Aboriginal use of fire as a weapon in Colonial Victoria : a preliminary analysis
- Authors: Clark, Ian , Cahir, David (Fred) , Wilkie, Benjamin , Tout, Dan , Clark, Jidah
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Historical Studies Vol. 54, no. 1 (2023), p. 109-124
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The use of fire as an offensive and defensive weapon on the colonial frontier in Australia has received little scholarly attention. This article aims to build on insights from current historiography about the customary use of fire by Aboriginal peoples within the borders of Victoria, Australia. Specifically, our aim is to highlight the historically significant role Aboriginal peoples’ use of fire played in resisting the colonists in Victoria during the colonial period. By closely scrutinising documentary records it is possible to demonstrate that Aboriginal people used fire, both offensively and defensively, against the colonists. © Editorial Board, Australian Historical Studies 2023.
The historic importance of the koala in Aboriginal Society in New South Wales, Australia : an exploration of the archival record
- Authors: Cahir, David (Fred) , Schlagloth, Rolf , Clark, Ian
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ab-original Vol. 3, no. 2 (2020), p. 172-191
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract The principal aim of this study is to provide a detailed examination of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archival records that relate to New South Wales Aboriginal peoples' associations with koalas and gain a greater understanding of the utilitarian and symbolic significance of koalas for Aboriginal communities as recorded by colonists during the early period of colonization. Anthropological discussions about the role and significance of koalas in Australian Aboriginal society have been limited, some sources are unreliable and interpretation is at times divisive. Many scholars have previously highlighted how using only historical sources as its reference point it is difficult to discern with great specificity that Aboriginal peoples in other regions of New South Wales commonly ate the koala and used its skin. Through a critique of historical sources, we demonstrate that the ethno-historical evidence is inconclusive as to whether they were an integral food source for much of the time period covered by this paper in the area now called the state of New South Wales. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the extent of their use varied across regions and between tribal groups and was likely to have been traditionally associated with lore specific to certain cultural groups, and may have involved dreaming stories, and gendered roles in hunting and resource use, and other aspects of spiritual belief systems.
'The remarkable disappearance of messrs Gellibrand and Hesse'. What really happened in 1837?: A Re-examination of the historical evidence
- Authors: Donovan, Paul Michael , Clark, Ian , Cahir, David (Fred)
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian historical journal (Melbourne, Vic. : 1987) Vol. 87, no. 2 (2016), p. 278-297
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In 1837, Joseph Tice Gellibrand and George Brooks Legrew Hesse disappeared near Birregurra. Popular history says that their bodies were never found and their deaths are a mystery. However, letters, records, contemporary newspaper articles and early histories outline the disappearance and discovery of the bodies. Isaac Hebb's history in the 1880s refuted primary sources, claiming that the whereabouts of the bodies were never found. This article re-examines early historical documents, many of which Hebb may not have had access to or opted not to include in his work. We critique Hebb's analysis and reinvestigate the story.