A colour engraving of a family of four travelling in the Port Jackson area based on sketches by S. Leroy

The arrival of the First Fleet changed forever the lives of Australia’s first peoples. Governor Phillip took seriously his orders to maintain friendly relations with the local Eora people and sought to avoid confrontation. However, within a few years of the fleet’s arrival relations were deteriorating. Phillip himself was speared during a meeting with Eora at Manly in 1790. Many Aboriginal people died as a result of violence or European diseases.