British Settler Violence Against Indigenous Australians
How British Settlers Killed Aboriginal Australians
The destruction of Indigenous Australians was systematic, prolonged, and multi-method:
Direct Violence
- Massacres: Myall Creek (1838), Coniston (1928), and dozens more—land clearing, retaliation, terror
- Poisoning: Food/water laced with arsenic, strychnine; ground baiting
Indirect Killing
- Introduced diseases: Smallpox, tuberculosis, measles—sometimes deliberately spread
- Forced labor/neglect: Appalling conditions on stations, denied food/medical care
- Child removal: Stolen Generations—forced assimilation, cultural erasure, abuse in institutions
Scale
Estimates: up to 250,000+ killed (1788–1930s). Genocide recognized by scholars; impacts persist in trauma, land loss, inequality.
This history is documented in the Bringing Them Home report, Royal Commissions, and extensive academic research.
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