What were the Australian Wars?

Frontier War

Frontier conflicts took place across the nation. Source: Supplied

When Captain James Cook first arrived on the shores of what is now known as Australia, he declared this vast land as 'Terra Nullius', nobody’s land. However, the island continent was home to hundreds of different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations and clans.


The Frontier Wars is a term often used to describe the more than 100 years of violent conflicts between colonial settlers and the Indigenous peoples that occurred during the British settlement of Australia. Even though Australia honours its involvement in wars fought overseas, it is yet to acknowledge the struggle that made it the country it is today.

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This podcast was first published in October 2022.

Learn more about Australian Indigenous history here:

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