The Bathurst War

Over three hundred Frontier Wars were fought in Australia as the Indigenous people of this land tried valiantly to resist the invasion of British Colonialists. The Bathurst War was one such war, fought by the Wiradjuri nation in what is now known as Bathurst, led by the Aboriginal resistance leader Windradyne.

In the mid-1820s, the slow erosion of the Wiradjuri's sovereignty by the colonisers was rapidly increased by Sir Thomas Brisbane, who authorised a large number of land grants in the Wiradjuri nation. With this influx of white settlers, the Wiradjuri’s land was being degraded, their sacred sites were torn up, and their natural resources were vanishing. After a violent encounter with a potato farmer over a "misunderstanding" resulted in the deaths of several Wiradjuri people, one of the survivors, Windradyne, decided that enough was enough. The Wiradjuri formed a resistance movement and lead a series of guerrilla-style attacks against the invaders, which escalated until martial law was declared, giving the invaders legal sanction to hunt and kill Aboriginals.

The Bathurst War was only one of several hundred Frontier Wars fought by the Indigenous people of this land. And in many ways, these wars continue – sovereignty of this land has never been ceded, and the Indigenous people of Australia have been systematically slaughtered and made to watch as an invading force has stolen and destroyed their land.

We applaud in movies like Star Wars when the Resistance fights off the evil Empire. So why are we so quick to sweep the Frontier Wars under the rug and pretend that our white ancestors were the good guys? (insert youknowwhy.gif here).

You can find out more about Wiradjuri resistance leader Windradyne here https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/631655491867/windradyne?fbclid=IwAR1yaEpos2JcYOM2joJUkC_3Hdyp-6_ZhB6VRhxgReHquBCV2MJLw-c6MQw

To find out more about the Frontier Wars and view the map, go here https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/04/the-killing-times-the-massacres-of-aboriginal-people-australia-must-confront?fbclid=IwAR1yaEpos2JcYOM2joJUkC_3Hdyp-6_ZhB6VRhxgReHquBCV2MJLw-c6MQw

Watch the video of Windradyne’s descendants marking the anniversary of the declaration of martial law here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jux_MKtfObw&t=326s&fbclid=IwAR1yaEpos2JcYOM2joJUkC_3Hdyp-6_ZhB6VRhxgReHquBCV2MJLw-c6MQw

We’ll probably never know the total death count of the Frontier Wars. Find out why that matters here http://www.maristfamily.com.au/resourcedownloads/why_indigenous_deaths_matters.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1yaEpos2JcYOM2joJUkC_3Hdyp-6_ZhB6VRhxgReHquBCV2MJLw-c6MQw

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