Australian frontier wars

Australian frontier wars
New South Wales Mounted Police engaging Aboriginal warriors during the Waterloo Creek massacre of 1838
Date 1788–1934;[1] table below, 1788–1900 Location Australia Result British victory No treaty signed British system of law established; Indigenous people dispossessed Indigenous population decline due to epidemics, killings, starvation and forced migration Disruption of Indigenous cultures, assimilation of many Indigenous people
Belligerents
British Empire Colony of New South Wales Colony of Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) Colony of Western Australia (Swan River Colony) Province of South Australia Northern Territory Colony of Victoria (Port Phillip District) Colony of Queensland	Aboriginal Australians: Eora, Dharug, Gandangara and Tharawal Wiradjuri Wonnarua and Gamilaroi Gunditjmara Palawa peoples Noongar peoples Jagera Many others
Commanders and leaders
Arthur Phillip Lachlan Macquarie James Stirling George Arthur Others	Pemulwuy Musquito Windradyne Yagan Tunnerminnerwait Truganini Tarenorerer Multuggerah Jandamarra Dundalli Mannalargenna Nemarluk Tarrarer Cocknose Partpoaermin Koort Kirrup Alkapurata
Strength
British Army[2] Australian native police NSW Mounted Police NSW Border Police British colonists British colonial police forces State and territory police Aboriginal allies	Thousands of warriors and resistance fighters, divided among over 150 different nations, clans, groups British and Irish convict/settler allies
Casualties and losses
About 2,500 killed[3]	At least 30,000 killed[4]

The Australian frontier wars were the violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians (including both Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) and mostly British settlers during the colonial period of Australia.^[5]

The first conflict took place several months after the landing of the First Fleet in January 1788, and the last conflicts occurred in the early 20th century following the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, with some occurring as late as 1934. Conflicts occurred in a number of locations across Australia.

Estimates of the number of people killed in the fighting vary considerably.