Gateway Chronicle 2021

Dreamtime which they believed to preordain their
way of life. As living beings, under their religion,
they had to follow the law of the Dreaming and
carry out rituals, which guaranteed the continuance
of their world. The land was believed to originally
have been inhabited by ancestral figures that had supernatural
abilities, which had become the features
on the landscape and natural forces such as wind
and rain. These beliefs were passed down through
various stories which explained the creation of
various different land marks, people, animals, laws
and customs. One such is Uluru (Ayers Rock) in
the Northern Territory, one of Australia’s most
recognisable landmarks, known for its large size
and orange-red colouring. There are many stories
about the formation of Uluru, one being that serpent
beings were in conflict around the rock which
scarred it. It was seen by the Aboriginal Australians
as a sacred site, known as a resting place for the
ancient spirits that used to inhabit the area during
the Dreaming. The area has a rich history and cave
paintings can still be found within it dating back
thousands of years. Various other sites of religious
importance exist across Australia and demonstrate
the links that various groups had across such a
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large area, but also the diversity of explanations
attributed to various features on the land.
The impact on Aboriginal Australian society of colonialism
by the British Empire was profound. British
colonialism began with the transportation of
criminals to Australia, with the first fleet of ships
arriving in 1788. For the next 150 years, criminals
as well as regular settlers would migrate Australia
and move further inland, bringing their livestock,
crops and guns. Resultantly, from 1788 to 1900, the
Aboriginal population had reduced by 90% due to
disease, loss of important land and direct conflict
with settlers. The initial waves of settlement had
pushed them off vital areas of resources and monopolised
them for their own means, such as water
sources for the use of cattle ranching. This left
groups of Aboriginals with nowhere to collect food
and water, and they were also pushed off the land
into areas that were not generally suitable to settle
where food and water were scarce. Their traditional
patterns of travel, land management, hunting and
gathering were all interrupted which were vital to
their semi-nomadic lifestyle, while sacred sites were
blocked off meaning that no cultural and religious
exchange could take place. Inevitably, from the actions
of the settlers in forcing the Aboriginal Australians
off the land, conflict arose due to the lack
of resources. Aboriginals were left with little choice
but to try to steal food from settler communities, or
attack their livestock to halt their advance in order
to survive. However, settlers quickly reacted with
reprisals, which didn’t just target the perpetrators
of these actions. They went further by also massacring,
terrorising and chasing Aboriginal communities
indiscriminately using the ‘Native Police’.
It is estimated that at least 20,000 died as a direct
result of this conflict. Contemporary sources even
regarded this as a brutal and blatant land grab by
European settlers. A Commons Select Committee,
producing a final report on native people within the
empire in 1837, stated:
“It might be presumed that the native inhabitants of any
land have an incontrovertible right to their own soil: a
plan and sacred right, however, which seems not to have
been understood. Europeans have entered their borders
uninvited, and, when there, have not only acted as if they
were undoubted lords of the soil, but have punished the
natives as aggressors if they have envinced a disposition
to live in their own country”
The ability of the British Empire to recognise the