Aboriginal Victorians: A History since 1800

Early settlers saw Victoria and its rolling grasslands as Australia felix
happy south land a prize left for Englishmen by God. However, for its
original inhabitants this country was home and life, not to be
relinquished without a fierce struggle.
Richard Broome tells the
story of the impact of European ideas, guns, killer microbes and a
pastoral economy on the networks of kinship, trade and cultures that
various Aboriginal peoples of Victoria had developed over millennia.
From first settlement to the present, he shows how Aboriginal families
have coped with ongoing disruption and displacement, and how individuals
and groups have challenged the system. With painful stories of personal
loss as well as many successes, Broome outlines how Aboriginal
Victorians survived near decimation to become a vibrant community today.
The first history of black-white interaction in Victoria to the present, Aboriginal Victorians
offers new insights into frontier conflict, attempts at control and
assimilation, the Stolen Generation, and Aboriginal survival and
identity in modern Australia. Based on consultation with Aboriginal
communities and families, as well as a range of historical research, it
is an even-handed and compelling account.