Timeline of Aboriginal history of Western Australia facts for kids

This is a timeline of the history of Aboriginal people in Western Australia. It shows how their lives changed over time, especially after Europeans arrived.

Early Encounters: 1629–1829

When Europeans first arrived in Western Australia, Aboriginal people were curious and trusting, but also ready to defend their land if needed.

• 4 June 1629: After a shipwreck, two young mutineers were left on the mainland.
• 28 April 1656: The ship Vergulde Draeck crashed. 68 survivors landed and disappeared. Some believe they might have become a "white tribe" among Aboriginal people.
• 5 January 1688: William Dampier arrived and described the Aboriginal people as "the most miserable people in the world." His meeting with them was hostile, with people hurt on both sides.
• 1699: Dampier returned. During this time, Portuguese people from Timor raided the Kimberley to capture Aboriginal people as slaves.
• 1712: The Zuytdorp ship was wrecked near Geraldton. Survivors were welcomed by local Aboriginal people. A rock carving that looks like a Dutch ship was found far inland at Walga Rock.
• April 1787: Governor Arthur Phillip of New South Wales ordered his people to be friendly with Aboriginal people and punish anyone who harmed them.
• 1788: Diseases like smallpox and measles arrived with the first European ships on the east coast and spread across Australia.
• 1791: George Vancouver entered Albany harbour. He claimed the land for Britain, even though he knew Aboriginal Mineng people owned it.
• 1801: Matthew Flinders visited Western Australia. Aboriginal people called Europeans Djanga, meaning spirits returned from the dead. In King George Sound, Aboriginal people were friendly and traded with Flinders, even though they didn't want Europeans at their campsite.
• 1818: Phillip Parker King began his voyages to Western Australia. Mineng Nyungar people from Albany helped his sailors find food.
• 1826: Mokare, a Mineng Aboriginal man, became important for good relations between white settlers and Aboriginal people in Albany.
• 25 December 1826: Major Edmund Lockyer claimed King George Sound for Britain. He rescued an Aboriginal man who had been kidnapped and left on an island by sealers. These sealers had also killed another man and taken women.
• 1827: James Stirling explored the Swan River. He was attacked by Aboriginal people at Claise Brook. Later, Aboriginal people explained they had mistaken Stirling's group for the violent sealers. Stirling traded with another group of Aboriginal men further up the river.
• 1828: Mokare became good friends with assistant surgeon Isaac Scott Nind and later with Captain Collet Barker. Mokare and his brother Nakina helped soldiers catch runaway convicts and were rewarded with steel tools.

Settlement and Conflict: 1829–1881

European settlement in Western Australia led to land being taken, Aboriginal people being used for cheap labor, and resistance being met with force.

