"People of the River" Topic

This weighty 2020 tome by academic historian Grace Karskens is essentially a sequel to her 2009 epic history of early Sydney, 'The Colony'. It moves the focus of Karskens' historiographical microscope to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system of NSW.

Like 'The Colony' this latest work includes a chapter on frontier conflict, and along with giving a narrative history of frontier violence in the book's targeted geographical region, Karskens analyses its particular patterns and forms in this place at this time. She also offers her observations on how writing about frontier conflict more generally has in recent years shifted away from the old 'massacre history' perspective, in which Aboriginal people were merely defenceless victims, towards recognising the extent and intensity of their armed struggle against the colonisers and making a serious effort to explain the process in purely military terms (Kerkhove, Gapps, Brodie etc.).

As with 'The Colony', which won the 2010 Prime Minister's Award for Non-fiction and the 2010 US Urban History Association's prize for Best Book, the writing is of a very high standard, making this volume worthy of reading for anyone who appreciates quality non-fiction historical literature, regardless of their level of interest in the subject matter.