The Black War: Fear, sex and resistance in Tasmania

Nicholas Clements, 2014. Published by University of Queensland Press

“Our night’s sport made a dozen less natives whom we left to rot…”

The Black War, Nicholas Clements’ debut historical work presents a shocking account of the depravation and inhumanities inflicted upon the Tasmanian Aboriginal population and the escalating brutality of their retaliation. The success of this extraordinary work lies in its unique approach: Clements draws research from eminent historians such as Henry Reynolds and NJB Plomley, along with a variety of records including personal transcripts to assay accounts of clashes from colonist and Aboriginal perspectives.

The result is at times confronting, particularly the graphic depictions of death and warfare. His examination dispels the history wars and assertions that Aboriginal people were impotent victims of a dominant colonial force. Instead, Clements reveals the indigenous Tasmanians as ferocious and merciless adversaries who instilled fear in the invaders, severely impeding expansion of the colony through their use of guerrilla warfare. His account valorises the effectiveness of the Tasmanian’s resistance, comparing their violent successes with those of the Maori.

Despite evidence showing that the Tasmanian Black War was the most evenly matched frontier conflict in Australia’s history, the tragic reality was that five to seven thousand Aboriginal people were decimated forty years after the British invasion. By 1843, only two full-blood indigenous Tasmanians were known to be alive. As Clements states, “Per capita…the Black War was one of the most destructive wars in recorded history.”

This well written and logically structured account has successfully encapsulated a balanced, if not stark and sobering view of the formative years of colonisation. A view formerly overlooked by educational curriculums and military history. The Black War provides an exposition of attitudes and experiences of both black and white, illuminating one of Australia’s darkest periods.

– Mark Cashion

Published: The Australian Writer, December 2014