New book excavates Queensland Native Mounted Police camps from colonial era
A new book called Buried examines Queensland Native Mounted Police camps through archaeology and history.
Buried is a new book by Heather Burke, Lynley A. Wallace and Bryce Barker. It investigates the Queensland Native Mounted Police using archaeology and historical research.
The force ran for 80 years, from 1849 to 1929, employing white officers and Aboriginal troopers. The force was involved in what appears to be colonial Australia's most violent killing force.
Records suggest more than 40,000 Aboriginal peoples died across Queensland. The authors surveyed camps over four years and excavated eight of them.
They used methods from archaeology, history and anthropology combined. The excavations found thousands of items including buttons with government symbols and pottery pieces.
The book gives the most detailed account of the force's buildings and daily work to date. It offers a new view into how Queensland's First Nations peoples were controlled for nearly a century.
- 1849 to 1929
- Time span
- More than 40,000 Aboriginal peoples
- Deaths recorded
Why it mattersUnderstanding how colonial authorities used violence against Aboriginal peoples is essential to Australia. First Nations communities continue to feel lasting impacts from these actions.
AustraliaAustralians can now access a rigorous, multi-disciplinary examination of one of the darkest chapters in the nation's colonial history and how institutions enabled mass harm.
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