Aboriginal Population Decline in Victoria Flashcards

Aboriginal Population Trends in the Port Phillip District (Victoria)

The Aboriginal population in the Port Phillip District, later known as Victoria, underwent a catastrophic decline following European contact. Historical estimates and official census data tracking 'full-blooded' Aboriginal people reveal the following trajectory:

1835: Estimated population of at least $11,500$ (likely higher).
1851: Official census recorded $2,953$ .
1863: Official census recorded $1,920$ .
1877: Official census recorded $1,067$ .

In the Melbourne region specifically, the decline was more rapid and concentrated:

1835: $350$ people.
1838: $292$ people.
1839: $207$ people.
1852: $59$ people.
1863: $33$ people.

Impact of Disease and Pathogens

Disease played a critical role in the population collapse. Pathogens were introduced both by Macassans (Indonesian seafarers from Makassar/Sulawesi) who visited northern Australia for sea cucumbers in the eighteenth century, and by European colonizers after $1788$ .

Introduced Diseases

Because the Aboriginal population had no prior exposure to these pathogens, they possessed no genetic immunities, leading to exaggerated symptoms and rapid fatalities. The diseases included:

Respiratory Diseases: Smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, and chest infections.
Childhood Diseases: Measles and whooping cough.
General Pathogens: Scarlet fever, typhus, and water-borne diseases such as dysentery.
Venereal Diseases: Gonorrhea and syphilis, which significantly impacted health and fertility.

Clinical Observations

Protector Parker documented the rapid progression of respiratory disease in $June\,1841$ on the Loddon River. One man exhibited symptoms of internal inflammation only on his final morning; within $24\,\text{hours}$ , his condition was hopeless, and he died shortly thereafter. By $1860$ , the Melbourne Hospital reported that of six Aboriginal patients, five were admitted for chest diseases and one for burns.

Ecological Displacement and the Loss of Traditional Food

The arrival of British settlers and their livestock (cattle and sheep runs) fundamentally altered the environment and deprived Aboriginal people of their primary food sources.

The Displacement of Game

Kangaroo, a staple meat, fled districts as they were occupied by livestock. The presence of stock keepers and farmers led to "disturbances" or violence as Aboriginal groups were forced into closer contact with settlers while searching for food near huts.

The Destruction of the Murnong (Yam Daisy)

The Murnong ( $Microseris\,scapigera$ ) was highly nutritious and a staple vegetable across southern Australia. Its disappearance was caused by two main factors:

Overgrazing: Sheep and cattle found the plant highly palatable and rapidly ate it out.
Soil Compaction: The Murnong thrives in loose soil. The continuous trampling of heavy livestock (horses, cattle, and sheep) hardened the soil. In $1846$ , soil that once felt like "ashes" (reddish loam) became so hard that it required a digging fork rather than a common spade to turn, making it impossible for the plant to thrive or for people to dig for the roots.

By $1983$ , the plant was almost entirely absent from Victoria's western and northern plains, surviving only in isolated patches like roadsides where grazing was not continuous.

Changes in Subsistence and Substance Use

As traditional food sources like yams, kangaroos, and possums became scarce, Aboriginal people's means of subsistence shifted based on their proximity to Melbourne.

Urban Proximity: Those within $80$ to $100\,\text{miles}$ of Melbourne increasingly relied on European provisions such as bread, potatoes, and mutton.
Alcohol Impact: The introduction of "spirits" (alcohol) had a devastating effect. By $1852$ , many among the $300$ Aboriginal people in the Melbourne region were described as habitual drunkards. This led to a state of "degradation" and increased vulnerability to disease. The combination of intoxication and sleeping outdoors in the cold exacerbated pulmonary diseases and influenza.
Distant Tribes: Tribes in the Mallee country, the lower Loddon River, and near Lake Boga maintained more traditional lifestyles, living by hunting and fishing, though they occasionally visited stations to trade labor (like stripping bark) for food.

The Gold Rush and Economic Participation

The discovery of gold in Victoria in the early $1850$ s significantly altered the social landscape. While few Aboriginal people actively searched for gold, they participated in the new economy in other ways:

Wages: Some were employed at rates that would have been considered high for emigrant labor in ordinary times.
Cultural Maintenance: Despite adopting European dress and habits, many maintained "migratory propensities," frequently leaving stations to visit traditional haunts and participate in tribal activities, including sports and warfare.

Quantitative Analysis of Population Decline

Statistical data from the first two decades of settlement (where a population of at least $10,000$ dropped by $80\%$ ) suggests the following causes of death:

Violence: $1,500$ to $2,000$ deaths occurring at both "white and black hands."
Natural Causes: $1,000$ to $1,500$ deaths.
Disease and Debility: $4,000$ to $5,000$ deaths. This category includes deaths resulting from the disruption of food supplies and the cumulative impact of cultural upheaval.

Demographic Crisis and "Loss of Faith"

A critical factor in the decline was the inability of the population to recover due to extremely low birth rates. From $1839$ to $1859$ , records for the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung peoples show a massive disparity between life and death:

Total Deaths: $135$ ( $29$ occurring after $1850$ ).
Total Births: $28$ ( $20$ before $1850$ , $8$ after).
Ratio: Deaths outmatched births by nearly $5:1$ .

Causes of Low Birth Rates

Historians attribute this "population disaster" to:

Poor nutrition due to loss of traditional staples.
Venereal disease leading to infertility.
Loss of traditional lands.
A profound "loss of faith in the future."

This psychological and spiritual despair is captured in the testimony of an Aboriginal man who expressed that there was "no good" in having a "lubra" (wife) or "piccaninny" (children) because the land had been taken. He expressed a sense of impending death: "I tumble down and die very soon now."

Spiritual and Cultural Impact of Displacement

Forcing Aboriginal people off their traditional country had impacts beyond physical survival. Removal to the fringes of white society or into the territories of traditional enemies left people "adrift." Because their specific country provided spiritual and cultural sustenance as well as food, being separated from it led to a total loss of identity and spiritual grounding.