Aborigines VS Colonizers

In the deep history of the Australian Continent, there was a indigenous as

well as homogenous group that others didn't know about them. Who were
those groups?, where did they come from? What happened when they
came to Australia? How did they feel when the colonizers arrived? How
did both respond to each other and what is the mystery behind them?.
Lets go into the deep history about them…….

Aborigines of Australia were the world's first explored people. The term
“Aboriginal” was first used in the 16th century. It is derived from the
Latin words “Ab” (from) and “Origeo” (beginning). Approximately
40,000-80,000 Aborigines arrived in Australia from Southeast Asia.
The Aborigines were separated into 300 language groups where they
develop their survival skills based on where they were situated. They have
lived on the continent for over 50,000 years. One of the reasons they
have survived for so long is their ability to adapt to the change. These
Aboriginals were very spiritual and they held a very strong connection
with the Earth, nature and their surroundings. Most of the Aborigines
were settled along Murray river valley. The oldest human remains in
Australia’s history were discovered in 1974 near lake Mungo in New
South wales. This human is called Mungo man.

Remains of Oldest Mungo Man

In 1770 captain James Cook landed on the shores of Australia with his
crew and claimed it as part of the UK. Soon after he named it New South
Wales. Historians estimate that there were over a million Aborigines living
in Australia. They were working on the land and living pleasantly with
each other until Captain Cook arrived. The Aborigines were not too happy
with the new colonizers. The colonizers didn’t love the Aborigines either.
There were tensions brewing between these two groups. Continuous
attacks from both sides broke out multiple times. Aborigines were not
treated well at all by the colonizers, were thrown out of their homes and
their land was taken from them. They were forced to move into new land
but they couldn’t adjust with the settlers. They started defeating colonizers
for their freedom to live happily.

In 1900s, people believed that Aborigines would become extinct. There

was an outbreak of imported diseases amongst them including the fatal
diseases like smallpox. In 1788 the aborigines were very strong and they
had approximately 1.2 million people. Because of these imported diseases
and continuous attacks between these rival groups, the population of
Aborigines dropped to 50,000 by 1930.

The Aborigines burnt the colonizer's homes and killed the people and their
cattle. In 1831 one colonizer attested this, writing “ we are at war with
them, they look upon us as enemies, invaders and persecutors and they
resist our invasion.”

The United Kingdom chose Australia as a re-settlement place for several

convicts who were given pardon in the country. In May 1787 the first fleet
containing 736 convicts, their wives and children sailed from England to
Australia. The convicts and Aborigines had more attacks in between and
killed each other.
The Governor Filip has created a harmony between Aborigines and
colonizers subsequently. He tried to discipline the convicts between the two
groups. Some of the Aborigines were adopted by European culture. They
learned how to work as labor and stock hands. Some Aborigines also
helped the colonizers. The first ever Australian cricket team that toured
England in 1868 was made up of mostly Aborigines. By 1850 the
Aborigines began to become reliant on the colonizers for their livelihood.
The Aborigines worked for colonizers as laborers without any payment.
Instead of payment they have received food, clothing and other basic
needs. The Aborigines received a lot of assistance from Christian
missions. They have provided food, clothing and schools. Similarly The UK
colonial government provided assistance to Aborigines in need in some
areas.
Many Aborigines offered their services in 1914 world war one. By 1920
there were 15,000-19,000 Aborigines left in Australia. When penicillin
was invented and made available in Australia in the 1940s, the deaths of
the Aborigines came to a halt. Even more Aborigines were able to join the
military in world war two. They were paid for their service in the military.
However, There were still many more obstacles for the Aborigines.

In 1946 the first strike began because the Aborigines were receiving
minimal food and ration for their work. By 1941 two of the Aborigines
serving in the military in world war were granted the right to vote in the
federal elections. In 1962 the Aborigines as a whole were finally given the
right to vote by the Menzies government. By 1967 the Aborigines were
included in the commonwealth’s right. In 1972 the Aborigines were in
protest of the lack of land rights. But their voices fell on deaf ears and the
police were sent to remove the tents.
In 1973 the Aborigines got an opportunity to sit in the Australian
parliament. By 1975 the Aborigines land rights act came into picture. In
1992 the supreme court of Australia recognized that the Aborigines had
claims and rights to the Australian land before the colonizers arrived.

In 1997, Australia was rocked with an epic scandal in which the

Aboriginal children were separated forcibly from their families in the
interest of turning them into white Australians. Bring Them Home was a
680-page report on the separation of Aboriginal children from their
families.
National Sorry Day was enacted on the 26th of May 1998. On this day
every year Australia as a whole remembers and commemorates the ill
treatment that occurred against the Aborigines. In 2008 The Prime
Minister Kevin Rough finally apologized to the stolen generations of
Aborigines.

Now there are approximately 649,200 Aborigines living in Australia and

a majority of them live in New South Wales and QueensLand.