Indigenous Australians had lived in Australia for over 60,000 years before the arrival of the First Fleet of British settlers in 1788. Britain claimed possession of eastern Australia and established a penal colony despite the presence of over 500 Indigenous nations comprising around 750,000 people who had a close relationship with the land. As the British settlers spread across Australia in the late 18th and 19th centuries, they declared the land "terra nullius" and took Indigenous lands for farming despite resistance, leading to many Indigenous deaths from violence, disease, and loss of lands and culture. Between 1910-1970 the Australian government forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families in an attempt to breed out the Indigenous population, deeply traumatizing the stolen generation.

1. STAGE ONE – THE FIRST FLEET ARRIVES
Before British settlement, more than 500 Indigenous
nations inhabited the Australian continent;
approximately 750,000 people in total. They had
been in Australia for over 60,000 years, making them
the world’s most ancient surviving society.
Indigenous people enjoyed a tribal, nomadic life, and
had an especially close relationship with the land and
nature.
In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook sailed to Australia and claimed possession of the east coast of Australia
for the British Crown. Due to overcrowding in British prisons and a British desire to spread their empire, it
was decided that Australia would be set up as a
prisoner colony. In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip
and 1500 convicts, crew, marines and civilians
arrived at Sydney Cove.
STAGE TWO – THE WHITE TAKEOVER
Because Indigenous Australians did not farm the land and had not set up permanent settlements, Britain
declared Australia ‘Terra Nullius’ meaning ‘Nobody’s land’. This gave the British settlers the right to take
over whatever land they wished. They did just this as they spread across Australia. Many Aboriginal people
fought for their land and their rights, and small
battles between them and the colonisers took
place. However, the Indigenous Australians, fighting
with clubs and spears, were no match for the
European cavalry or guns, and were defeated time
and time again.
As a result, the land of the Indigenous Australians
was taken over. The European settlers used this
land for farming and building on. They did not
hesitate in destroying the natural environment or

2. introducing new species of animals, which ate many of
the plants that the Aboriginals traditionally feasted on.
Many Indigenous Australians died from the new
diseases, such as the flu, smallpox and measles that the
Europeans introduced to them. They were also given
alcohol, which they were not used to and which often
made them very sick. More than this, however, many
Aboriginals were killed deliberately.
There are stories of the British rounding up Aboriginals
and raping them, shooting them, or forcing them to jump
off cliffs. It is also reported that some settlers used to offer
them food that had been laced with poison in order to kill
off whole tribes at a time.
Overall, it is estimated that in just 112 years, between
1788 and 1990, that the population of Indigenous
Australians was reduced by over 90%.
STAGE THREE – THE STOLEN GENERATION
Between 1910 and 1970, the Australian government made
an effort to wipe out the remaining Aboriginal population by
breeding them out. To do this, they removed Aboriginal
children from their families, and placed them in the care of
white people.
They would be given new names, have to learn our language and
be part of our culture. These children were often treated very
harshly, were given little to no love, and were physically,
emotionally and sexually abused. Many of those children stolen,
as well as their parents, never fully recovered from the grief and
trauma of being separated from their families.
STAGE FOUR – THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
Today, the new generations of Indigenous Australians are still
feeling the pain of the past. They are still coping with the racism,
the unequal treatment, the alcohol, drug and social problems, and
the effects of having their land and their rights robbed from them
228 years ago. The question of how to move forward seems to
have no real answer.