The Colonial Frontier Massacres digital map project has released its final findings, documenting the violent encounters between colonizers and First Nations peoples in Australia between 1788 and 1930. The project identifies 438 massacre sites across the continent, with a recorded total of 10,374 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths resulting from these events.

This figure is considered conservative, suggesting that the actual toll may be much higher.

Officially concluding in 2022, the project undertook extensive research over several years, reviewing each site on the map using historical archives and input from the public.

This effort serves as a significant milestone in addressing what has been termed 'the great Australian silence,' referring to the reluctance within Australian society to confront the genocidal aspects of its colonial history.

The project defines a 'massacre' as an event in which six or more relatively undefended individuals are deliberately killed in a single operation.

This definition reflects the severe impact that such events had on Indigenous communities.

Furthermore, the research also acknowledges instances of resistance by First Nations peoples, recording 13 massacres of non-Indigenous colonists, which resulted in the deaths of 160 individuals.

Retaliatory violence following these events often led to large-scale reprisals by colonizers.

Dr. Bill Pascoe, a researcher involved in the project, emphasized the importance of the findings, stating that they provide undeniable evidence of the sufferings endured by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders throughout colonization.

The project aims to foster a deeper understanding of these historical events, moving beyond acknowledgment to a comprehensive exploration of their impacts on Indigenous communities.

The work encapsulates a critical re-examination of a painful chapter in Australian history, challenging previous narratives that downplayed frontier violence.