13. The frontier wars during early British settlement
Australia was populated by numerous aboriginal tribes when the British arrived, and they resisted the colonization of their lands in a manner similar to what occurred in North America. Fighting along the frontiers began in 1795, when Dharug warriors attacked farms and settlements along the Hawkesbury River. Clans of the Eora tribe attacked settlers in the areas of Parramatta and the Georges River around the same time. Garrisons were established by soldiers of the New South Wales Corps and subsequent British troops as the settlements pushed further inland. In 1801, Governor King authorized the shooting on sight of aborigines in several frontier regions.
Governor King also issued an order the same year for the capture of an Eora warrior named Pemulwuy, with a reward offered whether the native was dead or alive. Pemulwuy was a leader of clans fighting against the British encroachment who had been previously captured while wounded and escaped from custody. Governor King believed that the Eora were the agitators and chief cause of the hostility against the British. Pemulwuy was killed in 1802. His head was preserved in spirits and sent to Sir Joseph Banks. Another leader, Pemulwuy’s son Tedbury, took up the cause of his father. Frontier fighting continued throughout the period of colonization.