To the British, Australia originally didn't have much purpose. It was basically a prison camp to them, and it was often where they would dump prisoners and their families to hang for a while. This was because the overabundance of crime in Britain caused the jails to be overflowing, and the criminals had to go somewhere. But when the imperialist era began in Europe, the British saw this vast and limitless country as a gold mine.
The Aboriginals had originally attempted to bring the settlers into their own family and religious groups, but the settlers refused to cooperate. This meant that the Aboriginals would have to fight if they wanted to keep what was rightfully theirs. Although they were skilled and deadly with what little weapons they had, the colonists had weapons and fighting styles much different than what they were used to. By the end of it, many of the original tribes had been cast out of their homes, or even worse they were killed.
Before the 1930’s, the Australian government believed that the Aboriginals would just die out as settlers moved onto their land, but they were mistaken. The Aboriginals continued to struggle on, some having children with the settlers as well. Unfortunately the government took those children of mixed heritage and put them into foster homes, determined to stamp out the natives. This later became known as "The Stolen Generation", and was only one of the many hardships that the Aboriginals have had to face. Many aboriginals, after the loss of their home and culture, drowned themselves in alcohol and depression.