Tongerlongeter
First Nations Leader and Tasmanian War Hero
Published on 1. August 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-74223-638-4 (ISBN)
Description
During Tasmania's Black War of 1823-31, Tongerlongeter led the most effective Aboriginal resistance campaign in Australian history. His Oyster Bay Nation of southeast Tasmania and his ally Montpelliatta's Big River Nation of central Tasmania made some 710 attacks, killing 182 colonists and wounding a further 176. Despite this, First Nations casualties were up to three times greater and their population plummeted. Militarily it was a lost cause, yet their determined resistance and dogged commitment to Country, culture and each other provoked desperation at every level of the fledgling colony.
Tongerlongeter was the lynch pin that held his people together in the face of apocalyptic invasion, before and after the historic armistice that ended the war on New Year's Eve 1831. But while his achievements rival those of any Victoria Cross recipient, he is buried in an unmarked grave on Flinders Island. In Tongerlongeter, acclaimed historians Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements retrieve one of Australia's greatest war heroes from historical obscurity.
Tongerlongeter was the lynch pin that held his people together in the face of apocalyptic invasion, before and after the historic armistice that ended the war on New Year's Eve 1831. But while his achievements rival those of any Victoria Cross recipient, he is buried in an unmarked grave on Flinders Island. In Tongerlongeter, acclaimed historians Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements retrieve one of Australia's greatest war heroes from historical obscurity.
Reviews / Votes
This book does not remedy injustice, but it recognises it. It offers Tongerlongeter, his people and his allies respect, recognition and regret. May it be one of many such books."" - Bill Gammage""Australia has recently discovered Indigenous defenders of country. They now include Tongerlongeter, recovered from a negligent posterity by Reynolds' and Clements' meticulous and imaginative research. Remarkable research and powerful writing."" - Professor Peter Stanley, UNSW Canberra
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Sydney, NSW
Australia
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
445 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-74223-638-4 (9781742236384)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Henry Reynolds is one of Australia's most recognised historians. His pioneering work has changed the way we see the intertwining of black and white history in Australia. His books with NewSouth include The Other Side of the Frontier (reissue), What's Wrong with Anzac? (as co-author), Forgotten War, which won the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize; Unnecessary Wars; This Whispering in Our Hearts Revisited and, most recently, Truth-telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement.
Nicholas Clements is a teacher of history, philosophy and psychology. He is also an adjunct researcher at the University of Tasmania, where he completed his PhD on the island's frontier conflict. His 2014 book, The Black War: Fear, Sex and Resistance in Tasmania, explored the motivations and experiences of both Indigenous peoples and colonists during the war.
Nicholas Clements is a teacher of history, philosophy and psychology. He is also an adjunct researcher at the University of Tasmania, where he completed his PhD on the island's frontier conflict. His 2014 book, The Black War: Fear, Sex and Resistance in Tasmania, explored the motivations and experiences of both Indigenous peoples and colonists during the war.