\u201cIt chronicles the hundreds of instances across Australia, where thousands of invaders from all nations, predominantly white people, were rescued from imminent death by Aboriginal people, and in the most extraordinary of circumstances,\u201d Dr Cahir said.<\/p>\n \u201cMany weren\u2019t just cases of seeing someone drowning and diving in, with an innate human response. What I found really amazing was that people were willing to dive into the water many times over, for example, to help invaders of their country.<\/p>\n \u201cIt took an extraordinary amount of compassion and bravery for them to not just have an immediate response, but to… put themselves into personal danger for the sake of a person who has occupied their country and oppressed their people.\u201d<\/p>\n The book\u2019s stories go back to before British colonisation began in 1788 to Dutch arrivals and run through to 1967, with some based in the Central and Western districts of Victoria.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a number of cases whereby Aboriginal people were effectively seen as the crack firefighting brigade of the 19th century, where squatters used them for their skills in knowing how to put out fires, and when to retreat when the fire was too intense,\u201d Dr Cahir said.<\/p>\n The aim of the book is to help readers to understand that Aboriginal people have been fundamental in building Australian ethos of volunteerism, selflessness, and mateship.<\/p>\n \u201cThese were relationships that were built between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the face of adversity. They answered the call,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are win-win stories, and we can be proud of our shared history with Aboriginal people.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AS a young man, Dr Fred Cahir found himself stranded along the Nullarbor Plain, running out of food and water. He lived to tell the tale, but said he decided to find out as much as he could about how to survive in the bush. \u201cWhen I explored the archives and our pioneering peoples\u2019 journals […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2022\/12\/Fred-Cahir-book-204x300.jpg\")