• 18 June 1829: A declaration announced the settlement of Western Australia. It said Aboriginal people were British subjects and anyone harming them would be punished.
• October 1829: Aboriginal people took sheep and food in the Swan district. Some settlers were afraid of attacks.
• 1 November 1830: Soldiers and armed settlers clashed with Aboriginal people in Upper Swan. An Aboriginal leader was shot dead.
• 1831: George Fletcher Moore, a settler, noted that Aboriginal people were not "despicable" and often shared food.
• 26 June 1831: Mokare died. He was buried with his belongings. Later, his friend Dr. Collie asked to be buried next to him. Their graves are now under Albany Town Hall.
• 3 October 1831: Stirling created a citizen militia to capture Aboriginal people accused of crimes.
• May 1832: A settler was killed. Yagan, son of Midgegooroo, was identified as the killer and declared an outlaw. A reward was offered for his capture.
• 26 June 1832: A meeting discussed the "Aboriginal Question." Robert Menli Lyon reminded settlers that they had taken Aboriginal land and called for a mediator.
• September 1832: Yagan was captured and sent to Carnac Island but escaped six weeks later.
• 1833: R.M. Lyon described the territories of different Aboriginal groups based on information from Yagan.
• 1833–34: Violent conflicts increased as Aboriginal people sought "pay-back" for those killed.
• February 1833: Efforts began to stop Aboriginal people from entering the Perth city area.
• April 1833: A false rumour of an Aboriginal attack led many men in Fremantle to arm themselves.
• 29 April 1833: Domjum, Yagan's brother, was shot dead while breaking into a store.
• 30 April 1833: In revenge, Yagan, Midgegooroo, and Munday killed two white brothers who had treated Aboriginal people badly.
• 1 May 1833: Captain Irwin declared the three men outlaws. Rewards were offered for their capture.
• 17 May 1833: Midgegooroo and his young son were captured in the Helena Valley.
• 21 May 1833: Midgegooroo was tried and immediately executed outside the Perth jail. His tribe was very upset.
• July 1833: William Keats shot and killed Yagan. Keats was then killed by other Aboriginal people. The Perth Gazette newspaper criticized Keats for his betrayal.
• January 1834: R. M. Lyon proposed setting aside land for Aboriginal people in every district, but his idea was rejected.
• April 1834: Calyute led a raid on a mill in South Perth. Calyute was later captured and given 60 lashes.
• May 1834: A settler shot an Aboriginal leader, Yeedamira, who was trying to escape. In revenge, Weeip and Godaljud led a group that killed a soldier.
• September 1834: Stirling pardoned Weeip and his son.
• 25–28 October 1834: The "Battle of Pinjarra" occurred, where many Aboriginal men, women, and children were killed.
• 1 January 1835: Forty-three starving Aboriginal people were shot at while gathering grain in Maylands.
• February 1835: A settler shot Gogalee, the son of Yellagonga, and another Aboriginal man was killed.
• March 1835: Stirling tried to make peace. He ordered the arrest of the settler who shot Gogalee and held a peace ceremony with the Perth Noongar people.
• June 1835: A York settler, Mr. Trimmer, set a laborer to shoot Aboriginal people stealing from his farm. This led to more violence.
• 8 November 1835: Dr. Collie died and was buried with his friend Mokare.
• December 1835: Captain Frederick Irwin spoke about the need to "Christianise the Natives," leading to the "West Australian Missionary Society."
• July 1836: Settlers in the Avon area fenced off waterholes and shot at Balardong people who tried to access them.
• August 1836: An attack on a household in Toodyay left four Aboriginal men dead.
• 1837: A British committee debated Aboriginal rights, stating that all land was originally Aboriginal property and that taking it without consent was wrong.
• May 1837: A priest, Louis Giustiniani, protested when an Aboriginal man was sentenced to 7 years for stealing grapes from what was once his own land.
• June 1837: Yellagonga's wife was arrested on a minor charge and became very sick in jail.
• October 1837: Giustiniani became the first white person to defend an Aboriginal person in court. He was ridiculed for his efforts.
• January 1838: George Grey was wounded during an expedition and had to return.
• 13 February 1838: Giustiniani left Western Australia, upset by the treatment of Aboriginal people.
• May 1838: The Mount Eliza Aboriginal Feeding Station, a sacred site, was closed and sold.
• July 1838: Molly Dobbin, a popular Aboriginal man, was sentenced to 7 years transportation to Rottnest Island but escaped.
• August 1838: Lieutenant George Grey was mistaken for a returned spirit by an Aboriginal woman who believed he was her son.
• September 1838: The London-based Aboriginal Protection Society said Britain had taken Aboriginal land "without treaties or consent."
• 1 January 1839: Governor Hutt was appointed and ordered to encourage the "civilising and Christianising" of Aboriginal people. He set up a department for Aboriginal Affairs.
• 1 April 1839: George Grey's expedition was shipwrecked. A Binjareb man named Kaiber helped negotiate safe passage for the crew.
• 1839: The smallpox vaccine arrived but was only used for white settlers for 15 years, despite the disease's deadly effect on Aboriginal people.
• January 1840: Edward John Eyre began a journey with two Aboriginal men from New South Wales and Wylie, a young Mineng Noongar from Albany.
• 29 April 1840: One of Eyre's companions was killed, and supplies were stolen.
• 9 July 1840: Eyre and Wylie arrived in Albany. Wylie was celebrated for his safe return.
• September 1840: Reverend Smithies opened a chapel for Aboriginal people. Francis Armstrong and his wife taught children, but they removed the children from their parents, setting a sad example for the future Stolen Generations.
• 1840: The "Aboriginal Protection Society" in London urged that no land be settled without the consent of its inhabitants. Aboriginal people are still waiting for their Treaty.
• August 1841: An Anglican mission school for Aboriginal children opened at Jane Brook. An influenza outbreak killed many students, making parents wary of sending their children.
• 1840: Governor Hutt created the position of Aboriginal Police Aides. He also reduced rations for displaced Aboriginal people, forcing them to work for settlers.
• 1842: The first Aboriginal person was tried for a tribal killing. This set a precedent where European law interfered with traditional Aboriginal customs.
• 10 June 1843: Death of Yellagonga.
• 1843: Father John Brady visited Western Australia and asked Rome for missionaries.
• 1844: An Aboriginal school was moved to Wanneroo. The goal was to destroy Aboriginal bush life habits, a form of cultural genocide.
• 1846: George Grey left Western Australia, stating that Aboriginal people were "as apt and intelligent as any race of men."
• 1851: Few Balardong people remained in the York district, suffering from starvation and disease.
• 1852: Aboriginal people systematically raided cattle in the Geraldton area. Many Aboriginal lives were lost during this period, though no official records were kept.
• 1877: Mary Ellen Cuper, an expert Morse Code operator, trained another Aboriginal woman, Sarah Ninak. Governor Ord banned neck chains for Aboriginal people, but the practice continued.
• 1879: Alexander Forrest explored the Kimberley. He noted that Aboriginal people were very afraid of whites, likely due to the common practice of torturing them to find waterholes.

