The Vandemonian War

In the Afterword the authors final sentence makes interesting reading. “Unearthed after nearly two centuries of established history, the Vandemonian War allows us to see that a society can be led to do almost anything – and then come to believe it did not do it at all.” In my opinion this final comment is not aimed at British historians but at Australian. This book is about Britain's treatment of Tasmanian aboriginals but the reality is in that the great big world of British history this event is but a mere sideshow. In Australian history it has loomed larger in academic circles.


This is only the second book I have read on this subject. The first being the The Fabrication Of Aboriginal History: Volume One: Van Diemen's Land by Keith Windshuttle. This book caused considerable debate and was part of something rather puerile in Australian academia called the History Wars. These history wars were held in the 90's and early 2000's (from memory) and consisted of Australians being asked to forget the bad things from the past and, to put it facetiously, be happy. “Ignore the black arm band view of history” was the mantra. I personally found this nonsense. History throughout the world and from the dawns of time is black armband even if we individually don't like to read or hear that. History is history and no one can change their past. Learn from it I say. With that when I read Windshuttle book I recall I found it far too reliant on colonial newspaper sources at the times of the Vandemonian Wars. To me it was the equivalent of relying on Pravda to tell the story of the USSR.


A chronological history is presented with heavy research with quotes galore. In fact this leads to a very dry and dense read that the casual reader may not enjoy. The majority of the research is from surviving records in the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office at the state library and with that these are from the Colonial Secretaries Office, The Governor's Office with the addition of convict and police records. We do not get an overview nor a populist history. Typical of a book as well researched as this the source material is very interesting and also the various individuals whom are involved. Jorgen Jorgenson for example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B8rgen_J%C3%B8rgensen

Jorgenson played a prominent role in the wars and at one point is quoted as saying “....the delusion kept by the public prints, limiting the number of Aborigines of this island to about two or three hundred..” with the author saying that this was an “...indicator that the war as it appeared in the newspaper could be quite different from the one fought on the ground”
In fact it seems that the violence of the war had an effect on public opinion because the Aboriginal Committee in Hobart suggested that “resident settlers of similar humane feelings....to adhere to a system of self-defence and not wanton aggression”

As time went on comment as to the war became pointed in colonial circles. A correspondent to the Launceston Advertiser asked “Are the unhappy creatures the subjects of our king, in a state of rebellion? Or are they injured people, whom we have invaded and with whom we are at war?” At the same time the Hobart Tasmanian made the case for either “.....offensive prosecution of the war, even to extermination....” or defensive measures. Not long after this comment in 1831, roving parties reported areas of the island with no aboriginal tribes and later capture parties began to bring in groups that were “disproportionately male with no children”. The author called this a “collapse of demographic normality”. By this time the war was at an end; other than a few isolated incidents that came to the attention of the authorities and press. The Launceston Examiner wrote in 1844 ‘the black war will not be soon forgotten by those that shouldered the musket and kept watch during the campaign.' With that I ask how could Keith Windshuttle have not noticed comment like this when researching his book? In fact Brodie's book has quoted several colonial newspapers reference to the war. I am not sure how Windshuttle could have interpreted these comment in any other way.

For those interested these are some professional reviews of the book.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-vandemonian-war-review-nick-brodies-study-of-brutal-fighting-in-tasmania-20170927-gypyfv.html?logout=true

https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/4241-billy-griffiths-reviews-the-vandemonian-war-the-secret-history-of-britain-s-tasmanian-invasion-by-nick-brodie

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/book-reviews-hidden-in-plain-view-dark-emu-vandemonian-war/news-story/1b8ba942884be79a05b69f20b5b447ab

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2017/08/31/the-vandemonian-war/15024600005039


An interview with the author.

http://www.insidehistory.com.au/2017/08/the-vandemonian-war-the-secret-history-of-tasmanias-colonisation/