EUROPEAN TREATMENT OF

INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
Kate Hinds
TASK
Take a position of the topic European treatment of Indigenous Australians
Write a list of reasons justifying your position
Find 5 sources of information which justify your reasons. Put them in a cite this for me bibliography
Look at those sources, organise the information under your reasons
What information is important to your understanding of the treatment of Indigenous Australians? Do you respond
to numbers? Illustrations? First hand accounts? How can you present your understanding?
You might:
- Annotate some pictures
- Present an infogram
- Write a first hand account
- Make a speech
Aim to present your position and your reasons by the end of the week. Your work will be compiled and used to
help other students work on their understanding.
If you find any really good sources, post them to:
- http://padlet.com/jess_rogers/indigenous
EUROPEAN SETTLERS
In 1788, the first of the European settlers arrived in Australia. A hundred years
later, Aborigines no longer held much of the continent and many Aboriginal
groups were struggling for survival. White settlement had been proved
overpowering everywhere and there had been no peaceful adjustment
between whites and Aborigines.
ABORIGINES
The Aborigines showed surprise and some resentment at their first sight of the
new arrivals. The men sharpened their spear while the women and children
often hid. The whites were feared as the returning spirits of the dead but the
Aborigines did not mount a strong resistance the founding of the convict
colony.
Governor Phillip tried to secure a friendly relationship with the Aborigines near
the first settlement. He had an unusual advantage in his task, since his missing
front tooth was a sign of status to Aborigines. But as more and more whites
started permanently moving to Australia, troubles soon began. In the eyes of
the Europeans, Aborigines were thought to have been uncivilised and there
was no understanding of the organised social system of the Aboriginal people.
TREATMENT
European diseases were often the most common illnesses that the Aborigines got. As Aborigines
were not immune to such diseases which often caused death as the whites didnt do anything
to help them. Aborigines who were still surviving began to live in towns as well as country areas.
European missionaries tried to break down Aboriginal beliefs and convert them to Christianity.
The Aboriginal people regarded white settlement as an unjustified intrusion on their lands.
Sheep and cattle began to eat out the native grasses and drive off the game which provided
essential meat food. The was an increasing upset when the balance between Aboriginal
population numbers and the available food supply. The whites showed no desire to
compensate and did not acknowledge the food sharing practises found among the Aboriginal
people.
Smallpox killed majority of Aborigines close to Sydney within three years of white settlement in
1788. the disease spread down the Murray in South Australia, destroying the health and
numbers of Aborigines as it went. The birth rate of Aborigines was lowered as disease killed
them. The whites did not respect their culture and did not give them a chance to determine
their own future. Aboriginal language was dying out. In 1897, Western Australia and South
Australia adopted a legislation so that Aborigines could no longer live in their traditional land
and often had to live on reserves under government administration. In effect they had to live as
inmates of institutions.
PICS
Three Aboriginal
women.
An Aboriginal
rock painting.
Aboriginal family in their
traditional house made
of bark and sticks.
THE
END