Lyla Lindsey
Australia's history is a long and complex one, with the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians arriving between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. These Aboriginal Australians settled throughout continental Australia and nearby islands, establishing artistic, musical, and spiritual traditions that are among the longest surviving in human history. The first European to set foot on Australian shores was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, followed by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. Before colonisation, Aboriginal people had established positive relations with people from overseas, including strong trade relations with the Makassan people from the island of Sulawesi (modern-day Indonesia). The British settlement of Australia, which began on January 26, 1788, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, marked a period of violence, genocide, and the attempted eradication of Indigenous people as white colonisation spread across the continent.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of British colonisation | 26 January 1788 |
| First European to land on Australian shores | Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon |
| Year of first European arrival | 1606 |
| Aboriginal presence in Australia | Since time immemorial, between 80,000-120,000 years |
| Aboriginal population in Victoria before colonisation | Around 38 Mobs |
| Aboriginal population in modern Victoria before colonisation | Around 50,000 |
| Aboriginal population in the area of modern Victoria after colonisation | Estimated 60% mortality rate from smallpox on first exposure |
| Arrival of ancestors of Aboriginal Australians | Between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago |
| Arrival of ancestors of Torres Strait Islanders | Around 2,500 years ago |
| Number of British ships during colonisation | 11 ships |
| Number of convicts on the ships | More than 700 |
| Number of European settlers and police who died in conflict with Aboriginal inhabitants | Estimated 2,500 |
| Number of Aboriginal inhabitants killed in conflict | About 20,000 |
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What You'll Learn
Aboriginal Australians' history
The human history of Australia begins with the arrival of the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. Aboriginal Australians settled throughout continental Australia and many nearby islands. The artistic, musical, and spiritual traditions they established are among the longest surviving in human history. The ancestors of today's ethnically and culturally distinct Torres Strait Islanders arrived from what is now Papua New Guinea around 2,500 years ago and settled the islands at the northern tip of the Australian landmass.
Before British colonisation, Aboriginal people had established positive relations with people from overseas. For example, the Top End Mob had strong trade relations with the Makassan people from the island of Sulawesi (in modern-day Indonesia). Between 1700 and around 1907, fishermen sailed each year from Makassar to the Arnhem Land coast to trade sea cucumbers with Aboriginal people. The Makasar influenced some of the culture and language of the Aboriginal people, but they never settled on the land.
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guided a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. This marked the beginning of British colonisation in Australia, which led to the gradual dispossession of the continent's Indigenous people as white colonisation spread. The voyage lasted eight months and claimed the lives of about 30 men. The first years of settlement were challenging, with poor soil, an unfamiliar climate, and workers ignorant of farming. The colony faced the threat of starvation for several years, and egalitarianism prevailed, with Captain Phillip declaring that there would be "no slavery and hence no slaves" in the new country.
The expansion of European settlement resulted in a protracted and undeclared war against Australia's Indigenous inhabitants. Fighting was localised and sporadic, following the frontiers of European settlement across the continent and continuing in remote areas of central and Western Australia until the 1930s. It is estimated that about 20,000 Aboriginal inhabitants were killed in the wars of the frontier, while many thousands more perished from diseases and other unintended consequences of settlement. The conflict ended in the dispossession of Aboriginal Australians, who were unable to halt the tide of European settlement despite their resistance.
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European arrival
The human history of Australia begins with the arrival of the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. The ancestors of today's ethnically and culturally distinct Torres Strait Islanders arrived from what is now Papua New Guinea around 2,500 years ago.
The first European to land on Australian shores was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606, followed by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós later the same year. Before the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal people had established positive relations with people from overseas. For instance, the Top End Mob had strong trade relations with the Makassan people from the island of Sulawesi (in modern-day Indonesia).
In March 1772, Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, in command of two French ships, reached Van Diemen's Land en route to Tahiti and the South Seas. His party became the first recorded Europeans to encounter the Indigenous Tasmanians and to kill one of them. In the same year, a French expedition led by Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn became the first Europeans to formally claim sovereignty over the west coast of Australia, but no attempt was made to colonize the region.
