1. The Land
How Different Concepts of Australian land created tension between British and Aboriginal Peoples

2. Terra Nullius
In 1770 Captain James Cook landed in Botany Bay, home of the Eora people, and claimed possession of the East Coast of Australia for Britain under the doctrine of 'terra nullius‘. According to the international law of Europe in the late 18th century, there were only three ways that Britain could take over another country:
1. If the country was uninhabited, Britain could claim and settle that country. In this case, it could claim ownership of the land.
2. If the country was already inhabited, Britain could ask for permission from the indigenous people to use some of their land. In this case, Britain could purchase land for its own use but it could not steal the land of the indigenous people.
3. If the country was inhabited, Britain could take over the country by invasion and conquest- in other words, defeat that country in war. However, even after winning a war, Britain would have to respect the rights of indigenous people.

3. The myth of Terra Nullius
Britain did not follow any of these rules in Australia. Since there were already people living in Australia, Britain could not take possession by "settling" this country.
However, from the time of Captain Cook's arrival, the British Government acted as if Australia was uninhabited.
So, instead of admitting that it was invading land that belonged to Aboriginal people, Britain acted as it were settling an empty land.
This is what is meant by the myth of terra nullius. It was the legal definition of Australia’s status until it was overturned by the High Court in 1993.

4. Terra Nullius: in Summary
The words ‘Terra Nullius’ is a term in the Latin language. This was the language of the Law in 18th Century Britain.
Terra = Earth
Nullius = Empty, Nothing
Therefore ‘Terra Nullius’ means ‘a land that is empty of any people.’

5. British Concepts of Land
Land can be bought and sold.
The person who owns the land is the person who can say how it is used.
The way that it is used shows the wealth an status of the person (eg a rich person has a lot of land and they can build luxurious buildings on it; a poor person might only rent a small piece of land)
Land does not automatically get passed down according to family groups (unless you are in the Royal family, or a noble family…)
Land can be taken over by another group of people by settling an empty piece of land, asking for permission to use it, or invading it.

6. Aboriginal Concepts of Land
"A lot of people say Aboriginal people never farmed the land... never ploughed the land and they never grew wheat and they never planted apple trees and orange trees. We never had to. Our mother, the earth, she gave herself freely to us. And because we respected her and loved her, we never had to go and do all them other things. That would have been harming our mother. So we just took what she gave us."
Paul Gordon, Language Officer, Brewarrina, 1996.
Indigenous people accumulated a vast store of knowledge of plants and animals and of the foods and medicines they provided. Aboriginal people call these foods and medicines, bush tucker and bush medicine. There is a huge variety of bush tucker and bush medicine all over Australia for people who know where to find it.
If someone from another cultural group (ie another tribe), permission to travel through that land had to be granted by the traditional owners.
Ownership ndid not mean the same as buying and selling the land; the link was ancestral.

7. Settlement vs Invasion
‘Settlement’ was the word traditionally favoured by the people who came from Britain to establish farms and towns. The word has associations of being peaceful and calm. ‘Settlers’ are heroic and brave people who tame the wild lands.
The start of an amazing adventure, or the beginning of a nightmare?

8. Settlement vs Invasion(2)
Since the 1960s, many Aboriginal activists have labelled British people ‘invaders’, who took over a land that was not theirs to take. ‘Invaders’ has a military association, and it is a word used in times of war.
Australia’s future flag?

9. Colonialism
Whether or not Australia was ‘settled’ or ‘invaded’ has been the subject of much (heated) discussion over the last 20 years.
We can definitely say that the British brought the ideas of ‘colonialism’ with them.
Colonialism is the practise of taking political and economic control of another country.

10. Activities What does ‘Terra Nullius’ mean?
Write down the three ways the British could legally take over another country.
Create a Venn Diagram summarising the differences between British and Aboriginal concepts of land.
Write a paragraph providing evidence and answer the question: ‘was Australia settled or invaded?’
Define ‘colonialism’ and ‘colonisation’.