Rhea Kruse Ms Rogers 18/09/14 - Humanities

European Treatment of Indigenous Australians

My position
My position on this topic is that European treatment of Indigenous Australians
was horrific in many ways, I strongly disagree with the way in which these
people were considered, treated and manipulated upon.
Even the fact that Indigenous Australians were thought to be just animals and
didnt seem to claim any ownership of Australian land angers me, its just not
equal treatment of people.
European settlers thought that because aboriginals didnt fence their land, or
build on it they had no right to claim ownership or possession of it, event though
Indigenous Australians had owned and worked the land for more than 60 000
years before the arrival of the first Europeans. This approach caused much
conflict and it negatively affected both parties.
Europeans didnt understand or accept the way in which Indigenous Australians
had a connection with the land they lived upon physically, socially, and
spiritually. They cared for the land as it cared for them, they supplied each others
needs, until Europeans came tramping all over the place!

The early explorers introduced and infected the Indigenous Australians with
many diseases, which were new, and they had little or no immunity to. Besides
disease, the ambitious new settlers also brought with them new species of
animals such as foxes, rats and rabbits etc. This had a heavy and negative impact
on the native fauna and flora, and the Aboriginals.
Some of the treatment of Indigenous Australians included; slavery, kidnapping,
manipulation, theft, murder and countless acts of human inequality.
My position clearly states that I am heavily against the way in which the early
European settlers treated Indigenous Australians (Aboriginals).

By the end of the 19
th
century, the
destruction of the original Indigenous
Aboriginal lifestyle was almost complete.
In some of the more remote parts of
Australia, such as South Australia and
Western Australia (which were
considered in-liveable by the Europeans),
there remained small colonisations of
Indigenous Australians whom were still
living traditionally.
Unfortunately, most of the Indigenous Australians, by this point were living on
the outskirts of European settlements and were forced to straddle both cultures.
Most of these Aboriginals and lost connection with family and friends, their
living conditions were horrific and the Europeans treated them like scum. Many
took up use of tobacco and alcohol, this resulted in very poor health for most.

To begin with, contact between Europeans and Indigenous Australians was
accidental, there was only sighting before 1788.
Historical records of early contact between the British settlers and the
Aboriginals have mostly been given from a European perspective. From these
accounts, early relationships between Europeans and Indigenous Australians
were good for the first 12 to 15 months. Some of these private diaries/journals
even read thats soon after Europeans arrived, Aborigines welcomed them-some
even had a dance!

Some indigenous Australians thought that Europeans were ancestral spirits, as
their white skin was the colour of death. The local Aborigines even showed some
of the European settlers good fishing spots and shared the fish they caught.
Despite these very early events, conflict soon developed, as the greed of
Europeans began to show and they displayed their desire of ownership of the
land.

Shots were fired at Indigenous Australians when
they attempted to steal shovels from the colonys
storehouse. Afterwards, Aborigines didnt show
their faces again for a while. As winter was quickly
approaching, the competition for food became
fierce between Indigenous Australians and
European settlers.
Europeans shot kangaroos and over-fished, this left the Aborigines with no skins
for winter clothing and little food supply from Port-Jackson (where the fish
supply was often uncertain anyway). Europeans also cleared land to make for
farms and space to graze livestock, these lands were original hunting grounds for
Indigenous Australians and it pushed them further back, away from the coast.

Conflict became more intense over the coming year and there were accountable
deaths on both sides, relationships between Indigenous Australians and
Europeans were only becoming worse.

In 1789, Governor Phillip ordered Aboriginal men to be kidnapped in an attempt
to open a line of communication. He aimed to teach the men English language
and customs so they could be a connection for the British to be able to pass
messages back and forth.
The first men abducted, dies of smallpox, two more, also
caught smallpox but survived-one of these men was
Bennelong. Both men escaped, however Bennelong
returned after learning English and formed a close
friendship with Governor Phillip. He taught Phillip
Indigenous customs, language and traditions. Bennelong
was pretty much considered to be one of the British. He
dressed like a European, he ate at the table with Governor
Phillip and he even visited England before returning home
in 1795.

Diseases brought to Australia by the British (who first landed in 1788) spread
rapidly, it had a huge affect on the Indigenous Australians. European disease
killed far more Aborigines than Europeans ever did, smallpox alone was
considered to have wiped out 50% of the Aboriginal population.
The common cold and Tuberculosis are thought to have killed large numbers of
Indigenous Australians. Many diseases that were only mildly dangerous to
Europeans were lethal to Aborigines, whom had zero immunity.
Sexually transmitted diseases were huge killers, they not only caused many
deaths but also was the cause for many Indigenous women to become infertile.
This effect was contributing towards the massive drop in Aboriginal population,
due to a decline in birth rates.

Conflict between European settlers and
Indigenous Australians became more and
more common by the late 1700s because
the Europeans were intruding the
aboriginals land and utilising it in their
own manners and wishes.
This angered the aboriginals and they
would sometimes take to killing livestock
and attacking the farms and settlers. This,
in turn agreed the Europeans and they began to take matters into their own
hands, planning attacks and raids on the camps in which they believe the
people/person responsible was held.
Between 1794 and 1800, 26 Europeans and 200 Aborigines died in war-like
conflict in New South Wales.
There was an Indigenous Australian called Pemulwuy whom was famous for
attacks on Europeans, burning their crops and destroying their huts. Governor
Phillip put a price on his head in 1801. Pemulwuy was shot and the resistance
from Aborigines disappeared for a short period of time.

Besides all the conflict between European
settlers and Indigenous Australians, there were
also acts of collaboration between the two
parties.
Bennelong travelled with Governor Phillip
between 1801 and 1803, Bennelong helped
him to communicate with other indigenous
groups, however, communication became more
difficult the further away from home they travelled. Each Aboriginal group and
their own unique language, each group differs. Governor Phillip could not
recognise these differences.
Many Aborigines joined the police force, helping to track animals and people
with their superb tracking skills.
Another example of collaboration is Billibellary. He was an elder of the
Warundjeri people who worked closely with new settlers for the first few years.
He attempted to enable his people to move between two different cultures.

Indigenous Australians culture, way of life and land was removed from them by
European settlers, this is a violent act of dispossession.
Europeans pushed farther and farther inland and took over traditional
Aboriginal land. Through this method, Indigenous
Australians lost much of their customs and
languages. The Europeans crossed the Blue
Mountains and cleared bush and scrub for
livestock grazing. Just to make matters worse,
aboriginals links to the land and its features were
destroyed by land clearing, the construction of
European huts and yards, and the fencing off of
sacred places.
By the late 19
th
century, there was a wide spread
belief that the aboriginals were a weak species and
would eventually die off.
Officials developed a new protection policy for Aboriginal people, it was
commonly known as smooth the dying pillow. To the general public, it seemed
to enforce better treatment for Indigenous Australians, but in actual fact, it
deprived them of their independence and traditional culture even more.