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guided a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. The voyage lasted eight months and claimed the lives of about 30 men. The first years of settlement were challenging, with the colony facing poor soil, an unfamiliar climate, and a lack of farming knowledge among the workers. The colony nearly starved for several years, and egalitarianism prevailed despite frequent floggings and hangings.
The British settlement of Australia began as a penal colony governed by a captain of the Royal Navy. Initially, British regular troops garrisoned the colonies with little local assistance, with marines guarding English settlements at Sydney Cove and Norfolk Island until 1790. The primary role of the troops was to maintain civil order, prevent convict uprisings, and suppress any resistance from the Aboriginal population to British settlement. This suppression resulted in a protracted and undeclared war against Australia's Indigenous inhabitants, with sporadic fighting localized along the frontiers of European settlement.
The conflict resulted in the deaths of approximately 2,500 European settlers and police, while the Aboriginal inhabitants suffered a much higher toll, with about 20,000 killed in the wars and thousands more perishing from diseases and other unintended consequences of settlement. The Aboriginal Australians were unable to halt the tide of European settlement, and their resistance ultimately ended in their dispossession.
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Colonisation and conflict
The human history of Australia begins with the arrival of the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. The ancestors of the ethnically and culturally distinct Torres Strait Islanders arrived around 2,500 years ago. Before British colonisation, Aboriginal people had established positive relations with people from overseas. For instance, the Top End Mob had strong trade relations with the Makassan people from the island of Sulawesi (in modern-day Indonesia). Between 1700 and 1907, fishermen sailed annually from Makassar to the Arnhem Land coast to trade sea cucumbers with Aboriginal people.
The British settlement of Australia began on January 26, 1788, when Captain Arthur Phillip guided a fleet of 11 ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. The voyage lasted eight months and claimed the lives of about 30 men. The first years of settlement were challenging, with the colony facing poor soil, an unfamiliar climate, and a lack of farming knowledge among the workers. The colony nearly faced outright starvation for several years, and egalitarianism, floggings, and hangings were commonplace.
The arrival of British colonists marked the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people from their land as white colonisation spread across the continent. This process was not peaceful, as years of violence, genocide, and attempted eradication of Indigenous people followed. The expansion of European settlement was accompanied by a protracted and undeclared war against Australia's Indigenous inhabitants. Fighting was localised and sporadic, following the frontiers of European settlement across the continent and continuing in remote areas of central and Western Australia until the 1930s. It is estimated that about 20,000 Aboriginal people were killed in the wars of the frontier, while many thousands more perished from diseases and other unintended consequences of settlement.
British soldiers played a role in suppressing the resistance of Aboriginal populations to British settlement. While their primary role was to guard against external attacks and maintain civil order, they were also involved in conflicts with Indigenous Australians, notably during the period of martial law in Tasmania from 1828 to 1832, and in New South Wales in the mid-1820s and late 1830s. Additionally, British troops based in Australia participated in the Anglo-Maori wars of the 1840s and 1860s, resulting from the expansion of European settlers onto Maori land.
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Disease and death
Before the colonisation of Australia, the Indigenous population is estimated to have been between 300,000 and 750,000 people. However, the exact number of Indigenous deaths resulting from colonisation is unknown. It is estimated that between 1,500 and 3,000 Indigenous deaths resulted from frontier conflicts alone.
The introduction of new diseases by European colonists had a devastating impact on Indigenous communities. The Europeans brought with them a range of diseases, including smallpox, influenza, measles, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, bronchitis, scarlet fever, chickenpox, and whooping cough. The Indigenous population had no resistance to these diseases, and they spread rapidly, causing widespread death. Smallpox, in particular, had a very high mortality rate, killing anywhere from 30% to 75% of those infected. It is estimated that smallpox killed half of the Aboriginal people in the Sydney area within just over a year of British arrival. In the Port Phillip (Melbourne) area, diseases caused up to 60% of Aboriginal deaths.
