediums’ on Frontier Conflict this link is quite useful.

https://australianfrontierconflicts.com.au/resources/books/


As you can see, the current generation of authors are producing a large body of content now describing settlement and conflict ‘down under’.

…plenty to see here 
 

[mrinku]

If you have access to 3D printing, the Wargames Atlantic Digital Napoleonic Spanish Guerilla set has some very usable parts for early colonial settlers and convicts.

[Happy Wanderer]

They would do very well. 👏🏻

Thanks for the heads up.