Fighting between Aborigines and Europeans was localised as the Aborigines did not form confederations capable of sustained resistance . As a result , it 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 .