The conflict lasted for over 150 years and followed the pattern of British settlement in Australia . Beginning in New South Wales with the arrival of the first Europeans in May 1788 , it continued in Sydney and its surrounds until the 1820s . As the frontier moved west so did the conflict , pushing into outback New South Wales in the 1840s . In Tasmania , fighting can be traced from 1804 to the 1830s , while in Victoria and the southern parts of South Australia , the majority of the violence occurred during the 1830s and 1840s . The south @-@ west of Western Australia experienced warfare from 1829 to 1850 . The war in Queensland began in the area around Brisbane in the 1840s and continued until 1860 , moving to central Queensland in the 1850s and 1860s , and then to northern Queensland from the 1860s to 1900 . In Western Australia , the violence moved north with European settlement , reaching the Kimberley region by 1880 , with violent clashes continuing until the 1920s . In the Northern Territory conflict lasted even later still , especially in central Australia , continuing from the 1880s to the 1930s . One estimate of casualties places European deaths at 2 @,@ 500 , while at least 20 @,@ 000 Aborigines are believed to have perished . Far more devastating though was the effect of disease which significantly reduced the Aboriginal population by the beginning of the 20th century ; a fact which may also have limited their ability to resist .