Diseases Introduced by British Colonists to Australia: Impact on Indigenous Peoples

British colonization brought infectious diseases to which Indigenous Australians had little or no immunity, causing a "demographic catastrophe":

• Smallpox – Multiple devastating epidemics.
• Measles – Significant outbreaks, especially in remote communities.
• Tuberculosis (TB) – Long-term respiratory damage, disability, premature death.
• Influenza – Several pandemics during colonial period; high mortality.
• Others: Chickenpox, typhus, cholera, sexually transmitted infections.

These diseases, combined with land dispossession and cultural disruption, devastated Indigenous populations and ways of life.