Aboriginal Population of South Eastern Australia - Literature review Example

Settlement of Australia The general thought about Australia is that Aboriginal people started living in the continent over 50,000 years ago, while some believe their occupation dates back to over 100,000 years ago (Carter, Morrish and Amoyaw, 67). Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people gave 265,378 in the last census. This is about 1.5 percent of the general population. Two thirds of native people live in cities and towns. Many people however live in the remote and rural areas, and most of them have a wide traditional way of life. The arrival of Europeans had a huge Impact on Australian and its settlement. Before the Europeans arrived, Aborigines were nomads. This means that they did not always lived in one place. The Aborigines made their huts from mud and brush. Whenever they left, they always went to a more fertile land, where they could get food. This did not just include ground foods and berries, but also animals that they could obtain meat. Aboriginal men were expert hunters. The spear was their main hunting tool. They hunted animals like dingo’s, birds, and emus, kangaroos and wombats fish (Rowland, 34). Animals like cattle and sheep were yet to be introduced. Aborigines lived in oneness with land and depended fully on land for sources of tools, shelter and food. They learnt this ways from their ancestors. The first group of European migrants in Australia arrived early 1788. They came on fleet having three supply ships, six ships carrying the main group, about 800 convicts and 2 war ships (Borrie, 78). Arthur Philip, the Governor was in command. The fleet arrived at Botany Bay, the intended destination, but the governor was not happy to realize that the place was not good for settlement. Therefore, the fleet continued to the coast for few kilometers up to an inlet referred as Port Jackson by Cook. The place pleased Philip and described it as the best harbor in the world. He named the place on the shore Sydney Cove, thus governor Philip led to the first settlement on Europeans in Australia. The main purpose for British to settle in Australia was to offer a place of punishment that prisoners and convicts could be sent (Carter, Morrish and Amoyaw, 98). The settlement by Europeans had devastating and severe impact on the natives. Many Aboriginal died because of new diseases, land dispossession, and violent conflicts. The white settler’s impact changed the lives of the Aborigines, and their generations to come forever. The British intended to assimilate the Aborigines into the culture of Britain and force them to work in their new colony. Initially, Aborigines avoided the British settlers, but the number of British settlers increased leading to dispossession of more land. They could not avoid the contact any longer. Governor Philip intended to evade unnecessary conflict with the Aborigines by handling them with kindness and commanding his soldiers not to shoot at them. The governor captured many Aboriginals, even Bennelong. Philip intended them to learn English and become translators between the British and the natives. However, soon there were clashes over culture and land. Philip ordered the soldiers to shoot at the Aboriginals. His attempt to assimilate and “civilize” (Rowland, 57) them into the society and culture of the British people was not working the way he intended. Aboriginals saw the settlers from Britain were clearing land and putting fence, thus restricting their access. They British also brought new different animals. This angered the Aboriginal who responded by retaliating. Such kind of conflict shaped the settlement further as people as the British had to move in avoiding further conflict (Australian Academy of Science, 12). From the point of view of European, the establishment Australian settlement is the story of a voyage that is adventurous to place that is unknown in the world, and a struggle to concur challenges and manage to survive unfriendly environments (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 45). This is the main reason why January 26 1788, the day Britain first raised its flag at Sydney Cove is a national day in Australia. However, from the point of view of the Aboriginals, the arrival of Europeans is a completely different view. The settlement by the Europeans was an invasion. The spread of the civilization brought by the Europeans in the continent was a victory that led to the destruction of the civilization of the Aboriginals people (Borrie, 89). In 1788, Governor Philip and the British government had good intentions for the Aboriginals. However, relationship between the whites and the blacks deteriorated at Sydney Cove. There were several reasons why these relationships deteriorated. Even though British authorities had good reasons for the Aboriginals, their intention was to take their land. Aboriginals considered the land rightfully theirs and land was important for their customs, traditions and animals. They considered the settlement of the Europeans that began to rob them their fishing and hunting