In her novel The Secret River, Kate Grenville tells the story of a family that moves from England to the new penal colony of New South Wales after the husband is convicted of stealing. At the end of the book, when the family has staked its piece of land and made a small fortune from trade, they build a colonial mansion as a testament to their wealth. Grenville, unlike her fictional family, understands that the land that has brought it such riches was also acquired through an act of stealing. We learn that the foundations upon which the house is built cover the carved stone image of a large fish that was created during ceremonies performed by Aboriginal clans, who had lived in the area for thousands of years but have been pushed away, massacred or have died of illness.

Grenville’s symbolism is a striking reminder of the history that lies beneath our modern Australian state and of the ways in which that history has sometimes been deliberately suppressed to give the impression of more noble beginnings.