There is no evidence that any other human group lived in Australia before the ancestors of today’s Aboriginal Australians; current research considers them the continent’s first known people, with a continuous presence going back at least 50,000–65,000 years.

Quick Scoop: Who Was in Australia First?

Were there people before Aboriginal Australians?

  • Archaeologists and historians agree that the first known humans in Australia are the ancestors of today’s Aboriginal Australians.
  • They arrived from what is now Southeast Asia, using land bridges and short sea crossings during periods of lower sea levels in the Ice Age.
  • There is no solid scientific evidence of an earlier, separate human population that lived in Australia and then disappeared before Aboriginal people.

Some fringe or speculative theories claim there might have been unknown earlier populations, but these are not supported by mainstream archaeology or genetics.

How long have Aboriginal people been in Australia?

  • Many studies place first human arrival at around 45,000–50,000 years ago , with some evidence suggesting up to 65,000 years or more.
  • Sites like Madjedbebe in Arnhem Land and Nauwalabila in the Northern Territory are among the oldest known archaeological sites in Australia.
  • Because of this long, unbroken presence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are often described as having one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth.

What about Torres Strait Islanders?

  • Torres Strait Islander peoples are another distinct Indigenous group, living on the islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
  • They have been there for thousands of years (around 4,000 years is often cited) and are culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples.
  • They are not “before” Aboriginal people; rather, they are part of the broader story of Australia’s First Peoples.

Why do people ask “who was before the Aboriginal”?

People today sometimes ask this because:

  • They’ve heard about ancient megafauna (giant animals) and wonder if an earlier human species hunted them.
  • They see news about new archaeological finds pushing dates further back and assume that means “someone else” was here first.
  • Online forums and social media occasionally spread myths or pseudo-historical claims about unknown earlier civilizations in Australia.

So far, the evidence just shows this: when humans first appear in the Australian archaeological record, they are the ancestors of today’s Aboriginal peoples.

Simple timeline (very short)

  1. Tens of thousands of years ago: Ancestors of Aboriginal Australians arrive from Southeast Asia.
  1. Over time, they spread across the continent, forming hundreds of nations and languages.
  1. Around 4,000 years ago: Torres Strait Islander cultures develop in the island region to the north.
  1. 1788: British colonisation begins; written records about the continent become regular.

There is no confirmed human group in Australia before Aboriginal Australians in this sequence. Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.