 food resources sometimes led to starvation . By and large neither the British nor the Aborigines approached the conflict in an organised sense and conflict occurred between groups of settlers and individual tribes rather than systematic warfare . At times , however , the frontier wars did see the involvement of British soldiers and later mounted police units . Not all Aboriginal groups resisted white encroachment on their lands , while many Aborigines served in mounted police units and were involved in attacks on other tribes .   Fighting between Aborigines and Europeans was localised as the Aborigines did not form confederations capable of sustained resistance . As a result , there was not a single war , but rather a series of violent engagements and massacres across the continent . Organised or disorganised however , a pattern of frontier warfare emerged with Aboriginal resistance beginning in the 18th century and continuing into the early 20th century . This warfare contradicts the popular and at times academic " myth " of peaceful settlement in Australia . Faced with Aboriginal resistance settlers often reacted with violence , resulting in a number of indiscriminate massacres . Among the most famous is the Battle of Pinjarra in Western Australia in 1834 . Such incidents were not officially sanctioned however , and after the Myall Creek massacre in New South Wales in 1838 seven Europeans were hanged for their part in the killings . However , in Tasmania the so @-@ called Black War was fought between 1828 and 1832 , and aimed at driving most of the island 's native inhabitants onto a number of isolated peninsulas . Although it began in failure for the British , it ultimately resulted in considerable casualties amongst the native population .   It may be inaccurate though to depict the conflict as one sided and mainly perpetrated by Europeans on Aborigines . Although many more Aborigines died than British , this may have had more to do with the technological and logistic advantages enjoyed by the Europeans . Aboriginal tactics varied , but were mainly based on pre @-@ existing hunting and fighting practices — using spears , clubs and other primitive weapons . Unlike the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and North America , on the main Aborigines failed to adapt to meet the challenge of the Europeans . Although there were some instances of individuals and groups acquiring and using firearms , this was not widespread . The Aborigines were never a serious military threat to European settlers , regardless of how much the settlers may have feared them . On occasions large groups of Aborigines attacked the settlers in open terrain and a conventional battle ensued , during which the Aborigines would attempt to use superior numbers to their advantage . This could sometimes be effective , with reports of them advancing in crescent formation in an attempt to outflank and surround their opponents , waiting out the first volley of shots and then hurling their spears while the settlers reloaded . However , such open warfare usually proved more costly for the Aborigines than the Europeans .   