Atkins, Samuel, active 1787-1808, [Ships in the Thames], 1790?, nla.obj-135505485
What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
Why did Europeans settle in Australia?
What was the nature of the contact between early colonists and the Eora people of Sydney?
How has European settlement impacted Australia?
Why did Europeans settle in the Hunter/Newcastle region, and how did this impact First Nations people living here (Awabakal and Worimi)?
Convict journals provide a glimpse of convict life on the voyage to Australia, and sometimes accounts of colonial life.
Sydney Cove
Joseph Lycett, Aborigines resting by camp fire, near the mouth of the Hunter River, Newcastle, New South Wales, 1817, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138500420
This sketch, attributed to Francis Fowkes, a former navy midshipman transported for seven years for theft, was the first published map of the settlement at Port Jackson. The site was inhabited by the Gadigal, Cammeraygal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation, who did not cede sovereignty for this settlement. The 11 ships of the First Fleet can be seen in the harbour.
The first convicts, sailors and soldiers who came to Australia had little choice in the matter. Many convicts eventually made the transition from prisoner of the Crown to landowning settler or entrepreneur.
Analysing maps
Show the students Francis Fowkes’ sketch and ask them:
How do you think Fowkes was able to map out the cove without a camera or drone?
Why would Francis sketch a map?
What does the sketch tell us about the land in the late 1700s?
What is missing from the map?
Lesson from the National Library of Australia: Maps
List reasons why Cook, and the subsequent colonists, may not have recognised and/or acknowledged Indigenous agricultural practices.
Goal: Work in your table group to design a creative island map. Everyone must make, draw and write on the final map.
Lets research together!
Where do we find "good" research? What makes something reliable?
How did our early explorers know where to go?
The term ‘Songline’ describes the features and directions of travel that were included in a song that had to be sung and memorised for the traveller to know the route to their destination. Certain Songlines were referred to as ‘Dreaming Pathways’ because of the tracks forged by Creator Spirits during the Dreaming. These special Songlines have specific ancestral stories attached to them.
For Aboriginal people, songlines are a way to navigate the vast Australian landscape. They hold detailed information about the location of water sources, food supplies, and safe places to take shelter. By mentally "singing" these songlines, Aboriginal people can find their way across the country, even in unfamiliar territories.
Using Google docs, create a research paper about one of the major explorers that discovered parts of Australia. Your research must be done on Brittanica School.
Must include:
1 photo
Explorers name
What country they came from
What part of Australia they discovered
1 fact you found interesting.
Explore images and objects related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Trove