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Killing for Country

A Family Story

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Killing for Country

By: David Marr
Narrated by: David Marr
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About this listen

David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal Native Police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for Country is the result – a soul-searching Australian history.

This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world – of land seized, fortunes made and lost, and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies fought for possession of the country – a war still unresolved in today's Australia.

2024, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Non-Fiction Book Award, Short-listed

2023, The Readings Prize Non-Fiction, Winner

2024, Indie Book Awards Non Fiction, Winner

2024, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) Small Publishers' Adult, Short-listed

2024, Indie Book Awards Book of the Year, Winner

2024, Danger Awards Non-Fiction, Short-listed

2024, Ned Kelly Award Best True Crime, Short-listed

2024, Nib Literary Award (aka 'The Nib': CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature) Long-listed

2024, Prime Minister's Literary Awards Australian History, Short-listed

2024, Australian Political Book of the Year Award, Short-listed

2024, BookPeople (formerly ABA) Book of the Year Award Adult Non-Fiction, Short-listed

©2023 David Marr (P)2024 Bolinda Publishing Australia, New Zealand & Oceania War

Critic Reviews

'Killing For Country is a timely exercise in truth-telling amid a disturbing resurgence of denialism.' (The Age)
'Killing for Country ... stands out for its unflinching eye, its dogged research, and the quality and power of its writing.' (The Australian Book Review)
'Killing for Country … shines a light into the dark shameful corners of our collective national experience. What we will find when we look and listen won't be pretty, but it is necessary to confront – not to be captives of history, but to learn from it and transcend it.' (The Conversation)
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Most relevant
It buzzes along , while I got angrier and angrier the truth must be front and centre for school in this country and all colonial countries, the f up English Terra Nullis WTAF

The blood thirsty crumbmaiden police and trackers

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Marr has written a gut wrenching open eyed account of the murder of Aboriginal people that we must confront. Without doing so it will remain a bloody stain on the soul of our nation.

A history every Australian must know

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As hard as it is to hear, this is a book that all Australians should listen to. Powerfully told by the author.

Gripping and painful

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The purity and its effect of “truth” is determined by the number of who know and accept it.

The colonialists truth

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As a fifth-generation white Queenslander I found this story heavy and compelling. and preciseI had to keep putting it down to absorb the human tragedy of the cruel institutions that created my home. The dark secrets are exposed and explained in David Marr’s deeply researched, clear narrative.

Terrible and truly told

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.