Institutionalized Racism: 1881–1942

This period saw the creation of laws that led to widespread racism, including "concentration camps" for Aboriginal people. The "final solution" was to take Aboriginal children from their parents, a practice that continued until the 1970s.

• 1881: C.D.F. Foss was appointed magistrate and imposed harsh, often illegal, sentences on Aboriginal people. Pastoralists treated Aboriginal people as slaves, forcing them to work for little or no pay. If they ran away, they were arrested and returned.
• June 1881: The first court was held on Brockman's station. Four Aboriginal men were sent to Rottnest Island.
• 1882: Flogging Aboriginal prisoners on Rottnest was made legal, even though it was banned for Europeans. Many convictions of Aboriginal people to Rottnest were illegal.
• 1883: A commission found that identifying disks on prisoners were sometimes swapped, changing sentences. Over 60 prisoners died from influenza at Rottnest.
• 1884: Alexander Forrest reported on the Kimberley, estimating vast lands for grazing. Gold was discovered at Halls Creek.
• 1885: The Duracks settled Lissadell station. An amendment to the Dog Act meant Aboriginal people could only have one licensed dog, which many couldn't afford, leading police to shoot their hunting dogs.
• January 1885: Anglican Archbishop Henry Parry supported new "mission reserves." Reverend J.B. Gribble arrived in Carnarvon and saw Aboriginal men and women chained by the neck. He also found that police were kidnapping Aboriginal people to work in the pearling industry.
• December 1885: Pastoralists condemned Gribble's work. Aboriginal people were still sentenced to Rottnest without proper evidence.
• January 1886: Gribble traveled to Victoria, exposing the widespread "child labor" and "assignment system" as slavery. He sued The West Australian editor for libel but lost.
• 1886: The Aborigines Protection Act was passed, creating the Aboriginal Protection Board. In theory, it was meant to protect Aboriginal people, but it mostly gave the government more control over them. It allowed for employment contracts, but often without wages, and allowed children to be indentured.
• 1893: The Education Act allowed white parents to object to Aboriginal children attending their schools, leading to Aboriginal children being excluded from the state education system.
• 1896: John Forest, Premier of Western Australia, took control of Aboriginal Affairs from the British, cutting funding for Aboriginal services.
• 1897: The Aborigines Department was set up, further increasing government control over Aboriginal people.
• 1899: A report showed 67 children at Beagle Bay mission were being taught to give up their "savage" way of life.

