Recent Acquisitions

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

I blame Jon the Curator for this. He bought a copy at the launch on Friday and he was telling someone today how much he liked reading it. Then he says to me I'd probably like it being as I know a lot about that time. To me this is a good reason not to buy a book, non-fiction or otherwise. But he reckons it is well written, well researched, uses some different sources to usual and I can get it downstairs with my discount.

So I think about it for a while, then go downstairs and buy it with my discount.

(And there I am, newly-purchased book in hand, heading for the stairs to go back up when I see Louise coming back from lunch. Well, hear her, because she shouts my name across the foyer because she has something for me to do (and she's amused that I agree to it before knowing what is is). She has a list of Aboriginal soldiers from WWI and she wants me to "check" those from Cape Barren Island. So I spend the rest of the afternoon reading their service records, and a depressing job that is.)

Anyway, the blurb for the book from the publisher's website:

Between 1825 and 1831 close to 200 Britons and 1000 Aborigines died violently in Tasmania’s Black War. It was by far the most intense frontier conflict in Australia’s history, yet many Australians know little about it. The Black War takes a unique approach to this historic event, looking chiefly at the experiences and attitudes of those who took part in the conflict. By contrasting the perspectives of colonists and Aborigines, Nicholas Clements takes a deeply human look at the events that led to the shocking violence and tragedy of the war, detailing raw personal accounts that shed light on the tribes, families and individuals involved as they struggled to survive in their turbulent world.

Comments

[littlerdog.livejournal.com]

Why depressing? Enquiring minds want to know (great looking book tho).

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

Mostly pages of medical reports & notifications to next of kin. Four of them were KIA/died of wounds & another died from broncho-pneumonia. Two brothers from one family (although the second wasn't on the list as he was born on Flinders Island) were KIA in France. The ones who survived were all, except for two, given medical discharges (some from wounds, others from lung/chest diseased). Even those two seemed to spend a lot of time in hospital. One of them married a munitions worker from Cornwall soon after leaving hospital.

In general they seemed older than average (a lot in their 30s, whereas the general population of soldiers are more likely to be in their 20s). There was one lad who claimed to be 18. As he was under 21, his father had to sign the application to enlist. The age on the application is 16 years 9 months. So his war service was very short.

Quite a few sailors too.