FRONTIER OR HISTORY WARS: Why has the issue of frontier violence provoked such intense debate? What is at stake here?

It has long been accepted that there was violence and conflicts between the native Aborigines of Australia and the British upon their settlement in the eighteenth century. However, in recent times it is being questioned whether these many skirmishes should be recognised as a time of war, rather than simply frontier violence. Many acts of violence occurred across a vast number of years between the Aborigines and the settlers. Fights broke out over theft, women resources and obviously land and territory. Violence was displayed from both the settlers and the Aborigines with both parties instigating and retaliating to the fighting at one point or another. Ultimately many people were killed on both sides, although considerably higher tolls were taken by the Indigenous Australians. Although this is admitted to, the fighting has not been officially considered warfare. Australia was born on the foundations of freedom and a fair go for all, if it becomes officially considered that Britain initiated a war with the native people of Australia in order to win the land on which we are now settled, this would force the citizens to question their entire existence, foundations and way of life. Furthermore, it is very difficult to actually gauge the extent of the fighting that occurred. The massacres were largely conducted by bushman and farmers, not an official army or authority. Whilst from the Aboriginal side, no documentation was made, simply the stories that have been passed down through generations through word-of-mouth. Finally, the subject of Indigenous relations is still very sensitive in Australia today; treatment of Aborigines has remained poor from the time of settlement until only approximately the last fifty years. Although minor attempts are being made, the conditions that the Australian Indigenous population are faced with are still poor in terms of healthcare, education and general living standards. It would be difficult for a government to recognise a war that occurred where not only it reflects poorly on the country, but the effects are still being seen on the Aboriginal population today.

http://nebuchadnezzarwoollyd.blogspot.com/2008/08/revisionists-and-keith-windschuttle.html

It is being argued that the skirmishes between settlers and Aborigines, such as the one being depicted in this picture, should be recognised as being part of a larger frontier war.