Videos

There is a growing number of videos, films, databases and podcasts about the frontier conflicts that occurred in the Australian colonies and after Federation in 1901. The video list below, in alphabetical order, is preliminary. Links to other videos are added to this page from time to time. For a list of books and other resources on Australian frontier conflicts, go to Resources in the main menu on the top of this page. Scroll down to the Bibliography, Books, Databases, Films and Television, Journal Articles, Maps, Memorials and Monuments, Podcasts, and Timelines.

A Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s frontier killing times, Timothy Bottoms, 24 February 2016
Click on the arrow in the centre of the image below to watch the video. Timothy Bottoms has also written a book, Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s frontier killing times, published by Allen & Unwin in 2013.

Aboriginal massacre at Bingara (Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay country), freedomandpeacesos, 21 March 2010. Watch this video about the Myall Creek Massacre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8WYwcK91fI

Aboriginal massacre in Australia (Three Rivers), freedomandpeacesos, 21 March 2010. Watch this video about massacres in the Three Rivers area of New South Wales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj3OrIxTq0g

Australia on Trial (2011)–Massacre at Myall Creek
Watch this video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBrFPMrlZms

YouTube summary of Australia on Trial:
‘Presented by historian Michael Cathcart, Australia on Trial is a thought-provoking three-part series recreating the historic trials that throw light on the Australia of colonial times. These high-profile and controversial court cases raised major issues of national identity at a time when Australia was evolving from the dominion of the British Empire into a more autonomous federated nation in the late 19th century. Each of the cases caused a sensation at the time and attracted enormous public interest. Each triggered social and political debate about subjects at the very heart of Australian society: democracy and justice, the identity and behaviour of Australia’s men, and attitudes towards women and Indigenous people–themes and concerns that are still relevant to modern-day Australia.

In June 1838, a group of roughneck stockmen led by a squatter, rode into the newly established Myall Creek station to ‘teach the blacks a lesson’. They hacked around 30 Aborigines to death. The killers had not calculated on two factors. The first was that a stockman named Anderson, who witnessed the crime, was determined to see his countrymen punished. The second was that the governor of New South Wales, George Gipps, shared Anderson’s horror of such brutality. Anderson was ready to testify. The government was determined to press the case. But the prosecutor did not obtain the conviction easily.

The trial was fought out as bitterly in the press as it was in the courtroom. But in the end, a white jury sent seven men to the gallows for the murder of tribal Aborigines.

A number of books have been written about the Myall Creek Massacre. See the Bibliography on this website for details. The 180th Anniversary of the Myall Creek Massacre was commemorated at the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial site, Bingara, New South Wales in June 2018.

Australian Aboriginal Genocide: Ethnocide in the Outback: The Truth About Australia and Australian Aboriginals, Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp, 1 February 2008
Watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7eubc-Yk3M

Australian Terrorism, Stan Lenoy Films, upated version, 3 January 2023:
Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JR1CYmEaPwQ

‘The film’s title, Australian Terrorism, is from Danish man Thorvald Weitmeyer’s (1892) book, Missing Friends: Being the Adventures of a Danish Emigrant in Queensland (1871-1880), after a visit to the Herbert River Police Camp, in 1892. Weitmeyer (1892) wrote, “It is the duty of this official, with the assistance of his troopers, to fill the Aborigines with terror, and to use such means to that end as his own judgment may dictate” (p. 140). In this video, Kirrama Station, Mission Beach, and the Jumbun Aboriginal Community in North Queensland, Australia, are sites of conflict between colonists and Aboriginal people. Reference Weitemeyer, T. P. L. (1892). Missing Friends: Being the Adventures of a Danish Emigrant in Queensland (1871-1880) (Vol. 14). London: TF Unwin; Melbourne: EA Petherick.’ Stanley Lenoy

Babe in the Reeds: a story of massacres and resilience, Lois Cook and Catherine Marciniak, ABC Open North Coast, 2014
In this short video, Lois Cook and her family share the story of their forebear, Bubba Cook, who survived a massacre, and what happened to the Nyanbul people of the New South Wales north coast. It is a brutal, often officially unrecorded, history of what occurred as the area was colonised. Based on oral history provided by family members and research conducted at the Ballina Library with the help of library staff, Lois Cook talks of massacres that happened in the Ballina area in the 19th century at locations such as East Ballina, Black Head, White’s Beach, South Ballina, Patchs Beach, Seven Mile Beach, Broadwater and Wardell. An updated version of Babe in the Reeds is available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/448385775

Dharawal people remember horrific Appin massacre
NITV News, 5 March 2017. Watch the video at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDE86ld1fHA

