Not a new book, but new to me.
Subtitled 'Aborigines and the European Invasion', and authored by Maurice French, this is a history of frontier conflict on the Darling Downs and adjacent districts of south-east Queensland from 1840 to 1860 or thereabouts.
The most interesting material contained therein is found on pages 111 and 112 in the section entitled 'The Cost and Conscience of Invasion'. Amongst other information, this provides some statistics on settler casualties compiled by officials such as Commissioners of Crown Lands and Police Magistrates.
Most writers on frontier conflict are keen to offer statistics on white fatalities, usually to make a point about the disparity between them and the number of Aborigines killed in incidents of frontier violence (despite the fact that the best that can be achieved in regard to the latter is an educated guess).
Unusually, this book includes a figure for overall casualties for one district for a clearly defined period: Moreton Bay, from 1841 to 1844 – derived from a government report compiled from statistics supplied by three of the aforementioned officials. Of 115 casualties, sixteen were killed and the rest wounded. This proportion bears out previous comments I've made on these boards to the effect that, because of the low lethality of Aboriginal weapons, several settlers were wounded for each one killed. The proportions here amount to roughly one in seven killed.
Other fatality-only figures are quoted for various districts and regions, and periods, including overall totals for the whole of south-east QLD in the two decades covered – such as one of 250 for the closely commensurate period 1842 to 1861. If the ratio above is applied to this figure it would mean that total casualties including wounded would have been about 1750.
However, the author does make the point that 'It is difficult to gauge the extent of white casualties as squatters probably failed to report many deaths* for fear of scaring away emigrant labour or driving up wage costs.'- so these figures should be regarded as minima and probable underestimates. Certainly most skirmishes went unrecorded and unreported, which implies that any resulting casualties would also have been missed in the statistics. Squatters were more likely to report a death or injury that resulted from a murderous attack, because it assisted their case for improved government security without raising questions about the legality of their actions.
*And by implication, woundings.
