The First Fleet and the British ColonyOn 26th January 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet landed at Port Jackson in Sydney, New South Wales. The First Fleet consisted of 11 ships and around 1350 people. They first arrived at Botany Bay between the 18th and 20th of January, however the area was deemed to be unsuitable for settlement. They then moved up north to port Jackson and as a result, established the first British Colony in Australia.

The ships belonging to the First Fleet were: Alexander, Borrowdale, Charlotte, Fishburn, Friendship, Golden Grove, H.M.S. Sirius, H.M.S. Supply, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales and the Scarborough.

How do youthink the villagers livingin Australia

felt about this?

In what way doyou think the land was unsuitable?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Before Colonisation

Before the British came to Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples lived according to traditional laws, customs and ways of interacting with the environment to meet their needs.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples lived in tribes and were often nomadic, which meant they moved from place to place. They travelled if they needed food, water and shelter, and they never wasted any of their resources.

For food, they caught fish and shellfish from the seas and rivers and hunted kangaroos, possums and birds. Berries, fruits and vegetables were also collected from the land.

How do youfeel about how the Aboriginals and Islander people lived?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Before Colonisation

They used wood, stone, bones and trees to make tools for hunting. They also used these resources to create weapons to protect themselves.

When the natural resources of an area ran low, they moved on to a new place. They treated their land with respect and only used what they needed.

Do you think British people respect their land? Evidence your answer.

Effects of British Colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

The early years of the British Colonisation were devastating for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who lived around Sydney Cove. A lot of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were killed, incarcerated, removed from their land or were restricted of their movements. Between 1788 and 1900, their population was reduced by 90%. The three main reasons for this were:

1. Introduction of new diseases

2. Dispossession of land

3. Conflict

Introduction of DiseasesThe immediate consequence of British Colonisation was the introduction and appearance of European diseases. Some of the diseases that the British brought with them included chickenpox, smallpox, influenza and measles.

The impact of these diseases was overwhelming due to their infectious nature. Aboriginal and Torres Strait, Islander Peoples populations, were so severely reduced that the social systems and links between generations were destroyed. Due to the lack of protection, medicines, resources and resistance to British diseases, thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples died when these diseases swept through their tribes.

Why do you think, the British did not die from these diseases? How could disease have been prevented? How do you feel about the fact that the British brought disease to Australia?

Dispossession of Land

Another devastating impact that the British had on the Aboriginal people was the dispossession of access to land and water resources.

Dispossession means to deprive or to stop people from having access to land and property. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were seen to be nomadic, so the British thought they could easily be driven away.

After the British arrived and settled in Australia, they deprived the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of their land. They took away their hunting groups, water resources and they destroyed their sacred sites.

Dispossession of Land

The British thought that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples had no rights to their land, so they claimed ownership of it under the name Terra Nullius, meaning land belonging to no one.

By the 1870s, all the fertile areas of Australia had been taken away from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and given to the white settlers.

The British thought it was necessary to forcibly remove them from the land and prevent them from returning.

What would that mean for the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders if their fertile land was taken away?

How do you feel that the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were deprived of their land?

ConflictMany conflicts between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Europeans began after the white settlers arrived on the shores of Australian in 1788. For the next 100 years, around 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were killed. There were many reasons why conflicts between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the British began:

1. Many of the British settlers thought that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were dangerous, savages and barbaric. They did not want to live on the land when they were around, so they fought with them to lessen their population.

2. White people thought they were superior and had power over the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. They used their guns, knives and other weapons to prove their power and authority over them.

Conflict

The British and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples had many differences between them. This had a significant effect on the decline of their population.

1. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the British settlers differed in their religious views, beliefs, customs and traditions.

2. Land ownership was a significant issue. The British didn’t believe that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples owned the land - they decided that it was Terra Nullius, property belonging to no one. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples became angry and outraged at this, so they began fighting to claim it back as their own.

3. The British settlers wanted to build farms and large houses on the land. As a result, many animals that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples hunted for food were driven away.

Who do you think owned the land?Who do you think should’ve been responsible for the land?