grounds as invaders and were obliged to resist. As much as the Europeans did not respect land ownership of the Aboriginals, they too had a low respect and understanding of the culture of Aboriginals. At that period, Europeans believed that they had superior civilization, and to them, Aboriginals were conceited and backward thus required help. There was misunderstanding in both sides of the divide. The Aboriginals people did not have any knowledge about the value and customs of the Europeans. They could not comprehend the European concept of ownership. In return, they had expectations that Europeans would share their food, animals, and tools with them. Consequently, a conflict arose as Europeans had a different view of things and the situation (Rowland, 99). The willful ill treatment of the Aborigines and the harsh impact of diseases from Europe and the bringing of alcohol played a vital role in the braking down of the society of the Aborigines. The tribal life of the Aborigines underwent destruction and the Aborigines moved to live on European settlement edge, taking up and begging the worst habits of the Europeans. The Europeans saw this as proof of the backward Aborigines lifestyle. On the other hand, in case the Aboriginals took up weapons and defended their land, they Europeans considered them evil savages who need a tough lesson. Aboriginals fought hard to resist the increase in European settlement. Pemulwuy, a Botany Bay tribe member was one of the first leaders of this kind of resistance. He arranged the Aboriginals staying in Sydney to attack European property and the settlers themselves (Butlin, 67). Pemulwuy killed the gamekeeper of Governor Philip in 1790. The gamekeeper was responsible for the harsh treatment of the Aboriginals. Philip, in retaliation, gave orders to his soldiers to arrest and kill, six of Pemulwuy tribe members. This was a brutal act by Philip and was against the laws of British. This action could not be characterized with Governor Philip; however, it indicated that the governor did not believe that the Aboriginals deserved the same treatment according to similar statutes and the British. In fact, the soldiers of Philip did not find any of Pemulwuy tribesmen nor Pemulwuy himself. During his remaining period, the governor was not able to arrest Pemulwuy. Nevertheless, Pemulwuy continued to organize attacks on the Europeans all around Sydney outskirts. During the battle between the settlers together with the soldiers against the Aboriginals in 1797 at Parramatta, there was wounding and capturing of Pemulwuy. However, in a short time, he escaped his captors and went back to lead his people. Governor King Gidley Philip, the third governor of Sydney, offered a reward for Pemulwuy in 1801(Rowland, 213). He further cleared all Aboriginals from the edges of the settlement of the Europeans and informed them that there was not going to be any friendly relationships with the Aboriginals until the recapture of Pemulwuy (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 56). Eventually, the settlers shot dead Pemulwuy in 1802 and sent his head to Governor King. There was rejoicing in the European settlers but also some Aboriginals people whose tribal lifestyle was already shuttered. The Aboriginals wanted to go back and settle at the edge of the settlement of the Europeans, where they relied on handouts. Of course, in the end, the resistance of Pemulwuy failed. Tribes along Sydney could not be able to stop the invasion by the white people. They were incapable to protect their tribal way of life due to this invasion. The weapons of the Europeans were powerful as compared to the Aboriginals people weapons. It was also impossible for the Aborigines to organize themselves in good numbers to repel the spread of white settlement as more settlers and convicts arrived. Finally, the Aborigines were not able to keep their lands and control them apart from the few parts of Australia that Europeans had not interest. However, it will remain in history that there were many leaders of the Aboriginals people such as Pemulwuy in various areas of Australia. They fought heroic battles against the European invasion to their culture and land. When the battles reduce, the Aborigines people leaders took the long struggle of politics to attain the rightful place of the Aborigines in the contemporary Australia community (Borrie, 134). It is important to remember that August 23, 1770, Captain Cook made a landing on a little Island of Australian Northern tip and took the entire eastern Australia for England (Carter, Morrish and Amoyaw, 124). In his voyage to the east, the captain made a landing at only two places Cooktown and Botany Bay. The captain had no idea about the wide inland. Nevertheless, Cook knew that the Aboriginal people inhabited the land in the coast because he saw them, even their fires. It is shocking that he claimed the territory to Britain. It is surprising that the government of British acted as the land belonged to them. It is ironical that they made a decision in 1788 to take its convicts and create settlement on Eora tribe land