Unsettled - the Aborigine's Story of Invasion

 The day before I went to Kurnell to see Cook's landing spot, we went to the Australian Museum to see an exhibit about the First Nation's Peoples reactions to Cook's voyage and the white settlement of Australia.

The term 'Aborigines' has now been replaced by 'First Nations People' or 'Indigenous' for general use in Australia. I see that the term 'Aborigine' is now considered offensive.

It's estimated that the First Nation's People have been in Australia for over 50,000 years and some estimates exceed 100,000 years. 

A cast of Mungo Man's foot print. There are remains of a man and woman which have been dated to 50,000 years ago.

Apparently, the Aborigines lit smoke signals as Cook's ship proceeded north.

Cook's orders were to take possession of Australia which he did on an island at the northern tip of Australia. He did not sign any treaty with the local inhabitants and the indigenous people argue that the subsequent settlement of Australia constitutes an invasion.

There were several ships that landed on the west and northern coasts of Australia, but Cook's voyage was the first documented voyage to the east coast. However, there are theories that the Portuguese created a map of the east coast prior to Cook's voyage and there is also the possibility that the Chinese visited in 1492.

Sir Joseph Banks (who was on the Endeavor with Cook) recommends Botany Bay for settlement.

The Indigenous people fought back against the 'invaders'.

Massacres of the local indigenous people were common, including the area where we live. You can read about it here. The article also mentions Portuguese objects found on Fraser island.

It's a difficult conversation for many older white Australians. We were taught very little about the 'Aborigines' other than they lived a very primitive life. We saw very few of them since they were located away from the country towns. Racism is still very common in Australia, though it's not as bad as it used to be.

Since the end of WWII, there has been another 'invasion' of Australia with immigrants coming from war-torn Europe and subsequently from Asia. There are still older white Australians of UK descent who are against immigration, but the majority have realized that Australia is a better place than it was 60 years ago.

Hopefully, in years to come, racism will become a thing of the past, but some politicians have always used 'fear of others not like us' as a way to attract voters.

 I suspect the indigenous people will always have regret and anger about what happened. They certainly have the right.

I read an article about a Jewish survivor of Auschwitz who died recently. This statement resonated.

"You are not guilty of what happened back then. But you become guilty if you refuse to listen to what happened."