WHEN DID THEY

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 112, 14 May 1934, Page 6

WHEN DID THEY

AUSTRALIA'S ABORIGINES

Concurrently with the recent revival of interest in. Australian aborigines,' discussion has arisea among naturalists of the number of blacks in the continent when ■white; men arrived, and also of tho period in which tho aborigines have inhabited Australia (states tho "Argus"). .It is generally supposod that ,the aboriginal -population 150 years ago. numbered about 300,000: —certainly not... under 250,000. Today the number is little more than 50,000. No one knows with certainty where man first appeared on tho earth. Most scientists incline to tho. opinion that it was in Asia. From its original home, wherever it was, the; human species gradually spread, and in time Asia,; Europe, and Africa received human in: habitants. There was at that time no: land "bridge" connecting America with the other continents, and thus man did not reach the American continent until late, perhaps only 25,000' or 30,000 years ago. Australia, it seems, was not populated until even: later. Scientists are not dogmatic ■on this point, but it is generally agreed that Australia was the last part of tho earth to-become inhabited;by humanbeings. The suggestion is that tlie; time was about 20,000 years ago. Man came to Australia from Asia. Ho may have had to cross the sea, but it is possible that he came \>y a land bridge. Doubtless the climate and geographical features of Australia were then somewhat different from those of today. There is, for example, evidence that when man and the dingo—which is supposed to have arrived at the same time —reached Australia, the central area was well watered, and carried an abundance of animal life, for in that region "are found remains of large extinct maisupials, such, as the diprot'odon.; None of these'animals, however, was fitted to domestic service, and as the blacks, moreover, had- no knowledge of agriculture, a comparatively primitive civilisation was developed along special lines. That is one of the reasons why our aborigines are so interesting to. anthropologists. _ The white people's ancestors, it is believed, were in much the same stao-o of civilisation.2o,ooo years ago,as tho°Austvalian aborigines are today. Thus' from the' spiritual as we'll as the physical point of view, tiio aborigine is a highly-important human document