Dispersed
Fiona Foley, 2008, Badtjala people, Thoorgine (Fraser Island), Queensland, National Gallery of Australia. ‘Dispersed’ is a euphemism used in the 19th and 20th centuries for the killing of First Peoples. Dr Fiona Foley’s video explains the historical background to the raising of frontier police forces and the subsequent massacres of First Peoples in Australia: https://nga.gov.au/on-demand/fiona-foley-dispersed/

1824 Martial Law Proclamation highlighted in Bathurst, Eleanor Gilbert, Enlightning Productions, 14 August 2018
It is six years until the bicentenary of the Proclamation of Martial Law against the Wiradjuri Nation at Bathurst, New South Wales. Dinawan Dyirriban (Bill Allen) has brought together the mainstream Bathurst community to begin planning for a bicentenary event at Bathurst in 2024. You can watch a video of this gathering on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/285111243

Frontier Wars Marches ANZAC Day, 25 April
Since 2011, every 25 April, on Anzac Day (except in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic), a march has been held on Anzac Parade, Reid, Canberra, Australia to commemorate First Nations people who gave their lives in the defence of their homelands during the frontier period. Below is a selection of videos about the Frontier Wars marches. For background and new on Anzac Day Frontier Wars Marches go to: News and the Australian Frontier Wars Marches page.

Frontier Wars March 2017, Eleanor Gilbert, Enlightning Productions, 25 April 2017.
Click on the arrow at the bottom left of the image below to watch this video.

More information about the annual Frontier Wars Marches is on the Australian Frontier Wars March page on this website.

Help Bury Our Dead–Frontier Wars [March] 2018, Eleanor Gilbert, Enlightning Productions, 2018
Ghillar Michael Anderson explains the reasons behind the Frontier Wars Marches and how important it is that all Australians know about and understand the truth of our history. To watch this video, click on the arrow at the bottom left of the image below.

Ghillar: Are you ready for the truth? Ghillar Michael Anderson addresses NAIDOC 2019 themes–Voice, Treaty, Truth at Ballina Coast High School, New South Wales, Australia. Eleanor Gilbert, 2019. Watch the video:https://vimeo.com/346706053

Jandamarra–Aboriginal Geronimo, Rebel Films, 12 March 2017. Jandamarra (1870–1897) was an Aboriginal warrior and leader of the Bunuba people from Western Australia. The Dictionary of Australian Biography has included an entry on him by Howard Pedersen in the Indigenous Australia collection: https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/jandamarra-8822
You can watch the documentary Jandamarra–Aboriginal Jeronimo on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4a2Ik5YvT0

See also: Banjo Woorunmurra and Howard Pedersen 2016, Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance: A True Story, Magabala Books (earlier editions published)
The Dictionary of Australian Biography has included an entry on Jandamarra by Howard Pedersen in the Indigenous Australia collection: https://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/jandamarra-8822

Jandamarra’s War, Electric Pictures, Trailer, 4 May 2011. You can watch a trailer for this film, narrated by Ernie Dingo, on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXejE5DXR9E
DVD available: https://electricpictures.com.au/produc…
VOD available: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/jandamarra…

See also Story of Jandamarra below.

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, Documentary, Tamarind Tree Pictures Pty Ltd, Roar Film Pty Ltd, 2020
Presenter, co-writer and slam poet Steven Oliver takes the audience on an incredible and scenic journey across Australia from the cliffs of Kurnell to the Torres Strait. As he travels the land interrogating Cook’s legacy, he poses the question – in 2020, does Australia have a blurred history of Cook? Available on SBS On Demand: https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1773167683939/looky-looky-here-comes-cooky

Massacre Recollections: Elder Stories of the Frontier Wars in Far North Queensland, Tim Bottoms, 19 July 2019:
‘Massacre Recollection in Far North Queensland, Australia. Aboriginal Elders recount specific instances of frontier violence. The late Kenny Jimmy from Kowanyama, as well as Jack Muriata (Girramay), David Lawrence (Girramay) and Bessie Jerry, and Jirrbal Elder, Willie Masina. Also Dr Ernie Grant (Girramay) and Willie Brim (Buluwanydji), recount indigenous people being shot and the use of poisoning as they were in the way of the invaders economic viability. It’s way past the time to acknowledge this shameful part of our history and the truth about the frontier, and later (not covered here) the after affects of Missions and Government Reserves where education was to Grade 4.’
Watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rvYW5eaQZI&t=14s

You can see and read more of independent researcher Dr Tim Bottoms’ work on Cairns History: https://cairnshistory.com.au/

