History
Archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Sydney area has been dated back 20,000 years, and is likely to date back much further (people have been dated as being present elsewhere in Australia more than 60,000 years ago - see Australian Aboriginal Prehistoric Sites).
Sydney's geomorphology 20,000 years ago was very different to what it is today. In the middle of the last ice age, the Sydney coast was approximately 15 km to the east and what is now Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) was freshwater creeks and rivers. Wangal predecessors would have been living in the now-submerged coastal area.
As sea levels rose to their present levels, peoples living on the coast would have been forced inland. By 1788, the Wangal people were well established there as a fishing people.
The Wangal people were among the first to encounter British settlers in 1788. While the British governor Arthur Phillip sought to establish good relationships with the local people and even befriended Bennelong, a prominent Wangal person, the differences between the groups led to tensions with both sides killing and injuring members of the other.
In April 1789, just over a year after the establishment of the British settlement, smallpox broke out. There is speculation as to whether the disease was released deliberately or not but in any case the result was catastrophic.
Read more about this topic: Wangal People
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