The Native Population
History: KS3, topic 6.5.2
Aborigines
Australia was established as a British penal colony in 1787, but this had serious repercussions for the native people.
Aborigines
- As with America, the British were not colonising an empty land.
- Australia was inhabited by native Australians, known as Aborigines.
- Like the Native Americans, they were nomadic hunter-gatherers, and they had lived in Australia for over 50,000 years.
Disease
- British settlement of Australia was a disaster for the Aborigines.
- Many caught British diseases brought over by the settlers and died from them.
Extermination
- Many were also exterminated by settlers who were intent on taking control of the land.
- Between the British arrival and 1900, it is thought that the Aboriginal population fell by 90%.
- On the Australian island of Tasmania, Aborigines were completely wiped out within a hundred years.
Test yourself on The Native Population
What percentage did the Aboriginal population fall by between the British arrival and 1900?
How long had the Aborigines lived in Australia before the arrival of the British?