Smallpox: Biological Warfare 1789 Onwards, Eleanor Gilbert, Enlightning Productions, 2017
The use of smallpox as a biological agent against Indigenous peoples is a controversial subject. Chris Warren talks about smallpox and how the disease broke out in the colony of New South Wales in 1789 and later. He discusses the various theories about how the disease entered New South Wales, affecting and decimating many Aboriginal people. Watch the video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/213523350

Story of Jandamarra, Ben Beeton, 24 March 2017. You can watch this documentary on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNLv1eWLeNA
You can read more about Jandamarra on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Warriors page on this website

Surviving New England: Official launch of the Anaiwan Language Revival Program and Surviving New England: a history of Aboriginal resistance and resilience through the first forty years of the colonial apocalypse. The book has been researched and written by Callum Clayton-Dixon, and features illustrations by Narmi Collins-Widders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGBp5sbf1Nk, 4 December 2019

The Birpai community is fighting for acknowledgment of Blackman’s Point massacre, NITV, The Point, 10 June 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8VIQ2a-so

The history of Blackman’s Point from the perspective of First Peoples living on Birpai Country north of Port Macquarie, New South Wales, was recognised at last in May 2023. Read more on SBS/NITV news: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/aunty-rhonda-grew-up-hearing-about-the-massacres-at-blackmans-point-now-the-govt-has-recognised-its-history/s5ylrmgaw

The Kamilaroi, Matthew Duffy’s award-winning video, featured in Vanessa Hohnke’s story, ‘Kamilaroi documentary features Moree elder Polly Cutmore,’ Moree Champion, 17 January 2020: https://www.moreechampion.com.au/story/6583779/our-stories-are-about-who-we-are-film-captures-kamilaroi-culture/. Duffy’s video covers aspects of the cultural traditions and history of the Kamilaroi people of northern New South Wales who strongly resisted European incursions. Colonists killed Aboriginal people on Kamilaroi lands in reprisals and clashes such as the Waterloo Creek Massacre (a series of violent engagements) and the killing of a young woman, who was driven over a cliff at Coolabindi. The Kamilaroi video is on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/374084811

The Native Mounted Police–Frontier Conflict and the Old Native Mounted Police Showcase, 16 December 2019
This is a summary of the Frontier Conflict and the Native Mounted Police in Queensland public research database, available via https://frontierconflict.org/. This database contains archival, oral historical and archaeological (site and artefact level) data relating to the lives and activities of the Native Mounted Police in Qld from 1848 until 1904. Watch the video about the database: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AIqN_-1Dpk&feature=youtu.be

2020 Battle of Meewah, 11 September 2020: On the 12-13th September 1843, eagle chief warrior of the Jaggera tribe, Multuggerah, and the surrounding allied tribes led the masterful resistance now known as The Battle of Meewah (One Tree Hill). Watch the video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vAIXk12070&t=4s
Read more about Multuggerah on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Warriors page of this website.

20th Anniversary Virtual Commemoration Ceremony, the Friends of Myall Creek, 6 June 2020. Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Myall Creek Memorial, dedicated in 2000 in memory of the 28 Wirrayaraay people murdered at Myall Creek on 10 June 1838. A virtual ceremony was held in 2020 because of the COVID 19 pandemic and travel restrictions. For more information about the Virtual Ceremony contact Friends of Myall Creek: https://myallcreek.org/contact-us/

2021 Dr Charles Perkins AO Oration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ZnbRURAeY
Delivered by Tony McAvoy SC

2022 Dr Charles Perkins AO Oration, delivered by Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, CEO GetUp! Watch the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBuqyDRllNY

2023 Dr Charles Perkins Oration, delivered by director, producer and writer celebrating the life of her father as one of the forefathers of reconciliation and reflecting on The Voice Referendum. Watch the video on ABC iView: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/dr-charles-perkins-oration-2023

Yaburara Flying Foam Massacre 150 Years On 2018
A video of the story of the Flying Foam Massacre that took place in the Pilbara, Western Australia, beginning in February 1868, of more than 100 Yaburara Aboriginal men, women and children. Ngaarda Media, YouTube video narrated by Ernie Dingo, uploaded 9 April 2018. A 150th Remembrance Day Commemoration was held on in Murujuga National Park, Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia on Sunday 15 April 2018. Watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqIWWZRgZvU

Compiled by Jane Morrison 2016–2024
Updated 28 April 2021, 30 May 2021, 19 October 2021, 8–11 November 2021, 9 November 2022, 4 January 2023, 8 May 2023, 6 September 2023, 1 February 2024, 30 April 2024, 3 May 2024.