without their permission. The simple questions to the challenges that faced the Aboriginals are that the British did not see the Aborigines as the rightful landowners. New South Wales, according to Cook, was terra nullius. The legal term is a Latin expression that refers to “land belonging to none” (Butlin, 117) In the view of Europeans, Aborigines might have been the first on the land, however they did not own it since they did not make use of the land, or show that they owned it the way the British did. Therefore, Europeans had the feeling of settling freely anywhere in Australia, overlooking the rights to land of the Aborigines the way they had inhabited the land for many years. By 1770, Captain Cook managed to claim many parts of eastern Australia for England. In a swift way, Britain expanded it’s assert to cover the entire of Australia. However, the cost had most of the settlement. This is because the Australian Europeans knew the coast well and they could easily get sea transport. It took most of the 19th century for the Europeans to know what is like in the vast inland of Australia (Butlin, 47). To gain knowledge about the inland, the explorers made dangerous and long expeditions into the unfamiliar from the few settlement on the coast. The settlers were devoted to go anywhere the explorers found better land necessary for farming. The late 19th century, the Europeans began to increase even into the uncultivable parts of Australia, searching for gold or other minerals of value. According to Australian white history, it is in the 19th century when courageous pioneers opened the frontier and widened civilization into a hard and dangerous nation through working hard, settlers established mines and farms that have offered modern Australia most of its wealth. According to the history of the Aboriginals, however, frontier was where the British pushed back the civilization of the Aborigines. Normally, the frontier witnessed conflicts. As the Europeans and the settlers moved into new tribal places, fighting took place because the Aborigines were protecting what was rightfully theirs. In the early days, the Aboriginals greeted the early settlers and the explorers with hospitality and friendship. Battles began when the Aboriginals discovered that the newcomers wanted to take their resources and their land. Therefore, in most parts of Australia, open warfare was common for sometime as the Aboriginals fought hard to defend themselves and protect their so loved land. Aboriginals used guerilla tactics in such warfare. They made impromptu attacks on isolated Europeans and settlers or spearheaded the cattle and the sheep before getting lost into the landscape (Butlin, 45). In places where the settlers and the Europeans were in small numbers, the guerilla tactics led to widespread fear, and the Europeans and the settlers lost to the Aboriginals and left their farms. Whenever there were good numbers of settlers and Europeans, they managed to organize themselves in groups of settlers and made police to hunt the Aboriginals people. In many occasions, the tactics used involved massacre of blameless Aboriginals who did not take part in the attacks on the Europeans and the settlers. As the 19th century came towards an end, it was clear that the invasion by the Europeans had a severe consequence for the Aboriginals people of Australia. The largest effect was in areas predominantly occupied and settled by the whites. In these places, the population of the Aboriginals was vastly reduced. Their lifestyle and culture made over many years was destroyed. Many officers, soldiers and liberated prisoners by the 1820s had turned the land they got from the government into farms that were flourishing. The news about the cheap land in Australia and abundant work brought more boatloads of audacious migrants from England. Squatters or settlers began to move deep into the territories of the Aboriginals, normally with guns in search of water and pasture for their livestock. A party of convicts and soldiers in 1825 settled in the Yuggera people territory, close to the present day Brisbane. English men settled at Perth in 1829, and a squatter sailed to Philip Bay Port in 1835, and chose Melbourne location. A private British company, at the same period, with pride of having no links with convicts, settled in South Australia specifically Adelaide (Carter, Morrish and Amoyaw, 170). There was discovery of gold in central Victoria and New South Wales in 1851. This lured many young men and women who were adventurous from the colonies. Prospectors from China joined this young women and men. There also came chaotic carnival of publicans, illicit-liquor sellers, quacks, prostitutes, and entertainers from across the world. The British governor attempts to impose heavy-handed troopers and monthly license resulted to a fierce anti-authoritarian violence in 1854 of the Eureka stockade. Even though there was violence in the goldfields, wealth from wool and gold brought huge investment to Sydney and Melbourne and by around 1880s, the two towns became modern and stylish cities. The six states of