Hidden Histories: Black Stories from Victoria River Downs

by Deborah Bird Rose, Denis O'Sullivan

Filled with stories of massacres and murders, of working life on cattle stations, of friendships and foes, of bureaucratic machinations, and the individual struggles of Aboriginal Australians, this book unleashes the concealed and hidden past.

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book that details Aboriginal stories told via oral history from the Victoria River Downs station and surrounding areas. It includes accounts of life pre-colonisation, which I find super interesting as it isn't normally a history that you hear about. One aspect of the book that is particularly interesting is that of deathscapes, including discussion of wars taking place between groups of people prior to colonisation, the violent conquest undertaken by white pastoralists to seize land for pastoral purposes and the subsequent pacification over several generations of the Aboriginal people who worked the stations.
This book highlights the reality and the horrors of colonisation in the Victoria River area as well as the remarkable resilience of Indigenous people.
The book is also structured well and clear to read, making it all the more digestible.