Towards Recognition: 1900–1992

This period began with a major strike and saw significant changes in how Aboriginal people were treated, leading to their recognition as Australians and the start of land rights.

• 1901: The Pallotines took over the Beagle Bay Mission.
• 1904: A Royal Commission discussed the "half-caste problem." The 1905 Act made all Aboriginal people "wards of the state," giving the Chief Protector of Aborigines the power to remove children from their parents.
• 1908: Bernier and Dorre Islands were used to isolate and treat Aboriginal people from northern Western Australia, often without their understanding. Many died there.
• 1 January 1909: The Department of Aborigines and Fisheries was created, treating Aboriginal people as part of the state's "protected flora and fauna."
• 1910: Daisy Bates described the hospitals on Bernier and Dorre Islands as "tombs of the living dead."
• 1911: The Aborigines Act Amendment Act gave the Protector even more power to remove Aboriginal children. In Katanning, Aboriginal children were excluded from school and their families were moved to a "concentration camp" at Carrolup.
• 1915: A. O. Neville became Protector of Aborigines. He believed "full blood Aborigines" should be segregated until they died out, and "half-caste Aborigines" should be assimilated into white society.
• 1918: Bernier and Dorre Islands hospitals closed. Over 700 patients had been admitted, and nearly 200 died on the islands.
• 1922: The Carrolup River Native Settlement was closed, and inmates were moved to Moore River Native Settlement.
• 1927: A.O. Neville declared a large area of central Perth a "prohibited area" for Noongars, requiring them to carry passes and obey a night curfew. This lasted until 1953.
• 1934: The Moseley Royal Commission found the Moore River Native Settlement to be a "woeful spectacle" with overcrowding, poor health, and harsh punishments for children.
• 1936: The Native Administration Act further increased the Chief Protector's power over all Aboriginal people in Western Australia.
• 1940s – 1970s: Roelands Mission operated as a center where up to 500 Aboriginal children were removed from their parents under the Stolen Generations policies.
• 1941: Thirty Aboriginal men at De Grey station successfully went on strike over poor food, leading to improvements.
• 1942: Aboriginal elders in the Pilbara secretly met with Don McLeod, a white Australian who defended Aboriginal rights. They planned a strike for better conditions after the war.
• 5 May 1946: The Great Stockman's Strike began on 20 Pilbara stations. Strikers demanded better wages and conditions. They supported themselves by living off the land and mining.
• 1947: The New Coolbaroo League was founded to lobby for Aboriginal people to live legally in Perth again.
• 1949: The police were unhappy with the full jails of strikers. The Mount Edgar Agreement offered unequal wages, but few strikers returned. Many Aboriginal people formed their own mining company.
• 1950: Attempts were made to remove the last traditional Aboriginal people from the Western Desert for British missile testing.
• 1951: The citizenship clause for Aboriginal people was changed, making it harder for them to become citizens. The mining boom helped Aboriginal strikers purchase five stations, their first new land since before 1911.
• January 1952: A new Native Welfare Council was established to extend citizenship to all Aboriginal people.
• 1953: The Coolbaroo League published its newspaper, Westralian Aborigine, giving a voice to Noongar people.
• April 1954: Queen Elizabeth II "crowned" a descendant of David Beaufort as "king of the Bibulmun" during her tour.
• 1954: The new Native Welfare Act did not stop the removal of Aboriginal children. However, the prohibited area in Perth was finally abandoned, and the Coolbaroo League held a ball at the Perth Town Hall.
• 1963: The Native Welfare Act repealed earlier laws, but the policy of removing Aboriginal children (the Stolen Generations) continued under other laws.
• 1964: A large group of Aboriginal women and children living a traditional life were "brought in" and settled at Jigalong.
• 1972: The Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority (AAPA) was created. For the first time, policies allowed Aboriginal children at risk to be fostered by their own families, ending a century of suffering.
• 1980: The Aboriginal Treaty Support Group was formed in Western Australia.
• 1984: A bill for Aboriginal land rights was defeated in the Legislative Council.
• 16 October 1987: Prime Minister Robert Hawke launched a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Western Australia had the most cases.
• 30 May 1989: The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presented its report, but many recommendations were not put into action.
• 3 June 1992: The Australian Supreme Court, in the Mabo case, ruled for the first time that Indigenous people have legal rights to land in Australia. The idea of terra nullius (empty land) was declared legally wrong.

