Surveying the Wild Abyss by Barry Corr

In this groundbreaking history of colonisation and frontier conflict in the Hawkesbury region, First Nations historian Barry Corr navigates the gaps and silences in the primary records to reveal settler amnesia, the cataclysmic nature of colonisation, and the way history is remembered, or not remembered. Surveying the Wild Abyss is driven by primary source analysis of colonial records and deeply informed by Corr’s perspectives and community connections as an Aboriginal person who has lived most of his life in the Western Sydney Aboriginal community, the book asks non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians to reflect on their history, and reinvents the way Australian history is written.

‘From personal story to history to critical philosophy, Barry Corr takes the Hawkesbury Frontier War to “cosmic” dimensions. Take this beautiful book with you and sit and contemplate everything that flows with the Dhurabang river …’ Stephen Muecke

In this groundbreaking philosophical and literary exploration of the Hawkesbury Frontier Wars, First Nations historian Barry Corr reinvents the way Australian history is written.

About the Author: Barry Corr is an Aboriginal man who has lived most of his life near Dhurabang, the river that settler society calls the Hawkesbury and the Nepean. As a university student, he was a member of Student Action for Aborigines and took part in the 1965 bus trip, which has been memorialised as the Freedom Ride, including follow-up trips to Walgett and Bowraville in 196566. He worked as a teacher and as an Aboriginal Education Consultant at a regional and state level. Living in the Hawkesbury, he is well-equipped to write on the Hawkesbury’s Frontier War.

01 Jul 2026
 

Surveying the Wild Abyss: Unravelling Settler Memory by Barry Corr ISBN 9781761170423