"Aboriginal history" redirects here. For the academic journal, see Aboriginal History.
This article is part of a series on the
History of Australia
An engraving from the late 19th century depicting Gweagal men confronting a British landing party in 1770
Timeline and periods
Prehistory
European exploration (sea)
European exploration (land)
1788–1850
1851–1900
1901–1945
1945–present
Topics
Abortion
Agriculture
Antisemitism
Banking
Capital punishment
Civil rights
Cinema
Constitution
Diplomacy
Economics
Federation
Immigration
Labour
LGBT
Military
Monarchy
Sports
Telecommunications
Rail transport
Religion
Unfree labour
By group
African Australian
Asian Australian
Chinese Australian
Indigenous people
Jewish Australian
Women
LGBT
Marriage
Transgender
By region
State/Territory
Capital
ACT
Canberra
New South Wales
Sydney
Northern Territory
Darwin
Queensland
Brisbane
South Australia
Adelaide
Tasmania
Hobart
Victoria
Melbourne
Western Australia
Perth
See also
List of years in Australia
Australia portal
v
t
e
The history of Indigenous Australians began at least 65,000 years ago when humans first populated the Australian continental landmasses.[1] This article covers the history of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, two broadly defined groups which each include other sub-groups defined by language and culture.
The origin of the first humans to populate the southern continent and the pieces of land which became islands as ice receded and sea levels rose remains a matter of conjecture and debate. Some anthropologists believe they could have arrived as a result of the earliest human migrations out of Africa. Although they likely migrated to the territory later named Australia through Southeast Asia, Aboriginal Australians are not demonstrably related to any known Asian or Melanesian population, although Torres Strait Islander people do have a genetic link to some Melanesian populations. There is evidence of genetic and linguistic interchange between Australians in the far north and the Austronesian peoples of modern-day New Guinea and the islands, but this may be the result of recent trade and intermarriage.[2]
Estimates of the number of people living in Australia at the time that colonisation began in 1788, who belonged to a range of diverse groups, vary from 300,000 to a million,[3] and upper estimates place the total population as high as 1.25 million.[4] A cumulative population of 1.6 billion people has been estimated to have lived in Australia over 65,000 years prior to British colonisation.[5] The regions of heaviest Aboriginal population were the same temperate coastal regions that are currently the most heavily populated, the Murray River valley in particular. The population shrank from those present when colonisation began in New South Wales in 1788, to 50,000 in 1930. This drastic reduction in numbers has been attributed to outbreaks of smallpox and other diseases,[6][7] but other sources have emphasised the extent of frontier clashes and in most cases, deliberate killings of Aboriginal peoples.[8]
Post-colonisation, the coastal Indigenous populations were soon absorbed, exterminated,[9] depleted or violently forced from their lands; the traditional aspects of Aboriginal life which remained persisted most strongly in areas such as the Great Sandy Desert where European settlement has been sparse. Although the Aboriginal Tasmanians were almost driven to extinction (and once thought to be so), other Aboriginal Australian peoples maintained successful communities throughout Australia.
^Clarkson, Chris; Jacobs, Zenobia; Marwick, Ben; et al. (2017). "Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago" (PDF). Nature. 547 (7663): 306–310. Bibcode:2017Natur.547..306C. doi:10.1038/nature22968. hdl:2440/107043. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 28726833. S2CID 205257212.
^Diamond, Jared (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel. London: Random House. pp. 314–316.
^"Colonisation: Initial invasion and colonisation (1788 to 1890)". Working with Indigenous Australians. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
^Evans, R. (2007). A History of Queensland. Cambridge UK: Cambridge U. Press. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-0-521-54539-6.
^Gordon Briscoe; Len Smith, eds. (2002), "2. How many people had lived in Australia before it was annexed by the English in 1788?", The Aboriginal Population Revisited: 70,000 years to the present, Canberra, Aboriginal Studies Press
^D. Hopkins, Princes and Peasants, Chicago, 1983, p. 207; Judy Campbell, Invisible Invaders: Smallpox and Other Diseases in Aboriginal Australia 1780–1880, Melbourne, 2002, pp. 10, 39–50
^Smallpox Through History. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009.
^Pascoe, Bruce (2007). Convincing Ground: Learning to Fall in Love with Your Country. Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 978-0-85575-549-2.
^Calla Wahlquist (2018). "Evidence of 250 massacres of Indigenous Australians mapped". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
and 26 Related for: History of Indigenous Australians information
The historyofIndigenousAustralians began at least 65,000 years ago when humans first populated the Australian continental landmasses. This article covers...
IndigenousAustralians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of...
The genocide ofIndigenousAustralians refers to the systematic and deliberate actions taken primarily by European settlers, particularly during the 18th...
period, settlers attacked and displaced IndigenousAustralians, resulting in significant numbers ofIndigenous deaths. These attacks are considered to...
rights ofIndigenousAustralians became an issue from the mid-19th century, when responsible government was being granted to Britain's Australian colonies...
Indigenous health in Australia examines health and wellbeing indicators ofIndigenousAustralians compared with the rest of the population. Statistics...
Some IndigenousAustralians are remembered in history for their leadership during the British invasion and colonisation, some for their resistance to that...
IndigenousAustralians are both convicted of crimes and imprisoned at a disproportionately higher rate in Australia, as well as being over-represented...
Minister for Indigenous Australians and the creation of the National IndigenousAustralians Agency within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet...
legacy ofIndigenousAustralians, with the word "one" in the second line replacing the previous "young". The lyrics are now as follows: I Australians all...
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country ofAustralia. This connection may be...
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the...
promotion of self-determination and reconciliation. Such bodies generally advise governments on policies and programmes that affect IndigenousAustralians, and...
Working with IndigenousAustralians: History". www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info. Retrieved 12 July 2022. "1901: White Australia policy enshrined...
colonies, however the human historyofAustralia commences with the arrival of the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians by sea from Maritime Southeast...
The music of the Torres Strait Islanders is related to that of adjacent parts of New Guinea. Music is a vital part ofIndigenousAustralians' cultural...
IndigenousAustralian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works...
areas is 5% higher for indigenousAustralians when compared to the non-indigenous, and it was also found that indigenousAustralians were twice as likely...
were asked to approve an alteration to the Australian Constitution that would recognise IndigenousAustralians in the document through prescribing a body...
rights in AustraliaHistoryofIndigenousAustralians Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia Native title in Australia Treaty rights...
rarely used in Brazil in Indigenous-specific contexts (e.g., aborígene is usually understood as the ethnonym for IndigenousAustralians). The Spanish and Portuguese...
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations ofAustralia. As many as 1 in 20 Australians are said to suffer from diabetes. Aboriginal people are...
The historyof Queensland encompasses both a long Aboriginal Australian presence as well as the more recent periods of European colonisation and as a state...
Media portrayals ofIndigenousAustralians have been described by academics and commentators as often negative or stereotyped. It is said that in issues...