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'I cannot say the numbers that were killed': assessing violent mortality on the Queensland frontier
Summary: This paper suggests that there is a way to arrive at a proximate, dependable estimate of the number of Aboriginal frontier casualties at the hands of colonial Queensland’s Native Police Force. By using data that provides accurate information on the number and duration of ‘police’ camps, the frequency of patrols, the surviving records of clashes and dispersals of Aborigines, as well as some reported body counts, it is possible to arrive at a defensible mathematical estimate of the quotient of state sponsored frontier killings across a half century span. Furthermore, this makes it possible to suggest a better estimate of the total Aboriginal death toll.
