Milliss has carefully crafted a major historical novel, based largely on fact, in which the characters, fully clothed in their period dress, tell readers about what it was like to live in those times. Resurrecting each person carefully, so that we learn what they were doing before they came to Australia, when and how they arrived, what they did when they got here, and when, where and how they eventually died, Milliss provides a full picture of dozens of important players who settled NSW.

The word "settled" was frequently used in parlance of the 1830s and '40s to mean the slaying or massacre of Aborigines, and numerous horrifying incidents in which Aborigines were "settled" during collisions with whites are covered in the book, including the wholesale slaughter of men, women and children from which the title was drawn.

The running commentary provided by the communications between the British Secretary of State for Colonies, Baron Glenelg, and the English colonial representatives, particularly George Gipps, ably demonstrates the mental convolutions they used to try to reconcile the central conflict in colonialism, ie. the right of indigenous people to the peaceful occupation of their own land versus "peaceful" colonial occupation of that same land.

There's something about the way Waterloo Creek is written that suggests to me that the author started out, perhaps naively, to write a historical piece and, in the process, learnt things about this country's blood-thirsty past that shocked and enraged him deeply.

His dedication in part to Ronald "Cheeky" McIntosh, 19, who was killed by sniper-fire in Moree in 1982, and his choice of a quote in which the Under-Secretary for Colonies, James Stephens, despairs of the circular effects of white lawlessness and black retaliation as a preface to the book support this notion. Stephens ends his analysis of the position of Aboriginal people thus: "The only chance of saving them from annihilation would consist in teaching them the art of War and supplying them with weapons and munitions -an act of suicidal generosity which of course can never be practised."

Readers who are fond of emphasising that they are descended from three or more generations of white Australians may do well to read of their ancestral past, to seek out their roots in the context of this book. Employees of The Sydney Morning Herald, which was in the 1830s The Herald, may also like to read of the part played by its colonial predecessor.

Not all whites in the early colony at the time of the Jubilee participated in or defended the murders of blacks, and indeed many made themselves extremely unpopular through their efforts to stop the slaughter. Despite the unfavourable climate for such an action, seven whites were hanged for their part, not in the Waterloo Creek massacre, but in another which occurred shortly after. This could only have happened with some support in the community.

Another interesting aspect of the book is the historical perspective it brings to current demands of the Aboriginal Embassy, such as recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty, the right to compensation and the need to negotiate a treaty. Arguments used to deny Aboriginal rights 150 years ago still appear in newspapers and on government leaders' lips today.

The difference, it seems to me, is that most whites recognised that they were driven by self-interest all those years ago, while today's politicians try to convince Aborigines that not having their rights recognised is in the best interests of Aborigines.

Not all the meat of the book is in the text. It contains more than 100 pages of references, many of which provide additional information to the body of the work, 76 illustrations, numerous maps and diagrams, and is well serviced by an extensive index.

One of my main complaints is that some of the end notes contradict the text, such as where the text cites a piece on Aboriginal cannibalism but the end note cautions readers against believing it. Also, Milliss demonstrates an extensive knowledge of Aboriginal demography of the area during the period, but I have reservations about his speculation on the source of some Aboriginal customs and traditions, for example, totemism.

But these are minor faults in an otherwise awesome and courageous work. To do justice to a book of such scope in a review of this size is beyond the ability of this reviewer. Despite the cost, buy Waterloo Creek and read it -it's a mighty read and well worth every cent.