Outdoor and Environmental Studies Unit Non Indigenous relationships with Australian environments

Key points Arrived in 1788 from a continent that had seen nature controlled for centuries. Europe had high rainfall, predictable seasons and fertile soils Believed that god had created the world for humans to use and control

Key points Contempt – all things British were superior Australian trees, landscapes, animals were harsh, ugly, strange and inferior and thus replaced with British species and landscapes. Harnessed natural resources without restraint causing huge impacts such as deforestation, animal extinction and pollution.

The First Settlers The first fleet sailed into Australia in 1788, landing in Botany Bay, Sydney. At first they found this land somewhat strange, after sighting kangaroos and koalas. They met with some aborigines who seemed to object to their arrival, however they were quickly scattered with their fire-sticks (muskets).

The First Settlers The most immediate consequence of British settlement – within weeks of the first colonists' arrival – was a wave of European epidemic diseases such as chickenpox, smallpox, influenza and measles, which spread in advance of the frontier of settlement. The worst-hit communities were the ones with the greatest population densities, where disease could spread more readily. In the arid centre of the continent, where small communities were spread over a vast area, the population decline was less marked.

The First Settlers The second consequence of British settlement was appropriation of land and water resources. The settlers took the view that Indigenous Australians were nomads with no concept of land ownership, who could be driven off land wanted for farming or grazing and who would be just as happy somewhere else. In fact the loss of traditional lands, food sources and water resources was usually fatal, particularly to communities already weakened by disease.

The First Settlers Had those Aborigines known what their future would hold, they may have put up a more substantial fight. Within 100 years their population would dwindle from approximately 4 million to less than 200 thousand, through murderous slaughter and introduced disease.

Continuing impacts on Indigenous Australians Settlers also brought alcohol, opium and tobacco, and substance abuse has remained a chronic problem for Indigenous communities ever since. The combination of disease, loss of land and direct violence reduced the Aboriginal population by an estimated 90% between 1788 and Entire communities in the moderately fertile southern part of the continent simply vanished without trace, often before European settlers arrived or recorded their existence.

Perceptions Most of the first settlers were convicts who longed to return to England. They were unsure if they would survive in this desperate and hard place. They believed the land was now owned, by them!

Perceptions However they saw Australia as a threat that had to be defeated, they wanted to tame this wild land and turn in into Ye-old England

Perceptions They cared none for the way the indigenous people looked after the land and managed it. They wanted to clear forests, put up fences, introduce European animals, and valued the land only on it’s commercial yield (logging, sheep and agricultural farming etc). They saw land… as a resource

Interactions and Impacts Sheep production was the dominant farming practice of the day with 10,000,000 sheep in Victoria by 1870 (world’s largest wool supplier). Sheep are hard hoofed and aggressive grazers and which in combination with land clearing caused extensive soil erosion and loss of quality pasture with deep rooted perennial grasses disappearing from many areas.

Interactions and Impacts Logging forests was necessary to build houses for Australia’s increasing population. It also meant native trees could be replaced with more familiar English gardens.

Interactions and Impacts Settlers build close to waterways, thus causing serious water pollution, aboriginal people never have allowed this.

Interactions and Impacts Settlers introduced many foreign species of animal and plants such as rabbits, foxes, pigs prickly pear, blackberries etc, most often for food and sport. Research one introduced/feral plant and animal species. (refer to worksheet)

PerceptionsPractices and InteractionsImpacts  Own the land  Fear of this new and harsh and distant and different place – seasons, weather, local inhabitants  Some saw the land as an opportunity – to start fresh, make a fortune, build a family, get away from struggle in other places  No one owned the land – Terra Nullius. (Controversy over this term.)  New land was to be ‘conquered’  Colonisation usually meant bringing most things with you – settlers struggled to live off the land as the Aboriginal people did  Development of towns and first cities – mostly near the coast. Why?  Exploration of land for farms and treasure and adventure  Introduction of many species. Animals for farming, hunting and companionship; plants for farming and homesickness  Initially small – due to numbers – but began an approach to treating the land that would create larger effects as the population grew  Reduced use of fires meant heavy undergrowth  Clearing of forests for farming and construction  Impacts of introduced species

Early industries in the Grampians Logging/Forestry Mining (Heatherli Quarry) Cattle grazing (surrounding areas) What were their impacts?