Australia became a nation January 1 1901 under a single constitution. WWI had overwhelming effects to Australia. By 1914, the country had below than 3 million men, yet about 400,000 of them accepted to fight in the war as volunteers. Tens of thousands were wounded in the war while about 60,000 died in the war (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 89). In response to the grief, 1920s was a whirlwind of cinemas and new cars, American movies and Jazz and enthusiasm for the British Empire. Economic and social divisions increased during because of 1929 great depression, thus many institution of economic in Australia failed. The national distraction was sports and heroes of sports like Lap Phar and Donald Bradman the cricketer gained status of near mythical. In WWII, forces of Australia made important contribution to the related conquest in Europe, the Pacific and Asia. Generation that fought WWII and survived returned with pride in the abilities of Australia (Rowland, 305). Thousands of migrants from the Middle East and across Europe arrived in Australia after WWII. Many of them found jobs in thriving manufacturing industry. Many women took jobs in factories while the men who took part in the war continued with the job even in peacetime. Throughout 1950s, the economy of Australia grew, with main projects of nation building like the Hydroelectric Scheme of Snowy Mountains near Canberra. The demand internationally for Australia major export of wools, metals, wheat, and meat grew and there was prosperity in suburban Australia. Home ownership rate grew dramatically from forty percent in 1947 to over seventy percent in the 1960s (Borrie, 58). The growth of towns and economy influenced the settlement and distribution of people as people moved to place where they could find jobs and in major towns and cities. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (56), the effects of European invasion largely influenced the population of Australia even to date. Most of the population in Australia is clustered in two broadly divided coastal regions, the east and the southeast. Of the two regions, the east is by far the biggest in population and area. Most population is in the urban areas. By June 2010, the density of population in Australia was 2.9 people per kilometer square as compared in 2005 where the population distribution was 2.6 people per kilometer square (Australian Academy of Science, 78). Of the territories and states, the capital of Australia territory has the highest population density. As of June 2010, the area had about 150 people per square kilometer. The following territory is Victoria with approximately 24 people per square kilometer. The northern territory records the lowest population density of about 0.2 people for every square kilometer (Carter, Morrish and Amoyaw, 203). This distribution appears to be in line with the patterns and development brought by the European invasion. Cities of Australia record the highest population density. People settle in cities for search of jobs, education and medical facilities. Many earlier developments were distributed in the city. The most populated cities include Sydney, Waverley, Melbourne, Victoria, and Port Philip. In general, largest growth is in the cities, however, in cases of outside the city, most of the highest settlement and population is found in the coastal regions of Australia. Migration, mainly internal migration and the climatic conditions affect the current distribution of people in Australia. This influence the way people move in search of better places. As much as the customs of the Aborigines people underwent changes after the war, there are few remnants of the group, however, they are mostly found in the rural areas. Major lineaments of post-war settlement of immigrants remain, but there have been significant changes in the patterns of settlement since 2001. Australia continues to be a country with interesting settlement patterns. These are mainly due to different factor, from the effects of European invasion. Climatic changes and issues of immigration currently play a major role in the settlement of Australia. Work Cited Australian Academy of Science. Population 2040 Australia’s Choice, Proceedings of the Symposium of the 1994 Annual General Meeting of the Australian Academy of Science. Canberra, Australian Academy of Science, 1995 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Population Projections Australia, Catalogue No. 3222.0, Canberra, ABS, 2008 Borrie, W.D. The European Peopling of Australasia: A Demographic History, 1788-1988. Canberra, ANU Printing Service, 1994 Butlin, N.G. Our Original Aggression: Aboriginal Population of South Eastern Australia, 1788-1850. Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 1983 Carter, T., Morrish, M. and Amoyaw, B. Attracting Immigrants to Smaller Urban and Rural Communities: Lessons Learned from the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program, Journal of International Migration and Integration, 9, 2, pp. 161-183. 2008 Rowland, D.T. Internal Migration in Australia. Canberra, ABS, 1979 Read More