Species Introduced during Colonisation
Dogs in Colonial Victoria: Companions, Workers, and Ecological Disruptors
Dogs have lived alongside humans for thousands of years, but the dogs that arrived in Victoria with European colonists in the early 19th century had profound and lasting effects on both the environment and Aboriginal communities. These were not dingoes, which had been part of Australian ecosystems and Aboriginal culture for millennia, but imported European breeds — sheepdogs, hunting dogs, mastiffs, terriers, and others.
For colonists, dogs were vital working animals — guardians, hunters, and herders (Rolls 1969). For Aboriginal peoples, they were new beings on Country, competing with dingoes, harassing native animals, and becoming part of colonial systems of control and dispossession. Ecologically, their presence altered predator-prey dynamics and further pressured fragile landscapes already disrupted by sheep, cattle, and rabbits (Coman 1999).
Arrival of Dogs in Victoria
Early settlement (1800s): Dogs arrived with the first British settlers in New South Wales and quickly spread south into Port Phillip (modern-day Victoria) during the 1830s squatting era (Rolls 1969).
Types of dogs introduced:
Sheepdogs (collies, shepherd breeds): Used to control and protect flocks.
Hunting dogs (greyhounds, foxhounds, terriers): Introduced for kangaroo hunts and later for fox and rabbit hunting.
Guard dogs (mastiffs, bulldogs): Brought to protect homesteads and livestock.
Companion dogs: Smaller breeds kept in homes by wealthier settlers.
Spread across Country: Dogs accompanied stockmen, shepherds, and hunting parties throughout Victoria, embedding themselves into the fabric of colonial life (Coman 1999).
Dogs on Wadawurrung Country
On Wadawurrung Country, covering the Geelong district, Bellarine Peninsula, Ballarat, and the volcanic plains, dogs were part of colonisation from the very beginning.
Tools of control: Dogs were used by settlers and colonial police forces to track and intimidate Aboriginal people. Records from the 1830s–40s describe dogs deployed during punitive raids, hunting down individuals or guarding encampments (Clark 1995).
Disruption of Country: Wadawurrung hunting practices relied on balance with dingoes and native prey species. Imported dogs competed with dingoes, killed wildlife, and disrupted hunting grounds.
Intimidation and trauma: For Aboriginal families, dogs in raids became associated with fear, dispossession, and colonial violence.
New relationships: Some Wadawurrung families did adopt colonial dogs, training them for hunting kangaroos and small marsupials. But this adoption happened under duress, in a world where Country and culture were being reshaped by colonisation.
Dingoes and Wadawurrung Oral Traditions
For the Wadawurrung and neighbouring Kulin Nations, the dingo (Canis dingo) was not simply a hunting animal but a being of law and kinship.
Companions and protectors: Dingoes slept beside families, keeping children warm at night and alerting camps to danger. This companionship was remembered in oral stories, where dingoes were seen as protectors gifted by Country (Clark 1990).
Hunters in balance: Dingoes hunted wallabies, possums, and kangaroos, shaping ecosystems in a way consistent with Aboriginal law. They were never hunted to extermination, but respected as kin.
Spiritual meaning: In some traditions, the dingo was tied to stories of creation and law enforcement, reminding people of their duties to Country and kinship responsibilities. Its howl was a voice of warning and order.
Totemic links: For some Wadawurrung clans, the dingo was a totemic ancestor. This created obligations of respect, care, and cultural observance.
In contrast, colonial dogs represented disruption. They carried no totemic place in Aboriginal cosmology. Instead, they were remembered as outsiders — instruments of fear during frontier raids, hunters of sacred animals, and spreaders of imbalance. Where the dingo was kin, the colonial dog became a sign of dispossession.
Ecological Impacts
Predation on Native Animals
Dogs hunted kangaroos, emus, wallabies, wombats, and marsupials, often for settler sport (Rolls 1969).
Stray and feral dogs formed packs, attacking livestock and native wildlife (Coman 1999).
Competition with dingoes reduced ecological balance that had existed for millennia.
Spread of Disease
Imported dogs carried diseases such as distemper and parvovirus, which spread to dingoes and later feral dog populations (DELWP 2021).
Impact on Livestock and Rabbits
Dogs were effective against rabbits and foxes in later years.
But they also attacked sheep, leading to disputes between settlers about controlling dogs (Rolls 1969).
Dogs in Colonial Society
Working dogs: Sheepdogs were central to the wool industry, herding flocks across Victoria’s new pastoral runs.
Hunting culture: Greyhounds and foxhounds drove the colonial hunting scene, with hunts across Port Phillip emulating English aristocratic traditions (Rolls 1969).
Law and order: Dogs were employed by mounted police and squatters to enforce boundaries and guard homesteads (Clark 1995).
Status and companionship: For wealthier settlers, particular breeds were symbols of refinement and continuity with Britain.
Aboriginal Perspectives
For Aboriginal peoples, including the Wadawurrung, dogs were contradictory beings:
Agents of violence: Embodying colonial power, they were used in raids and massacres.
Ecological disrupters: They killed wildlife, undermining food security and cultural practices.
Adopted allies: Some Aboriginal groups trained dogs for hunting kangaroos or small game, echoing their relationship with dingoes. Dogs also became camp companions, providing warmth and protection.
This duality — of kin and enemy, protector and destroyer — marked the difference between dingoes and imported breeds.
Population Then and Now
Early colonisation (1830s–1850s): Dogs were relatively few but highly visible around settlements, runs, and hunting estates.
Mid to late 19th century: Numbers increased with sheep grazing and rabbit/fox hunting, making dogs ubiquitous across rural Victoria (Coman 1999).
Today: Domestic dogs are among the most common companion animals in Victoria, with millions kept as pets. Stray and feral populations persist in rural areas, continuing to impact wildlife (DELWP 2021).
Symbolism and Meaning
For colonists: Dogs symbolised civilisation, control, and continuity with British traditions.
For Aboriginal peoples: Dingoes symbolised balance, law, and kinship. Imported dogs symbolised violence and dispossession, yet were also adapted into camp life.
Today: Dogs are cherished pets, indispensable working animals, but also ecological disruptors when feral. Their layered history reflects both companionship and colonisation.
Conclusion
The dogs brought to Victoria during colonisation were far more than companions. They were working animals, weapons of control, hunters, and ecological disruptors, shaping both the environment and cultural relations. For the Wadawurrung and other Victorian Aboriginal peoples, the arrival of dogs marked a sharp contrast between the kinship of dingoes and the disruption of imported breeds.
Where the dingo had long been a being of balance, protector, and law-keeper, the colonial dog became an instrument of fear and dispossession. Yet even under these conditions, Aboriginal peoples adapted, adopting some dogs into camp life. The story of dogs in Victoria is thus one of contradiction — companions and killers, protectors and predators — woven deeply into the colonial transformation of Country.
References
Clark, ID 1990, Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900, Monash University, Melbourne.
Clark, ID 1995, Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria, 1803–1859, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Coman, BJ 1999, Tooth and Nail: The Story of the Rabbit in Australia (includes notes on dogs as hunters), Text Publishing, Melbourne.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) 2021, Invasive Species in Victoria, Victorian Government, Melbourne.
Rolls, EC 1969, They All Ran Wild: The Animals and Plants that Plague Australia, Angus & Robertson, Sydney.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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