aboriginal reactions/ Impacts
The ancestors of Indigenous Australians are believed to have arrived in Australia 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, and possibly as early as 70,000 years ago. They developed a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, established spiritual and artistic traditions and used stone technologies. At the time of first European contact, it has been estimated the existing population was at least 350,000.
Since the European invasion of Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people have been oppressed into a world unnatural to their existence for thousands of years. First came the influx of the strangers who carried with them diseases, which decimated the immediate population of the Sydney tribes. It is estimated that over 750,000 Aboriginal people inhabited the island continent in 1788. The colonists were led to believe that the land was terra nullius (‘no one’s land’), which Lt James Cook declared Australia to be in 1770 during his voyage around the coast of Australia.
Picture- Aboriginals were depicted as having a friendship with the Europeans in drawings and painting sent back to England when Australia was colonised.
Australia Day, more like invasion day...
The Aboriginals weren't very happy about
Most Australians celebrate Australia Day as the day Australia was founded.
In contrast, Aboriginal people mourn their history and call it ‘Invasion Day’.
European settlement had a severe and devastating impact on Indigenous people. Their dispossession of the land, exposure to new diseases and involvement in violent conflict, resulted in the death of a vast number of the Aboriginal peoples. The impact of the white settlers changed their lives, and the lives of future generations, forever.
Since the European invasion of Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people have been oppressed into a world unnatural to their existence for thousands of years. First came the influx of the strangers who carried with them diseases, which decimated the immediate population of the Sydney tribes. It is estimated that over 750,000 Aboriginal people inhabited the island continent in 1788. The colonists were led to believe that the land was terra nullius (‘no one’s land’), which Lt James Cook declared Australia to be in 1770 during his voyage around the coast of Australia.
Picture- Aboriginals were depicted as having a friendship with the Europeans in drawings and painting sent back to England when Australia was colonised.
Australia Day, more like invasion day...
The Aboriginals weren't very happy about
Most Australians celebrate Australia Day as the day Australia was founded.
In contrast, Aboriginal people mourn their history and call it ‘Invasion Day’.
European settlement had a severe and devastating impact on Indigenous people. Their dispossession of the land, exposure to new diseases and involvement in violent conflict, resulted in the death of a vast number of the Aboriginal peoples. The impact of the white settlers changed their lives, and the lives of future generations, forever.