The outbreak of smallpox in 1789 is believed to have originated from the 'variolas matter' brought by Surgeon John White on the First Fleet. The outbreak did not affect the British colonists, most of whom had been exposed to the disease during their infancy and had built up a resistance. However, the Indigenous people had no such resistance, and the disease spread quickly as they tried to flee from the colonists. The spread of smallpox was followed by other diseases such as influenza and measles, further decimating the Indigenous population.
In addition to the loss of life due to disease, the Indigenous people also suffered mass killings, displacement, and the loss of their cultural practices due to European colonisation. They were evicted from their traditional territories and relocated to reserves and missions. Their children were taken away from them, causing what is known as the "stolen generations". The introduction of these diseases and the resulting deaths had a significant impact on the ability of Indigenous people to resist the infringement of their rights to own land, affecting their communities and cultures.
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Resistance and dispossession
The human history of Australia begins with the arrival of the Aboriginal Australians, whose ancestors came from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. They settled throughout continental Australia and many nearby islands, establishing artistic, musical, and spiritual traditions that are among the longest-surviving in human history. The British colonisation of Australia, which began on 26 January 1788, marked the start of a period of frontier violence and dispossession for these Indigenous communities.
The British settlement, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, was originally intended as a penal colony. However, as the colony expanded, it disrupted traditional Indigenous food-gathering activities and led to competition over resources and occupation of Indigenous lands. This resulted in sustained frontier warfare, known as the "Black War", in the 1820s. During this conflict, over 50 British settlers were killed, and Aboriginal resistance forced farmers to fortify their houses. In response, Lieutenant-Governor Arthur launched a massive offensive in 1830, mobilising ten per cent of the colony's male civilian population, along with police and soldiers, to clear Indigenous Australians from their land.
The expansion of European settlement was accompanied by a protracted and undeclared war against Australia's Indigenous inhabitants. This conflict was localised and sporadic, following the frontiers of European settlement across the continent. While British soldiers were rarely involved, the fighting was primarily conducted by settlers, assisted by armed police and civilians. It is estimated that about 2,500 European settlers and police died in the conflict, while the cost for Aboriginal Australians was far higher, with approximately 20,000 killed in the wars and many thousands more perishing from disease and other consequences of settlement.
The effects of disease, particularly smallpox, measles, influenza, and tuberculosis, were devastating for Indigenous populations, with high mortality rates and a loss of tribal cohesion. The introduction of new diseases, along with the loss of hunting grounds and starvation, significantly limited their ability to resist invasion and dispossession. By the 1930s, the conflict had largely ended in the dispossession of Indigenous peoples, with one of the last violent interactions on the "frontier" occurring during the Caledon Bay crisis of 1932-34.
Despite the challenges, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have demonstrated remarkable resilience in advocating for their rights and representation within the Australian nation-state. Early examples of resistance include mass protests against inhumane treatment and living conditions on Aboriginal reservations, such as the Cummeragunja walk-off. In 1938, the Australian Aborigines' League and the Aboriginal Progressive Association declared a Day of Mourning, drawing attention to the violence, dispossession, and inhumane conditions faced by Aboriginal communities. This was considered the start of the Indigenous political movement in Australia, leading to changes in the Constitution, such as the 1967 referendum.
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Frequently asked questions
Before colonisation, Australia was known as New Holland.
The first inhabitants of Australia were the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians, who arrived from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago. The ancestors of the Torres Strait Islanders arrived around 2,500 years ago from Papua New Guinea.
Aboriginal Australians had established positive trade relations with people from overseas, such as the Makassan people from the island of Sulawesi (modern-day Indonesia). They traded sea cucumbers and influenced each other's culture and language. The artistic, musical, and spiritual traditions of Aboriginal Australians are among the longest surviving in human history.
