Reassuring "White Australia": A Review of the Fabrication of Aboriginal History: Volume One, Van Diemen's Land 1803-1847 (Book Review‪)‬

In 1996, the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, used the annual Sir Robert Menzies Lecture to make the following observations about Australian history: The Prime Minister's remarks echoed those of conservative historian Geoffrey Blainey, who in 1993 linked the "Black Armband View of History" with those who celebrated multiculturalism. (2) Both Prime Minister Howard and Professor Blainey have articulated for many Australians a sense of anxiety about their place in a multicultural society. Critical of liberal immigration policies, multicultural education, and the politics of Aboriginal land rights, those on the right of Australian politics have taken issue with historians who focus on issues like racism and sexism, issues they consider to be "politically correct." For Prime Minister Howard, the "facts" of Australian history have been lost amid this overemphasis on "issues." (3) This self-serving position is shared by Keith Windschuttle in his new book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History. (4)