[Watch] The Australian Wars

In this eye-opening session, Rachel Perkins joins Marcia Langton, Henry Reynolds and David Marr to discuss 'The Australian Wars'. Watch now for a deep dive into the untold history of territorial battles that swept across colonial-era Australia and discover forgotten stories of First Nations resistance, refusal and survival. 

An estimated 100,000 people died in the frontier wars that raged across Australia for more than 150 years after colonial settlement – a death toll equivalent to the combined total of all Australians killed in overseas conflicts to date. Yet this country’s longest and perhaps most defining war has largely been written out of history.  

The 'Australian Wars' was a landmark book that brings long-overdue attention to the history of Australia’s frontier wars.

Join this esteemed panel of editors and contributors as they confronted the silences of the past, examined the enduring impact of colonial violence, and call for a reckoning with the true origins of modern Australia. 

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Originally presented on Wednesday 12 November 2025 by The Wheeler Centre.