AUSTRALIA REDISCOVERED

I am writing in response to the letter about Aboriginal history by Kim Lawson (AG 156).

While much is being made these days of Aboriginal people discovering Australia, they nevertheless, as pointed out by Geoffrey Blainey in his book

A Shorter History of Australia, had no idea they had discovered a continent when they first stepped onto the continent (which included New Guinea). It was just the next bit of land and, of course, the rest of the world knew nothing about it.

It was only when Europeans discovered the continent and made it known to the rest of the world that its existence became known.To be pedantic, these modern discoverers could be labelled ‘re-discoverers’.

This ‘re-discovery’ was catastrophic to Aboriginals, but inevitable. It follows the long history of humanity. To learn more, I recommend Bill Gammage’s book The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia.

Truly impressive. KEN COWEN, BILOELA, QLD