Summary

Invasion to Embassy: Land in Aboriginal Politics in New South Wales, 1770-1972 presents a bold new account of Aboriginal responses to invasion and dispossession in New South Wales.

At the core of these responses has been land: as a concrete goal, but also as a rallying cry, a call for justice and a focal point for identity. This rich story is told through the words and memories of many of the key activists who were involved in the struggles on the lands and in the towns of NSW.

By exploring interactions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people over land, this book enables the reader to understand this history through the reality of the conflicts, tensions, negotiations and cooperation which make up one of the experiences of colonialism.

Invasion to Embassy is unique in presenting NSW Aboriginal history as a history of activism, rather than a saga of passivity and victimisation.

In telling this engrossing story, Heather Goodall reveals much about white Australians - not only as oppressors, but as allies and as newcomers who must in turn sort out their relations to the land.