Barry Corr's book vividly maps colonial Sydney but misses politics
Surveying the Wild Abyss shines as local history but oversimplifies Australia's political consciousness.
Aboriginal historian Barry Corr's new book covers the colonial invasion of the Nepean-Hawkesbury rivers (Dhurabang) and the Sydney Plain in vivid detail. Barry Corr's account draws on a lifetime visiting local sites and reading gravestone records.
The first half stands out as genuine, grounded local history. The second half shifts to abstract theory.
Corr argues that settler colonial attitudes are seamless and unchanging. He links the Parramatta Native Institution of 1814 to modern child removal policies.
But the reviewer notes he ignores the history of humanitarian critique. He also oversimplifies how Australians actually think about the past.
Corr shows more interest in quoting philosophers than exploring real political division among settlers themselves.
- Barry Corr, Aboriginal historian
- Author
- Surveying the Wild Abyss
- Book title
- 37 Aboriginal children, 1814-1820
- Parramatta Native Institution
- Nepean-Hawkesbury (Dhurabang)
- Rivers covered
Why it mattersThe book matters as one voice in how Aboriginal scholars and readers re-examine colonial history, though its sweeping claims about Australian consciousness may oversell its argument.
AustraliaAustralian readers interested in colonial history and Aboriginal perspectives gain a vivid local account, though the book's broader claims about how all Australians process settler colonialism remain contested.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
