A landmark report by the Yoorrook Justice Commission has found that British colonisers committed genocide against Aboriginal people in the state of Victoria during the early years of colonization, marking one of the most significant acknowledgments of historical atrocities in Australia’s modern history.
The commission’s findings, released Tuesday after months of hearings and testimony from over 1,300 Aboriginal individuals, conclude that the colonization of Victoria between 1834 and 1851 led to the “near-complete physical destruction” of its Indigenous population — which plummeted from approximately 60,000 to 15,000 during that time.
“This was genocide,” the commission stated bluntly, citing a systematic pattern of atrocities including mass killings, the spread of disease, sexual violence, cultural erasure, linguicide, environmental degradation, and the forced removal and assimilation of Aboriginal children.
The report detailed how the impact of colonization amounted to a deliberate and devastating campaign to erase Aboriginal existence, identity, and connection to land.
Calls for Reparations and Power-Sharing
In a sweeping list of nearly 100 recommendations, the commission urged the Victorian government to pursue reparations and expand political power for Indigenous communities. One key proposal is to grant decision-making authority to Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly — a body representing Aboriginal voices in policymaking.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan welcomed the report and emphasized the importance of truth-telling as a step toward justice. “Victoria’s truth-telling process is a historic opportunity to hear the stories of our past that have been buried – these are stories that all Victorians need to hear,” Allan said in a statement.
The Yoorrook Justice Commission, established in 2021, is the first official truth-telling body of its kind in Australia. Similar efforts are now underway in other states as part of a broader national reckoning with the country’s colonial legacy.
Aboriginal Leaders Urge National Reflection
Jill Gallagher, head of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (VACCHO), told ABC News that acknowledging the past does not mean assigning blame to present generations. “We do not blame anyone alive today for these atrocities,” she said. “But it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth.”
The Australian Museum has previously documented at least 270 massacres of Aboriginal people across the continent between the late 1700s and early 1900s — often carried out or sanctioned by colonial authorities. As a result, the Indigenous population of Australia, once estimated at up to 1.5 million before European arrival, fell to fewer than 100,000 by the early 20th century.
National Implications
The commission’s declaration of genocide — a term long avoided in official discourse — could have profound implications for how Australia confronts its colonial past. Advocates say the findings must prompt deeper national conversations around reparations, treaty processes, and structural reform.
