Summary

Black Pioneers is an important new edition of With the White People, Henry Reynolds' challenging account of the role of Aboriginal and Islander people in the exploration and development of colonial Australia.

In this book, Henry Reynolds debunks the notion that Aboriginal peoples have contributed nothing towards that creation of a prosperous modern society, that modern Australia rests on the sturdy foundations put down in the 19th century by the European pioneers.

Black Pioneers pays tribute to the labour and skill of the thousands of black men, women and children who worked for the Europeans in a wide range of occupations: as interpreters, concubines, trackers, troopers, servants, nursemaids, labourers, stockworkers and pearl-divers. Some of their intriguing stories are here revealed.