The Australian Wars

The story of Australia's longest and perhaps most defining war deserves to be heard. It is not a unique story, rather, the Australian chapter of a global history of imperialism. This is not a new story, either. It has been there all the time, waiting to be heard. And it has never been told quite like this on Australian television . We weren't taught about it in school and it has never been truly recognised. But once given voice, it will change the narrative of our nation. The British claim to the Australian continent, without recognition of the ownership by First Nations people, set in train brutal conflicts that unfolded for more than one hundred years. The occupation of the Australian continent was one of the world's most rapid land grabs. Despite the myth a of peaceful 'settlement', the occupation was forcefully resisted . It was resisted by the First Nations people of Australia, a people bound to their land and waters across deep time. From 1788 onwards, government records and first-hand accounts record a pattern of guerrilla style warfare, fought by warriors against colonial armies and paramilitary forces and, perhaps most controversially, the settlers themselves . This was not the traditional warfare of armies in opposing battle lines that we commonly understand as war. It was guerrilla warfare that moved across place, time and battlelines within the tumultuous and moving frontier. There were friendships and understanding amongst the brutality, and in all its complexity, these wars are hard to define. Yet the facts are clear. The Australian Wars were fought for more than 100 years and cost the lives of perhaps 100,000 thousand people . Both sides used their advantages. For the First Nations people, fire, knowledge of country, tracking skills and the tactic of surprise were effective strategies . On the other side, terror, dawn raids, martial law and, as time went by, the horse, superior weaponry and, finally, the enlistment of First Nations people against their own . For First Nation's people, it was fundamentally a war over land, but also much more than that - it was a battle for a way of life. For Britain, it was a convenient place to dump its excess populations and secure territory for its empire. But whilst the war began with the arrival of the British, it was concluded by the premiers of the state colonial governments - the founding fathers of the modern federated Australia. Filmmaker Rachel Perkins journeys across the continent over three episodes to explore the breadth of warfare, strategy and forceful resistance. The lives of warriors, women and children, military men, governors and colonists are illumated as they grapple with the forces of war. But it also an exploration of the here and now, the legacy of war and how we grapple with this truth. The Australian Wars presents a compelling awakening to the wars fought in our own country that for too long have been at the centre of our great Australian silence.