Damon Mcknight
The first British colonists to arrive in Australia were a mix of convicts and free settlers. The convicts, who were sent to penal colonies, were used as labour by free settlers and were subject to harsh working and living conditions. Free settlers were often seafaring men who chose to start a new life in the colony and were given free land and farming tools by the British government. The early years of colonial Australia were challenging, with settlers facing difficulties in finding suitable land for farming and a lack of understanding of the environment, which led to the destruction of traditional lands and ecosystems. The arrival of the colonists also resulted in conflict with the Aboriginal population, who had little resistance to introduced diseases and faced violence and dispossession of their land.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of colonists in the First Fleet | 1,300 |
| Year of colonisation | 1788 |
| Colonists as convicts | Yes |
| Colonists as free settlers | Yes |
| Colonists as explorers | Yes |
| Colonists as soldiers | Yes |
| Colonists as Christian missionaries | Yes |
| Colonists as gold miners | Yes |
| Colonists as farmers | Yes |
| Colonists as writers | Yes |
| Colonists as artists | Yes |
| Colonists as land grabbers | Yes |
| Colonists as spreaders of diseases | Yes |
| Colonists as perpetrators of massacres | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
Convicts and penal colonies
The first colonies in Australia were established as convict settlements or penal colonies. Most of the early colonists of Australia were convicts, sent to the continent to work as a form of punishment. The nature of the work depended on the crimes committed, with the most severe criminals sent to prisons or penal stations. The rest worked as servants for free settlers, performing whatever tasks their masters required of them. Male convicts were often assigned hard physical labour, such as cutting down trees and constructing buildings, while female convicts typically performed domestic work, such as cooking and cleaning. The work at the penal stations was gruelling, and living conditions were poor. Convicts who disobeyed or tried to escape were whipped, chained, or even executed.
The transportation of convicts to Australia began in 1788 with the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove, carrying about 1,300 colonists. The settlement remained centred on the Sydney area for the first few years. More convict settlements were founded in Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) beginning in 1803, and in 1824, another convict settlement was established in what is now Brisbane. The Swan River Colony, founded in 1829 as a free settlement, later became a convict colony.
The transportation of convicts to Australia ended in 1868, with the phasing out of convict transportation to New South Wales concluding in 1840. The end of convict transportation contributed to a decline in troop strength, as the need for military forces to supervise convicts diminished. This period also saw the emergence of colonial police forces.
The establishment of convict settlements in Australia had a significant impact on the Indigenous population. The arrival of convicts and other colonists led to conflict over resources and occupation of Aboriginal lands. The spread of sheep and cattle grazing by colonists resulted in further conflict with Aboriginal tribes. Additionally, the introduction of foreign diseases by convicts and other colonists had devastating effects on the Indigenous population, who had little to no resistance.
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Free settlers and land ownership
The early colonists of Australia were mostly convicts, with the First Fleet in 1788 carrying over 700 convicts to start a new penal settlement in Sydney. However, this fleet also brought hundreds of free people to the colony, including soldiers and their families. The first people to be considered free settlers—those who chose to migrate to the colony—arrived aboard the Bellona in 1793. These early free settlers were typically quite prosperous, as they paid their own way to Australia.
The British colonial government began to encourage free settlement among the less wealthy in the early 1800s by paying the transportation costs for many migrants and providing them with free land on the condition that it be used for a productive purpose. This offer appealed to those suffering from unemployment and poverty in Britain due to the Industrial Revolution. The government also provided settlers with free agricultural tools and convict labour to help them establish farms.
The first land grants in Australia were given to former convicts as a way to control an unfenced prison colony. However, as free settlers arrived, priorities changed, and land ownership became a symbol of prestige, with smaller landholders being pushed out of the market. Free settlers were given priority over convicts when it came to land grants, and the size of the grant was often indicative of status, with free settlers receiving at least 100 acres of land compared to 30 acres for former convicts.
The spread of European settlements into Aboriginal territory led to violent clashes and the deaths of thousands of Aboriginal people from introduced diseases, conflict, and poisoning of water holes. The dispossession of Aboriginal land and the assumption of European cultural superiority were central to the colonial takeover of Australia.
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Conflict with Aboriginal people
The Australian frontier wars refer to the violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians and mostly British settlers during the colonial period. The first conflict took place several months after the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove in January 1788, carrying about 1,300 colonists. The Aboriginal population of the Sydney region at the time is estimated to have been about 3,000 people.
The British colonisation of Australia led to conflict with Aboriginal people, particularly as settlements expanded and disrupted traditional Indigenous food-gathering activities. Competition over resources and the occupation of Indigenous lands also led to hostility. The spread of sheep and cattle grazing after 1850 brought further conflict with Aboriginal tribes more distant from the settled areas.
