ABSTRACT
From very early history, the Australian colonies continued to grant land to settlers despite the fact that, when they arrived, the land was inhabited by indigenous Aboriginal people. It was always simply assumed that the British Crown had a right to claim sovereignty over the land; no compensation was ever paid to the Aboriginal people, and there was no specific legal formalisation of this assumed right in the form of a treaty. The only real recognition given to the Aboriginal people was the conferral of specific reserves for the creation and development of Aboriginal communities.