Year of Indigenous Peoples – Present: 1992–Present

This period focuses on reconciliation, land rights, and addressing past injustices, though challenges remain.

• 10 December 1992: Prime Minister Paul Keating gave his Redfern Address, acknowledging that Europeans had dispossessed Aboriginal people, brought diseases, committed murders, and taken children.
• 1994: The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that many Aboriginal people had been separated from their families.
• 1 June 1995: The Indigenous Land Corporation was formed to help Indigenous people acquire and manage land.
• 1996: An inquiry confirmed that thousands of Aboriginal children had been separated from their families.
• December 1996: The Wik case showed that pastoral agreements did not remove native title rights.
• 26 May 1997: The Bringing Them Home Report confirmed that the removal of Aboriginal children was a "gross violation of their human rights" and an "act of genocide."
• June 1997: The "Sorry Book" initiative began, allowing Australians to express their desire for reconciliation.
• 26 May 1998: "Sorry Day" was declared an annual day for reconciliation.
• 6 March 2000: Premier Richard Court failed to change Native Title laws to remove native title on pastoral leases.
• 2000: The Spinifex People were the second Western Australian group to be awarded lands under the Native Title ruling.
• December 2002: The Gordon Inquiry stressed the urgent need to address abuse and violence in Aboriginal communities and improve their living conditions.
• 10 August 2004: The collection of Sorry Books was recognized on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
• 2005: The Roelands Mission site was acquired for former residents.
• 16 September 2006: A court ruling confirmed the survival of the Noongar people and their native title rights to lands in the southwest.
• 31 May 2007: The Western Australian Government announced it would investigate "stolen wages" – up to 75% of Aboriginal wages held by the government and never repaid.
• 21 June 2007: The Federal Government declared widespread abuse of Aboriginal children a national emergency, leading to tight controls on welfare benefits.
• 5 September 2007: The 2006 Census showed Aboriginal life expectancy was 17 years less than non-Aboriginal Western Australians.
• 26 November 2007: The election of the Rudd Labor government led to a promise of a formal apology for the Stolen Generations.
• 2008: All Australian governments signed the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (NIRA) to "Close the Gap" in areas like life expectancy, child mortality, and education.
• 13 February 2008: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal apology to Aboriginal people for the suffering caused by the Stolen Generations.
• 2008: Elder Mr Ward died from heat stroke in a prison van in remote WA.
• February 2012: A Noongar Tent Embassy was set up on Heirisson Island to protest a land deal.
• 6 March 2012: The Western Australian Government offered $2,000 compensation for "stolen wages," which many Aboriginal people called "an insult."
• 21 March 2012: The Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Cultural Centre campaigned to change a law that took Aboriginal people's assets if they died without a will.
• 14 March 2015: The Prime Minister angered Aboriginal leaders by calling settlements on traditional lands a "lifestyle choice."
• 28 April 2015: The Burrup Peninsula, an Aboriginal Sacred Site with ancient rock art, was deregistered.
• September 2015: Reports showed that the "stolen wages" compensation scheme was inadequate, with much more money owed than offered.
• 6 March 2017: Over 100 Indigenous leaders supported calls for a treaty between Aboriginal people and the Federal Government.
• May 2020: Rio Tinto destroyed Juukan Gorge 1 and 2, important Aboriginal Heritage sites dating back 46,000 years.
• 16 March 2022: New evidence revealed that over 10,000 Aboriginal people were killed in more than 400 massacres in Australia.
• October 2023: A book estimated that over 66,000 Aboriginal people were killed in massacres in Queensland alone, with violence also spreading to the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.

See also

• Aboriginal groupings of Western Australia