One Blood: Two hundred years of Aboriginal encounter with Christianity

Out of a burning conviction that 'God made of one blood all nations', Christians have carried their message to Aboriginal people throughout Australia. It is this encounter and its results that John Harris explores in these many stories that tell one story: how, in the face of abuse, paternalism, prejudice, isolation and crippling hardship, the Christian gospel was brought to Aboriginal people. Although sometimes blind to their own faults, those who brought this message were remarkable people of great compassion and courage.

For two centuries, this activity was a major force in the lives of the Indigenous people of Australia. Christian missions were sometimes places of regimentation marked by a loss of freedom; often, too, they were places of survival and refuge for a suffering people. The missions may seem to have failed, yet from many of them are emerging distinctive Aboriginal churches with strong Indigenous leadership.

One Blood is the definitive review of 200 years of history. As a reference work, the over 2,600 footnotes and extensive bibliography provide a treasure trove of primary sources. As a story of interaction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, One Blood is a book which will leave a lasting impact on your life.

One Blood has been extensively reviewed, analysed and discussed in both the the religious and secular press. These are some excerpts from published reviews:

Every Australian Christian should read One Blood. (Tim Costello, former CEO, World Vision Australia)

This is a monumental work of research and scholarship, of deep insight and discernment…opening up with great clarity the vista of tragedy and despair for the Aboriginal people… (Christian Book Newsletter)

This is a book of immense power…a major event in the history of Australian self-understanding. Do not underestimate it. (Adelaide Advertiser)

John Harris has written an astonishingly powerful and comprehensive book… It is a passionate work, but one that is also beautifully controlled and balanced. It makes enthralling reading… (Lutheran Theological Journal)

One Blood is a powerful, disturbing and inspiring book…It has certainly helped my own self-understanding…(The Canberra Times)

One Blood is an immense book, immense in its physical size ( almost 1000 pages) and immense in its scope and breadth of treatment of the encounter between Aboriginal people and those who came to them as Christian missionaries, an encounter spanning 200 years and a whole continent. No one knows more about this subject than John Harris and no one else will ever deal with it again with his unique mix of scholarship and passion… (Church Scene)

Ther are some books which helped me to understand my country: books like Facey’s A Fortunate Life and Morgan’s My Place. I now add Harris’ One Blood. Don’t miss it. (Southern Cross Magazine)

This is an important book…for what it does for the church, for the craft of history…and for the understanding of the Australian people…It is a compelling story of great sadness as well as of great triumph, and essential book for…the future development of Australian Society or Christianity in this country...(On Being Magazine)

One Blood gives an excellent overall view of Christianity’s missionary efforts, both Protestant and Catholic. It is written with admirable objectivity, allocating praise and blame where due… (The Catholic Leader)