Uprising: War in the colony of New South Wales, 1838–1844

For the first time, Stephen Gapps reveals the incredible story of extensive frontier resistance warfare – a series of wars that were conducted along a vast area of the Murray-Darling river system, across many First Nations’ lands, in a concerted defence of River Country. 

The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance ended in 1824 with a series of massacres conducted by settlers in the Bathurst region. From the 1830s, colonists began occupying more and more First Nations land across western New South Wales,  stocking it with sheep and cattle. By 1838, a dramatic fightback began across the entire frontier of the colony.  The Second Wiradyuri War of Resistance, from 1839 to 1841, was part of a wide arc of conflict from present-day northern Victoria through to southeast Queensland. At the time, it was seen by many contemporaries as a concerted and coordinated ‘uprising’.

Pages: 336, Paperback

Published: 2025