page_title: History of Sydney
section_title: Aboriginal resistance and conflicts
hierarchical_section_title: History of Sydney / Aboriginal resistance and conflicts
caption_attribution_description: English: "Pimbloy: Native of New Holland in a canoe of that country", engraving, on sheet, 20.8 x 26.0 cm.
context_page_description: The History of Sydney begins in prehistoric times with the occupation of the district by Australian Aboriginals, whose ancestors came to Sydney in the Upper Paleolithic period. The modern history of the city began with the arrival of a First Fleet of British ships in 1788 and the foundation of a penal colony by Great Britain.
  From 1788 to 1900 Sydney was the capital of the British colony of New South Wales. An elected city council was established in 1840. In 1901, Sydney became a state capital, when New South Wales voted to join the Australian Federation. Sydney today is Australia's largest city and a major international capital of culture and finance. The city has played host to many international events, including the 2000 Summer Olympics.
context_section_description: With the expansion of European settlement large amounts of land was cleared for farming, which resulted in the destruction of Aboriginal food sources. This, combined with the introduction of new diseases such as smallpox, caused resentment within the Aboriginal clans against the British and resulted in violent confrontations.
  Pemulwuy, an Aboriginal Political leader, is notable for his resistance to the European settlement of Australia. He persuaded the Eora, Dharug and Tharawal people to join his campaign against the newcomers. From 1792 Pemulwuy led raids on settlers from Parramatta, Georges River, Prospect, Toongabbie, Brickfield Hill and Hawkesbury River. His most common tactic was to burn crops and kill livestock. Whether Pemulwuy was actively resisting European settlement, or was only attempting to uphold Aboriginal law, which often involved revenge acts, is debated by historians. Regardless, the British believed the attacks made against them were acts of war.
  In March 1797, Pemulwuy led a group of Aboriginal warriors, estimated to be at least 100, in an attack on a government farm at Toongabbie. At dawn the next day government troops and settlers followed them to Parramatta. When confronted, Pemulwuy threw a spear at a soldier prompting the government troops and settlers to open fire. Pemulwuy was the first to be shot and wounded. The Aboriginal warriors threw many spears, hitting one man in the arm. The difference in firepower was evident and five Aboriginal warriors were killed instantly. This incident has more recently become known as the Battle of Parramatta.
  The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars (1795–1816) were a series of wars between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Indigenous clans of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers in northwest Sydney. The war was extremely complex, as many of the Aboriginal nations occasionally allied themselves to the British in order to conquer more land for their tribes, and just as quickly returned to a state of war against the British. It was fought using mostly guerrilla-warfare tactics; however, several conventional battles also took place. The wars resulted in the defeat of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Indigenous clans who were subsequently dispossessed of their lands.
caption: Aboriginal leader, Pemulwuy.
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