s employed a type of firestick farming in which fire was used to clear areas so that fresh grazing grasses could grow, thereby attracting kangaroos and other game animals. Aborigines also may have harvested and dispersed selected seeds. Those widespread operations may have been responsible for extensive tracts of grassland. There is evidence of careful damming and redirection of streams and of swamp and lake outlets, possibly for fish farming.By the time of the first notable European settlement in 1788, Aboriginal people had developed cultural traits and ecological knowledge that showed an impressive adaptation to Australias challenging environments. They also had developed many complex variations between regional and even local communities. The total Aboriginal population at that time was about 300,000. More than 200 distinct languages existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Bilingualism and multilingualism were common characteristics in several hundred Aboriginal groups. These groups, sometimes called tribes, were linguistically defined and territorially based.During the first century of white settlement, there were dramatic declines in the Aboriginal population in all parts of the country. The declines resulted from the introduction of diseases for which the Aborigines had little immunity; social and cultural disruptions; and brutal mistreatment. By the 1920s, the Aboriginal population had declined to 60,000.Until the 1960s the Aboriginal population was mainly rural. Over the next two decades Aborigines began moving in greater numbers to urban areas. In many country towns, Aboriginal families were viewed negatively as fringe dwellers. In the larger cities, small, but highly volatile, ghetto like concentrations caused the Aborigines to begin demanding greater political rights.The Aborigines social and political status was so low that they were omitted from the official national censuses until 1971, following the overwhelming pas...