Central to the success of the Europeans was the use of firearms . However , the advantages afforded by firearms have often been overstated . Prior to the late 19th century , firearms were often cumbersome muzzle @-@ loading , smooth @-@ bore , single shot muskets with flint @-@ lock mechanisms . Such weapons produced a low rate of fire , while suffering from a high rate of failure and were only accurate within 50 metres ( 160 ft ) . These deficiencies may have initially given the Aborigines an advantage , allowing them to move in close and engage with spears or clubs . Yet by 1850 significant advances in firearms gave the Europeans a distinct advantage , with the six @-@ shot Colt revolver , the Snider single shot breech @-@ loading rifle and later the Martini @-@ Henry rifle , as well as rapid @-@ fire rifles such as the Winchester rifle , becoming available . These weapons , when used on open ground and combined with the superior mobility provided by horses to surround and engage groups of Aborigines , often proved successful . The Europeans also had to adapt their tactics to fight their fast @-@ moving , often hidden enemies . Tactics employed included night @-@ time surprise attacks , and positioning forces to drive the natives off cliffs or force them to retreat into rivers while attacking from both banks .   The conflict lasted for over 150 years and followed the pattern of British settlement in Australia . Beginning in New South Wales with the arrival of the first Europeans in May 1788 , it continued in Sydney and its surrounds until the 1820s . As the frontier moved west so did the conflict , pushing into outback New South Wales in the 1840s . In Tasmania , fighting can be traced from 1804 to the 1830s , while in Victoria and the southern parts of South Australia , the majority of the violence occurred during the 1830s and 1840s . The south @-@ west of Western Australia experienced warfare from 1829 to 1850 . The war in Queensland began in the area around Brisbane in the 1840s and continued until 1860 , moving to central Queensland in the 1850s and 1860s , and then to northern Queensland from the 1860s to 1900 . In Western
Ġfood Ġresources Ġsometimes Ġled Ġto Ġstarvation Ġ. ĠBy Ġand Ġlarge Ġneither Ġthe ĠBritish Ġnor Ġthe ĠAb orig ines Ġapproached Ġthe Ġconflict Ġin Ġan Ġorganised Ġsense Ġand Ġconflict Ġoccurred Ġbetween Ġgroups Ġof Ġsettlers Ġand Ġindividual Ġtribes Ġrather Ġthan Ġsystematic Ġwarfare Ġ. ĠAt Ġtimes Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġthe Ġfrontier Ġwars Ġdid Ġsee Ġthe Ġinvolvement Ġof ĠBritish Ġsoldiers Ġand Ġlater Ġmounted Ġpolice Ġunits Ġ. ĠNot Ġall ĠAboriginal Ġgroups Ġresisted Ġwhite Ġencro achment Ġon Ġtheir Ġlands Ġ, Ġwhile Ġmany ĠAb orig ines Ġserved Ġin Ġmounted Ġpolice Ġunits Ġand Ġwere Ġinvolved Ġin Ġattacks Ġon Ġother Ġtribes Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFighting Ġbetween ĠAb orig ines Ġand ĠEuropeans Ġwas Ġlocal ised Ġas Ġthe ĠAb orig ines Ġdid Ġnot Ġform Ġconf eder ations Ġcapable Ġof Ġsustained Ġresistance Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġthere Ġwas Ġnot Ġa Ġsingle Ġwar Ġ, Ġbut Ġrather Ġa Ġseries Ġof Ġviolent Ġengagements Ġand Ġmassacres Ġacross Ġthe Ġcontinent Ġ. ĠOrgan