More than 2 million Indigenous people lived in Australia in 1788: new research

A gathering on the Murray River depicted in 1858. Gerard Krefft, Corroboree on the Murray River, 1858. Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales More than 2 million Indigenous people lived in Australia in 1788: new research Published: September 15, 2026 5:00am EDT https://theconversation.com/more-than-2-million-indigenous-people-lived-in-australia-in-1788-new-research-291278 https://theconversation.com/more-than-2-million-indigenous-people-lived-in-australia-in-1788-new-research-291278 Link copied Share article Share article

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Content warning: This article discusses mass death, epidemics, frontier violence, and the structural violence experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

More than two million Indigenous people probably lived in Australia at the time of the British invasion in 1788, according to new research based on genetic, archaeological and environmental evidence.