Simultaneously hearing stories from both sides completely deepened my insight into the Frontier wars.
Feature image credit: Simon & Schuster Australia
Warra Warra Wai provides a true appreciation of the lives and rich history that existed here long before invasion. What makes this history so challenging to uncover is there is no singular First Nations identity; so where does one even begin?
The answer is, somewhere. Author Darren Rix, a Gunditjmara-GunaiKurnai man with Ngarigo bloodlines, along with Craig Cormick, Chair of the ACT Writers Centre, co-authored Warra Warra Wai, combining both narratives on the same events. The goal here is not about history wars; it is about sharing history.
Both have extensive experience in their fields, Rix as a radio reporter for the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association and a cultural sites officer in Canberra, and Cormick, whose published works tend to explore themes of history, identity, and alternate perspectives on well-known events.
The best aspect of this book is the dual narrative technique as it is a powerful way to contrast different perspectives on the same event. For me, learning more about Cape York and the events of 1770 challenged the much-publicised view that all First Nations people hated Cook — a narrative that seems to be commonly accepted and certainly one that I had fully subscribed to.
For so long, we have heard only a single side of the story, which has been highly sanitised, but this book highlights the complexities of invasion from the perspective of each individual nation. While some conflicts saw nations banding together and communicating via the ‘bush telegraph’ — lighting fires to send signals or warnings – others had to battle it out on their own. At times, there was dependence on only a few talented and strategic warriors for protection. There is no glory here, as the use of disease, poison, and gunpowder meant that all the battles were fought overwhelmingly against all odds. Everything was unfair from the start.
As James Cook and his crew sailed up the East Coast, diaries and journals have been used to forge their perspective: what they saw, the maps drawn, and the places they renamed with European names. To aid the reader, the chapters are sequenced in the order of their journey up the coast, with a handy mud map provided near the start. Each chapter in the list has its name as well as its current Anglicised name, making it easy for you to check out a place you may be familiar with. With this format I found it easier to compartmentalise and understand geographically as it relates to modern Australian maps. In addition, the chapters also offer a welcome in language, along with its English translation.
The stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, heard straight from Elders (permitted to share their oral history) has been really gut wrenching. Although the literary style of this book is not designed (as such) to evoke emotion as it is set in a non-fiction format, it is impossible to remain emotionless as one reads of the dispossession of Aboriginal people from their land and the eradication of almost all (in some, if not most areas), in strategic genocidal fashion. As these are realities that many would rather ignore, Warra Warra Wai may not suit all audiences, but perhaps it should be something for everyone to read.
There are so many stories to tell, so many cultures to explore, and so many languages lost.
Warra Warra Wai is the Winner of the First Nations History award, Canberra Critics’ Circle Awards 2024.
Reviewed by Rebecca Wu
The views expressed in this review belong to the author and not Glam Adelaide, its affiliates, or employees.
Distributed by: Simon & Schuster Australia
Released: September 2024
RRP: $34.99
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