There’s some diaries from early settlers which have been made into books which are ok but limited in scope as they follow one man’s journey. John Batman’s journey is well documented, Charles Sturt was interesting but I haven’t read books on him, just bits and pieces.

Can’t link my review because Nostr.band has been down for like 2 weeks now but Durkheim’s book is an exploration of Aboriginal religion (and thus culture) essentially from a praxeological view.

Aborigines had the most primitive religion/culture on earth at the time so it will give you a good idea of where they were at when the Brits began colonisation. I personally found this book most revealing as you understand just how underpowered the Aborigines were. It’s said the Māoris in NZ knew of them and thought of them as backwards cavemen even - they were warrior cannibals with seafaring capability and they left the Aborigines be, and when you read Durkheim you can understand why.