Marking half a century since its groundbreaking first edition, Exclusion, Exploitation and Extermination remains a powerful work of truth-telling on colonial race relations.History editor DrGlenn Daviesreviews the 50th anniversary edition.

IN 1975,Raymond Evans,Kay SaundersandKathryn Croninwere youngUniversity of Queenslandacademics who, against all odds, publishedExclusion, Exploitation and Extermination: Race Relations in Colonial Queensland.

Fifty years later, it remains one of the hardest-hitting books on the subject to this day.

The publication of the 50th anniversary edition of the book is an important event as it celebrates a work that has shaped the understanding of Queenslands colonial history and race relations over the past five decades.

First published in 1975 during a cresting wave of anti-racist and anti-imperial activism, Exclusion, Exploitation, and Extermination has demonstrated its longevity and relevance across five decadesas an outstanding landmark text.

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The anniversary edition is the fourth edition of what has become a classic study in our understanding of Australian colonial race relations history, the European racial ideals that drove Australian nationalism and the adoption of theWhite Australia policyat our nations birth in 1901.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Queensland was an uncomfortable place for anyone who dared challenge the status quo. TheBjelke-Petersen governmenthad no interest in revealing Queenslands racist past and present to the world. But change was happening.

In 1975, Evans, Saunders and Cronin published the first edition of their pioneering work. This was the same year when Prime MinisterGough Whitlampoured soil through the hands ofVincent Lingiari, signifying the return ofWave Hill Stationto its traditional owners, theGurindji people. It also marked an important chapter in the historic struggle by Indigenous Australians forland rights.

Exclusion, Exploitation and Extermination was the first investigation to deal with the interlocking problems of racism and colonialism in a thoroughly analytical, descriptive, theoretical and structural manner, and to incorporate all the major ethnic minorities. The blending of social, economic, military, eugenic and sexual motivations and fears propelling racism forward in Queensland, while underlying the emergence of a White Australia, is clearly revealed.

The book is divided into three sections, with Raymond Evans covering 19th-century treatment of Indigenous Australians, Kay Saunders dealing with Melanesian (Kanaka) labour in north Queensland, and Kathryn Cronin covering the treatment of the Chinese and demonstrating the violent attitude that White Australians had towards Asians.

Evans, Saunders and Cronins joint achievement is astounding when we learn of the conditions under which the first edition was written little institutional support, financial hardship and apathy or hostility from most fellow University of Queensland academics.

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The book is a pioneering work that opened up a vast field for other scholars and the public to explore. It opened our eyes to many uncomfortable truths about our colonial past.

Matthew Condondescribed the publication as:

Jackie Hugginsreflected it was:

ForMelissa Lucashenkoit was a:

ProfessorHenry Reynoldscalled the book:

Finally,Julianne Schultzconsidered it:

But there is still widespread refusal in Australia to accept the reality of what Evans, Saunders and Cronin revealed. That makes this work an important and enduring source for the future. It says much about the authors that their study of race relations in colonial Queensland has lost none of its impact.

It remains an extraordinary work. Yet it is more than a historical milestone. It remains today a truth-telling weapon. It does not merely describe racism it explains it.

The 50th Anniversary Edition of Exclusion, Exploitation, Extermination: Race Relations in Colonial Queensland will be launched atAvid Reader, Brisbane, on 27 September 2025 from 2:00 PM.

You can follow history editor DrGlenn Davieson Twitter/X@DrGlennDavies.

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