By the mid-1820s, British settlement and sheep and cattle grazing expanded rapidly across Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). Aboriginal Tasmanians resisted the loss of land and resources, and violence escalated into what became known as the Black War.
On 10 February 1828, a group of Aboriginal people at Cape Grim in north-west Tasmania were attacked and killed by men linked to the Van Diemen’s Land Company. The event became part of a widening cycle of reprisals and fear on both sides during the Black War.
On 19 April 1828, Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur issued a proclamation aimed at separating Aboriginal people from settlers in defined “settled districts.” It framed removal as a step toward negotiation and “protection,” but also authorized force in ways that were difficult to control or enforce.
On 1 November 1828, Arthur declared martial law in the settled districts, treating Aboriginal groups there as “open enemies.” This legal shift widened the colony’s use of troops and armed parties and marked a major turning point from sporadic clashes to organized warfare.
Alongside formal military posts, the government relied on armed “roving parties” to capture or kill Aboriginal people. These operations expanded the conflict beyond single incidents, helping push Aboriginal survivors into smaller, more vulnerable groups.
In 1829, the government used a ration station on Bruny Island to gather Aboriginal people under colonial supervision. George Augustus Robinson was appointed to oversee the station in March 1829, a step that connected “aid” with increasing government control over movement and survival.
By late January 1830, Robinson left Bruny Island on what became known as the “Friendly Mission,” traveling with Aboriginal guides and intermediaries. The mission sought to persuade or compel remaining groups to surrender and accept relocation under government “protection.”
In September 1830, Arthur ordered settlers, soldiers, and police to form a moving human chain—later called the “Black Line.” The goal was to drive Aboriginal people out of settled districts and into the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas for capture and removal.
The Black Line advanced on 7 October 1830 across a wide front, involving thousands of men. Despite its scale and cost, the operation captured very few people and failed to stop conflict quickly, but it increased pressure for a final solution based on removal.
In mid-1831, Robinson renewed field expeditions aimed at finding remaining bands, including respected leader Eumarrah. His party captured Eumarrah in late August 1831, reducing the ability of some groups to keep resisting and negotiate on their own terms.
On 31 December 1831, Robinson and Aboriginal intermediaries contacted a final combined party from the Big River and Oyster Bay peoples. The group surrendered, a moment often treated as the effective end of major organized resistance during the Black War.
On 7 January 1832, Robinson led the surrendered group into Hobart to meet Lieutenant-Governor Arthur. This public event helped the government present the outcome as “conciliation,” even as relocation and confinement were already becoming the main policy.
About ten days after the Hobart surrender, the surrendered leaders and families were shipped to the Aboriginal establishment in the Furneaux Islands region, beginning forced exile away from their homelands. Removal weakened community ties and increased exposure to disease and dependency on government rations.
In January 1832, the government revoked martial law after the major surrender and the collapse of sustained armed resistance. While fighting decreased, the policy focus shifted to rounding up remaining survivors and removing them from mainland Tasmania.
By 1832, the conflict’s outcome was clear: most surviving Aboriginal Tasmanians were being removed from mainland Tasmania under a system described as “protection” but enforced through confinement and control. The Black War ended as a fighting war, but its legacy continued through exile, high mortality, and long-term cultural disruption.
The Black War in Tasmania (1820s–1832)