ised Ġor Ġdis organ ised Ġhowever Ġ, Ġa Ġpattern Ġof Ġfrontier Ġwarfare Ġemerged Ġwith ĠAboriginal Ġresistance Ġbeginning Ġin Ġthe Ġ18 th Ġcentury Ġand Ġcontinuing Ġinto Ġthe Ġearly Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠThis Ġwarfare Ġcontradicts Ġthe Ġpopular Ġand Ġat Ġtimes Ġacademic Ġ" Ġmyth Ġ" Ġof Ġpeaceful Ġsettlement Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠF aced Ġwith ĠAboriginal Ġresistance Ġsettlers Ġoften Ġreacted Ġwith Ġviolence Ġ, Ġresulting Ġin Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġindiscrim inate Ġmassacres Ġ. ĠAmong Ġthe Ġmost Ġfamous Ġis Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠPin jar ra Ġin ĠWestern ĠAustralia Ġin Ġ18 34 Ġ. ĠSuch Ġincidents Ġwere Ġnot Ġofficially Ġsanctioned Ġhowever Ġ, Ġand Ġafter Ġthe ĠMy all ĠCreek Ġmassacre Ġin ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġin Ġ18 38 Ġseven ĠEuropeans Ġwere Ġhanged Ġfor Ġtheir Ġpart Ġin Ġthe Ġkillings Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġin ĠTasmania Ġthe Ġso Ġ@ - @ Ġcalled ĠBlack ĠWar Ġwas Ġfought Ġbetween Ġ18 28 Ġand Ġ18 32 Ġ, Ġand Ġaimed Ġat Ġdriving Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġisland Ġ' s Ġnative Ġinhabitants Ġonto Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġisolated Ġpen ins ulas Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġit Ġbegan Ġin Ġfailure Ġfor Ġthe ĠBritish Ġ, Ġit Ġultimately Ġresulted Ġin Ġconsiderable Ġcasualties Ġamongst Ġthe Ġnative Ġpopulation Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIt Ġmay Ġbe Ġinaccurate Ġthough Ġto Ġdepict Ġthe Ġconflict Ġas Ġone Ġsided Ġand Ġmainly Ġperpetrated Ġby ĠEuropeans Ġon ĠAb orig ines Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġmany Ġmore ĠAb orig ines Ġdied Ġthan ĠBritish Ġ, Ġthis Ġmay Ġhave Ġhad Ġmore Ġto Ġdo Ġwith Ġthe Ġtechnological Ġand Ġlog istic Ġadvantages Ġenjoyed Ġby Ġthe ĠEuropeans Ġ. ĠAboriginal Ġtactics Ġvaried Ġ, Ġbut Ġwere Ġmainly Ġbased Ġon Ġpre Ġ@ - @ Ġexisting Ġhunting Ġand Ġfighting Ġpractices ĠâĢĶ Ġusing Ġspears Ġ, Ġclubs Ġand Ġother Ġprimitive Ġweapons Ġ. ĠUnlike Ġthe Ġindigenous Ġpeoples Ġof ĠNew ĠZealand Ġand ĠNorth ĠAmerica Ġ, Ġon Ġthe Ġmain ĠAb orig ines Ġfailed Ġto Ġadapt Ġto Ġmeet Ġthe Ġchallenge Ġof Ġthe ĠEuropeans Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthere Ġwere Ġsome Ġinstances Ġof Ġindividuals Ġand Ġgroups Ġacquiring Ġand Ġusing Ġfirearms Ġ, Ġthis Ġwas Ġnot Ġwidespread Ġ. ĠThe ĠAb orig ines Ġwere Ġnever Ġa Ġserious Ġmilitary Ġthreat Ġto ĠEuropean Ġsettlers Ġ, Ġregardless Ġof Ġhow Ġmuch Ġthe Ġsettlers Ġmay Ġhave Ġfeared Ġthem Ġ. ĠOn Ġoccasions Ġlarge Ġgroups Ġof ĠAb orig ines Ġattacked Ġthe Ġsettlers Ġin Ġopen Ġterrain Ġand Ġa Ġconventional Ġbattle Ġensued Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġthe ĠAb orig ines Ġwould Ġattempt Ġto Ġuse Ġsuperior Ġnumbers Ġto Ġtheir Ġadvantage Ġ. ĠThis Ġcould Ġsometimes Ġbe Ġeffective Ġ, Ġwith Ġreports Ġof Ġthem Ġadvancing Ġin Ġc rescent Ġformation Ġin Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġout fl ank Ġand Ġsurround Ġtheir Ġopponents Ġ, Ġwaiting Ġout Ġthe Ġfirst Ġvolley Ġof Ġshots Ġand Ġthen Ġhur ling Ġtheir Ġspears Ġwhile Ġthe Ġsettlers Ġreload