NAIDOC 2026: Rachel Perkins on 'The Australian Wars'

The filmmaker on her series which documents a period some historians call the most important war Australia has ever fought in.

Rachel Perkins is one of this country's great storytellers, translating distinctively Australian stories for the screen, including a television series first released in 2022 called The Australian Wars.

It tracks the bloody conflicts that broke out across the continent after the arrival of the British colonists.

Rachel says these are the most important wars in our history: they were fought on Australian soil, between Australians, to determine the ownership and control of the entire country.

The stories from this era are stories of violence, of peace, of epic adventures, which make up the foundational narrative of this nation.

This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2022 

Further Information

The Australian Wars is available to watch on SBS on Demand.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney.

It explores Aboriginal history, British colonial history, frontier wars, the Native Police, death, conflict, grief, Australian history, guns, violence, land ownership, control, documentary