Adapted To Their Continent

More than seven hundred and fifty thousand people lived in Australia before the arrival of the first fleet in 1788. This is only an estimate, but the evidence suggests that indigenous people occupied every corner of the continent.

However, in more fertile regions where population densities were high, introduced diseases like small pox decimated many communities.

As a result, nineteenth century observers popularised the mistaken impression that there were very few aboriginal Australians. This myth has been challenged over the last forty years, with research rediscovering the diversity and sophistication of indigenous culture before European invasion.