This blog is about research relating to frontier conflict and especially the Native Mounted Police in Queensland
By Heather Burke, Ray Kerkhove, Lynley A. Wallis, Cathy Keys and Bryce Barker In a previous post we detailed the results of a desk top survey into the range and nature of potentially fortified domestic structures (houses, huts, outbuildings) across Queensland. Reliable, first-hand written accounts of such building were rare, although not entirely absent, suggesting […]
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By Heather Burke, Ray Kerkhove, Lynley A. Wallis, Cathy Keys and Bryce Barker ‘In the hut we built we made square holes in the corners & sides, and had pieces of wood hung by pieces of green hide and a hide latch[?] we could just open the little door and fire away if necessary.’ James […]
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By Alyssa Madden Policing and communications were both crucial in enabling the mostly European settlers to establish themselves in the ‘Sunshine State’ in the nineteenth century. The Qld Native Mounted Police (NMP) were tasked with protecting settlers from Aboriginal resistance, while the early telegraph system linked both the remote detachments with senior officers stationed elsewhere, […]
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By Heather Burke Since writing our post on the possible defensive uses of pumpkins on the Queensland frontier, we’ve come across several more references to carving pumpkins and melons as a means to frighten Aboriginal people away from European camps. One of these accounts referred to it as an ‘old trick’, implying that it was […]
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By Heather Burke Fear is one of humanity’s most basic emotions. Defined as the response to an immediate, objective threat, fear is different to anxiety, which is a reaction to an anticipated, subjective threat that can be either real or imagined (Bourke 2003:126). Research into how fear and anxiety come together to influence behaviour suggests […]
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