PhD History, MA Applied History Stephen Gapps is an historian working to bring the Australian Frontier Wars into broader public recognition and commemoration. In 2019 his book The Sydney Wars won the Les Carlyon Award for the writing of military history. In 2021 his book Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance, the Bathurst War 1822-1824 was published by NewSouth Press and shortlisted for several awards. He currently works at Artefact Heritage Service and as a consultant historian. Stephen is President of the History Council of NSW. He won the NSW Premier’s History Award in 2011 for his book Cabrogal to Fairfield – a history of a multicultural community. Stephen is currently co-editor on the book of the documentary series The Australian Wars and working on his next book project on resistance warfare ‘The Rising. War in the Colony of New South Wales between 1838 and 1842’ (forthcoming 2025). Between 1997 and 2004 Stephen tutored in Australian History, Colonialism and Modernity and other subjects at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). He lectured in Public History and coordinated the UTS Public History course between 2003 and 2005. Stephen has since delivered many guest lectures at various universities and co-supervised a number of postgraduate theses. Stephen’s research interests are focused on the Australian Frontier Wars, particularly the Sydney Wars 1788-1816, the First Wiradyuri War of Resistance (the Bathurst War) 1822-1824 and warfare across the colony of NSW between 1838 and 1842. He is interested in reassessing the nature of Aboriginal resistance warfare and how effective it was. Stephen is researching colonist responses to warfare, in particular the proliferation of fortifications and domestic defensive architecture. Stephen is also interested in the commemoration, and lack of commemoration, of the Australian Frontier Wars. In particular, the reluctance to recognise the Australian Wars as part of Australia’s military history. Stephen is currently working on the communication between different First Nations reaching from present day Victoria to Queensland and how this may have coordinated what contemporaries described as an ‘uprising along the entire frontier’. He is interested in how this coordination may relate to a defence of river Country right across inland NSW.
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Dr Stephen Gapps
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