The nature of the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the colonists was not uniform across the continent. Conflict emerged as a series of violent engagements and massacres, with reprisal attacks and collective punishments perpetrated by both sides. Aboriginal attacks on settlers, the burning of crops, and the mass killing of livestock were acts of resistance to the loss of traditional land and food resources. In response, settlers were authorised to shoot unarmed Aboriginal people, and soldiers, mounted police, settlers, and stockmen frequently attacked Aboriginal people.
The use of firearms gave the colonists a distinct advantage, and the introduction of horses allowed them to surround and engage groups of Indigenous Australians more effectively. Strategies included night-time surprise attacks and positioning forces to drive Aboriginal people off cliffs or into rivers.
The death toll resulting from the frontier wars is hard to know with certainty. It is estimated that around 2,000–5,000 colonists were killed, while the death toll for Aboriginal people is unknown as it is so high. In Queensland alone, it is estimated that 60,000 Aboriginal people died, and it is thought that around 90% of the Aboriginal population prior to the invasion was killed during the wars, with violence and foreign illnesses such as influenza, measles, tuberculosis, and smallpox taking their toll.
The Caledon Bay crisis of 1932–1934 saw one of the last violent interactions on the "frontier", and the Frontier Wars officially ended in 1934. However, many acts of violence and oppression against Indigenous Australians have continued into the present day.
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The spread of disease
One of the most devastating outbreaks was the smallpox epidemic of 1789, which some sources claim killed about half of the Aboriginal population of the Sydney region. While the source of the outbreak is controversial, it is believed that the disease was inadvertently or deliberately spread by the colonists. Smallpox was a deadly and highly contagious disease, and the Aboriginal communities had no immunity to it. The disease caused a high fever and a distinctive rash, and often led to blindness and death. The impact of the disease was made worse by the lack of effective treatments or cures at the time. While the British colonists had developed some resistance to smallpox through earlier exposure, the Aboriginal population had no such protection. This led to a stark imbalance in the death toll, with the disease devastating Aboriginal communities while sparing the British.
In addition to smallpox, other diseases such as influenza, measles, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections also took a heavy toll on the Aboriginal population. These diseases were often introduced by sailors and convicts who had sexual relations with Aboriginal women, and then spread rapidly through the communities. The lack of resistance to these diseases, along with random killings, punitive expeditions, and organised massacres, contributed to the drastic decline in the Aboriginal population during the colonial period.
The colonisation of Australia was based on the premise of 'terra nullius', which meant that Aboriginal land was taken over by British colonists on the belief that the land belonged to no one. This assumption of superiority and the right to define the world on their terms led to a disregard for the health and well-being of the indigenous population, exacerbating the impact of disease and contributing to the dispossession and marginalisation of Aboriginal people.
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Military forces and rebellions
The first governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip, was tasked with establishing military forces, among other duties, when he arrived in Australia in 1788. The first military unit raised in the colony of New South Wales was formed in June 1801, in response to a possible uprising by Irish convicts. These "loyal associations" were made up of about 50 free male settlers each.
In 1803, Governor King raised the Governor's Body Guard, a mounted unit, drawing its personnel from emancipists and former convicts who had exhibited good behaviour during their sentences. The following year, in March 1804, the Governor's Body Guard joined British regulars in suppressing the Castle Hill convict rebellion, also known as the "'Irish Rebellion' or the second 'Battle of Vinegar Hill'. This was the first full-time military unit raised in Australia.
From 1788 until 1870, British regular forces supported the colonies. During this time, 24 British infantry regiments served in the Australian colonies. However, as colonial police forces were formed and British troops were needed elsewhere, the need for British military forces in Australia diminished. The last British regiment left in 1870, after which the colonies assumed responsibility for their own defence.
Colonial military forces were involved in several conflicts in the 19th century, including the New Zealand Wars and the Boer War. They also played a role in suppressing rebellions and uprisings, such as the Eureka Rebellion in 1854, which involved gold miners at Ballarat in Victoria. The colonial forces were amalgamated into the Commonwealth on 1 March 1901, following federation.
It is important to note that the colonisation of Australia had a profound impact on the Indigenous population, resulting in displacement, disease, and violence. Conflict between settlers and Indigenous groups, such as the Darug and Noongar people, was common and often centred around land ownership and access to natural resources. The treatment of Indigenous Australians by the colonists, including the use of military and police forces, has been described as genocide.
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Frequently asked questions
The First Fleet that arrived in Australia in 1788 consisted of around 1,300 colonists, including convicts and free settlers.
The colonies in Australia were initially established as convict settlements or penal colonies. Later, free settlers also established colonies.
Colonisation in Australia had devastating impacts on the Indigenous population. The introduction of diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles, to which they had no resistance, led to a drastic decline in their population. Additionally, there were conflicts over land, with colonists taking over Aboriginal land and disregarding their spiritual and inheritance associations.
Convicts in the Australian colonies were forced to work as a form of punishment, with the nature of the work depending on their crimes. Severe criminals were sent to prisons or penal stations, while others worked as servants for free settlers, performing tasks such as cutting down trees, constructing buildings, cooking, and cleaning.
