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The Frontier War

The pattern documented at and around Port Jackson - of initial friendly contact, followed by open conflict, reduction in the size of the Aboriginal population. and then acceptance of and dependence on the whites by any survivors - was repeated time and time again as the frontier spread across the continent.

Many past histories made it appear as if the Aboriginals simply 'faded away' before white occupation. However, this was not the case. While some Aboriginal people accepted or adjusted to white occupation and some sought to survive as best they could by adapting to the new conditions, many others fought to retain their land and their culture.

Due to the nature of Aboriginal society, resistance took the form of guerrilla warfare - individuals or small groups of settlers were ambushed, isolated settlements attacked, crops, buildings and countryside burnt. In south-eastern New South Wales this type of resistance, organised by people such as Pemulwy around Sydney and Windradyne of the Wiradjuri around Bathurst, continued into the 1820s.

As white settlers moved further away from the centre of government, random shootings of Aboriginals and massacres of groups of men, women and children were common. The most infamous massacre in New South Wales occurred at Myall Creek station in 1838. Twenty-eight Aboriginals were murdered in cold blood by stockmen. The murderers were eventually tried and some were hanged - an unprecedented event which caused an outcry in the white community. Sometimes Aboriginal water- holes were poisoned, or Aboriginal people given flour, sugar or damper mixed with arsenic. These practices, common last century, continued into the first half of this century in some parts of Australia.

Because of the 'moving frontier' and the different reactions of Aboriginal people to white settlement, the nature of the relation- ship that existed between black and white was not the same in all parts of the State at anyone time. The fight varied in intensity at different places and at different times.

Nevertheless, by the end of last century, the standard of living of most communities, as well as people's health and general demeanour, had greatly deteriorated. As Aboriginal people were dispossessed of their land, their economic and spiritual lives and social organisation were almost totally destroyed. The land was both a source of sustenance and the basis of religious and ceremonial life. A combination of high death rates - through killings, disease and despair - and low birth rates drastically reduced the original population. Many Aboriginals lived as 'fringe-dwellers' or were forced into settlements and reserves run by the government or church missions, where they had to rely on whites for hand-outs of food and clothing.

Source:
Aboriginal Australia
Aboriginal People of NSW
Produced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission 1997
(c) Comonwealth of Australia 1997
ISBN 0 664 10152 0