Abstract:
In two recent books, Keith Windschuttle has reinvigorated debate on two central questions in Australian history: the extent of frontier violence in the colonisation of Australia and the origins of the White Australia Policy. This assessment of Windschuttle's scholarship will focus on how he arrives at his conclusions: his methodology, his use of evidence and the coherence of his arguments. It will draw on the literature of economic history to show how its methods and perspectives can inform these debates in Australian history. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and the Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand 2005.