The Military and the Frontier, 1788–1901

A Different Mode of War? Aboriginal Guerilla Tacticss in Defining the Black Warr of Southern Queensland 1843-1855

“…However, military historians such as Jeffrey Grey struggle to honestly place Indigenous resistance within the terminology of "war". 82 Grey could find "no resemblance" between Indigenous efforts and post-1945 guerrilla warfare. He contrasted the pitiful numbers of whites killed in Indigenous affrays (usually less than 5 per engagement) compared to the 18,000 involved in the Maori wars and the 1,843 armed settlers the Maori warriors routed in one incident alone (of which 22 were killed).…”

“…He contrasted the pitiful numbers of whites killed in Indigenous affrays (usually less than 5 per engagement) compared to the 18,000 involved in the Maori wars and the 1,843 armed settlers the Maori warriors routed in one incident alone (of which 22 were killed). 83 Keith Windshuttle expanded this perspective -alleging Aboriginal resistance was neither conventional nor guerilla warfare. 84 He could find no evidence of broader "military, political or patriotic objectives" within Indigenous aggressions 85 -no hint of organization, intelligence, command strategy, or declarations of war.…”