Fatal Contact

Fatal Contact explores the devastating infectious diseases introduced into the Indigenous populations of Australia after the arrival of the British colonists in 1788. Epidemics of smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles and sexually transmitted diseases swept through the Indigenous populations of the continent well into the twentieth century. The consequences still echo today in Aboriginal health and life expectancy.

Many historians have acknowledged that introduced diseases caused much sickness and mortality among the Aboriginal populations and were part of the huge population decline following colonisation. But few writers have elaborated further, and much of this history is still missing, even after more than 200 years. Our knowledge and understanding of the biological consequences surrounding the meeting and contact of these two cultures has not yet been fully investigated.

Fatal Contact examines the major epidemics and explains the complexities of disease infection and immunology: which diseases were responsible for the Aboriginal population decline across Australia in the colonial period, when and where did they occur, how severe were they, how long did they last, which diseases were more devastating, and why were they so devastating? The book also considers the individual medical history of Truganini, the Tasmanian Aboriginal woman erroneously known as ‘the last Tasmanian’. By focusing on the disease burden she faced during her life, the author creates a deeper and personal understanding of how First Nations Australians suffered and yet survived.

What this investigation reveals is nothing short of the greatest human tragedy in the long history of Australia. This is a vitally important story that all Australians should read.

Peter Dowling holds a PhD in archaeology and biological anthropology from the Australian National University. He has written and lectured on Australian history, archaeology, Indigenous and European biological contact history and Australian cultural heritage assessment. He dabbles in military history and has organised and led local, national and overseas tours in history, archaeology and heritage. In a previous life Dr Dowling spent twenty years in signals intelligence with the Royal Australian Navy. He now lives quietly but busily in retirement with his wife and visiting bird families in the Tuggeranong Valley of Canberra.

Fatal Contact explores the devastating infectious diseases introduced into the Indigenous populations of Australia after the arrival of the British colonists in 1788. Epidemics of smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles and sexually transmitted diseases swept through the Indigenous populations of the continent well into the twentieth century. The consequences still echo today in Aboriginal health and life expectancy. Many historians have acknowledged that introduced diseases caused much sickness and mortality among the Aboriginal populations and were part of the huge population decline following colonisation. But few writers have elaborated further, and much of this history is still missing, even after more than 200 years. Our knowledge and understanding of the biological consequences surrounding the meeting and contact of these two cultures has not yet been fully investigated. Fatal Contact examines the major epidemics and explains the complexities of disease infection and immunology: which diseases were responsible for the Aboriginal population decline across Australia in the colonial period, when and where did they occur, how severe where they, how long did they last, which diseases were more devastating, and why were they so devastating? The book also considers the individual medical history of Truganini, the Tasmanian Aboriginal woman erroneously known as 'the Last Tasmanian'. By focusing on the disease burden she faced during her life, the author creates a deeper and personal understanding of how First Nation Australians suffered and yet survived. What this investigation reveals is nothing short of the greatest human tragedy in the long history of Australia. This is a vitally important story that all Australians should read.

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