Threlkeld has featured in the Australian history wars for his reports concerning Aboriginal massacres, such as the Waterloo Creek massacre. Keith Windschuttle argues that Threlkeld inflated numbers of the dead to gain support for his mission proposals.
Threlkeld has been involved in the Australian history debates over his accounts of Aboriginal massacres, such as the Waterloo Creek massacre. Keith Windschuttle contends that Threlkeld exaggerated the number of fatalities to bolster his mission proposals.