Aboriginal and immigrant Australians have shared this continent for 200 years. Nineteenth-century writers were aware of the importance of the Aboriginal presence, but when the colonists began to write their own history the Aborigines were erased from the account. Recently, this ‘history’ has been overturned as we rediscover the role of Aborigines in our past.

In this collection of documents our forebears speak for themselves. They present a fascinating picture of how they endeavoured to come to terms - emotionally, morally and intellectually - with the victims of the dispossession.

This fascinating collection, compiled by a leading authority on white-Aboriginal relations, challenges the general reader to reinterpret our past. It will prove invaluable to students of history and race relations in schools, colleges and universities.