ed Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġsuch Ġopen Ġwarfare Ġusually Ġproved Ġmore Ġcostly Ġfor Ġthe ĠAb orig ines Ġthan Ġthe ĠEuropeans Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠCentral Ġto Ġthe Ġsuccess Ġof Ġthe ĠEuropeans Ġwas Ġthe Ġuse Ġof Ġfirearms Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġthe Ġadvantages Ġafforded Ġby Ġfirearms Ġhave Ġoften Ġbeen Ġover stated Ġ. ĠPrior Ġto Ġthe Ġlate Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġfirearms Ġwere Ġoften Ġcumbersome Ġmuzzle Ġ@ - @ Ġloading Ġ, Ġsmooth Ġ@ - @ Ġbore Ġ, Ġsingle Ġshot Ġmus k ets Ġwith Ġfl int Ġ@ - @ Ġlock Ġmechanisms Ġ. ĠSuch Ġweapons Ġproduced Ġa Ġlow Ġrate Ġof Ġfire Ġ, Ġwhile Ġsuffering Ġfrom Ġa Ġhigh Ġrate Ġof Ġfailure Ġand Ġwere Ġonly Ġaccurate Ġwithin Ġ50 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ160 Ġft Ġ) Ġ. ĠThese Ġdeficiencies Ġmay Ġhave Ġinitially Ġgiven Ġthe ĠAb orig ines Ġan Ġadvantage Ġ, Ġallowing Ġthem Ġto Ġmove Ġin Ġclose Ġand Ġengage Ġwith Ġspears Ġor Ġclubs Ġ. ĠYet Ġby Ġ1850 Ġsignificant Ġadvances Ġin Ġfirearms Ġgave Ġthe ĠEuropeans Ġa Ġdistinct Ġadvantage Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġshot ĠColt Ġrevolver Ġ, Ġthe ĠSn ider Ġsingle Ġshot Ġbree ch Ġ@ - @ Ġloading Ġrifle Ġand Ġlater Ġthe ĠMart ini Ġ@ - @ ĠHenry Ġrifle Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġrapid Ġ@ - @ Ġfire Ġrifles Ġsuch Ġas Ġthe ĠWinchester Ġrifle Ġ, Ġbecoming Ġavailable Ġ. ĠThese Ġweapons Ġ, Ġwhen Ġused Ġon Ġopen Ġground Ġand Ġcombined Ġwith Ġthe Ġsuperior Ġmobility Ġprovided Ġby Ġhorses Ġto Ġsurround Ġand Ġengage Ġgroups Ġof ĠAb orig ines Ġ, Ġoften Ġproved Ġsuccessful Ġ. ĠThe ĠEuropeans Ġalso Ġhad Ġto Ġadapt Ġtheir Ġtactics Ġto Ġfight Ġtheir Ġfast Ġ@ - @ Ġmoving Ġ, Ġoften Ġhidden Ġenemies Ġ. ĠTactics Ġemployed Ġincluded Ġnight Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġsurprise Ġattacks Ġ, Ġand Ġpositioning Ġforces Ġto Ġdrive Ġthe Ġnatives Ġoff Ġcliffs Ġor Ġforce Ġthem Ġto Ġretreat Ġinto Ġrivers Ġwhile Ġattacking Ġfrom Ġboth Ġbanks Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġconflict Ġlasted Ġfor Ġover Ġ150 Ġyears Ġand Ġfollowed Ġthe Ġpattern Ġof ĠBritish Ġsettlement Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠBeginning Ġin ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġwith Ġthe Ġarrival Ġof Ġthe Ġfirst ĠEuropeans Ġin ĠMay Ġ17 88 Ġ, Ġit Ġcontinued Ġin ĠSydney Ġand Ġits Ġsurrounds Ġuntil Ġthe Ġ18 20 s Ġ. ĠAs Ġthe Ġfrontier Ġmoved Ġwest Ġso Ġdid Ġthe Ġconflict Ġ, Ġpushing Ġinto Ġout back ĠNew ĠSouth ĠWales Ġin Ġthe Ġ1840 s Ġ. ĠIn ĠTasmania Ġ, Ġfighting Ġcan Ġbe Ġtraced Ġfrom Ġ18 04 Ġto Ġthe Ġ1830 s Ġ, Ġwhile Ġin ĠVictoria Ġand Ġthe Ġsouthern Ġparts Ġof ĠSouth ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġthe Ġmajority Ġof Ġthe Ġviolence Ġoccurred Ġduring Ġthe Ġ1830 s Ġand Ġ1840 s Ġ. ĠThe Ġsouth Ġ@ - @ Ġwest Ġof ĠWestern ĠAustralia Ġexperienced Ġwarfare Ġfrom Ġ18 29 Ġto Ġ1850 Ġ. ĠThe Ġwar Ġin ĠQueensland Ġbegan Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġaround ĠBrisbane Ġin Ġthe Ġ1840 s Ġand Ġcontinued Ġuntil Ġ1860 Ġ, Ġmoving Ġto Ġcentral ĠQueensland Ġin Ġthe Ġ1850 s Ġand Ġ1860 s Ġ, Ġand Ġthen Ġto Ġnorthern ĠQueensland Ġfrom Ġthe Ġ1860 s Ġto Ġ1900 Ġ. ĠIn ĠWestern