Brodie, Nick: The Vandemonian War

Nick Brodie

The Vandemonian War, Hardie Grant, Melbourne, 2017; available electronically

The Vandemonian War had many sides and shades, but it was fundamentally a war between the British colony of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and the Aboriginal people who lived in political and social contradiction to that colony. The Vandemonian War tells the largely untold story of how the British truly occupied Van Diemen’s Land deploying regimental soldiers and special forces, armed convicts and mercenaries.

In the 1820s and 1830s the British deliberately pushed the Aboriginals out, driving them to the edge of existence. Far from localised fights between farmers and hunters of popular memory, this was a war of sweeping campaigns and brutal tactics, waged by military and paramilitary forces subject to a Lieutenant Governor who was also Colonel Commanding. The British won the Vandemonian War and then discretely and purposefully concealed it. (blurb)

The book is reviewed for Honest History by John Shield. Other reviews in The Australian, the Australian Book Review, Fairfax, the Saturday Paper. Extracts. Interview with author.

Update 18 January 2018: Kristyn Harman in The Conversation does a fact check.

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