The Australian Wars, Episode 1

Judges' comments

The Australian Wars is an outstanding historical documentary. The first episode examines the Frontier Wars that accompanied the first decades of British settlement in New South Wales; encompassing the early encounter between Governor Arthur Phillip and Bennelong; Pemulwuy and the ‘Battle of Parramatta’ in 1797; the initial incursions into the Hawkesbury district, and the Appin massacre in 1816.   

From the outset, the film, which opens memorably with Perkins standing alone in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, is concerned as much with the way Australia’s Frontier Wars have been remembered, as it is with the nature of frontier warfare itself. Built on meticulous historical research which draws on a wide range of evidence — archival primary sources, oral history, memorials, and interviews with leading historians, Indigenous elders and descendants on both sides of the conflict — the film deepens our understanding of the Frontier Wars and Australian history.  

Perkins brings many perspectives to bear on the story she tells, yet she always places Aboriginal voices at the forefront of the film, including her own family’s story. She narrates the film, allows her audience to see her camera crew at work, films in a wide variety of locations, and successfully uses a series of powerful re-enactments to bring home the gravity of the violence that occurred. More than other historical documentary films in recent decades, The Australian Wars demonstrates the centrality of the frontier wars to the nation’s foundation.