Government Policies Impact

Overview

Lesson Title: Government Policies and Aboriginal Peoples: A Historical Overview
Unit Title: Colonisation: Voices Unheard
Lesson Number: 6 of 10
Year Level: Year 8
Subject: Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) – History
Duration: 120 minutes
ACARA Curriculum Links:

• ACHASSK086: The nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, for example, the British and the consequences of these interactions.
• ACHASSK090: The impact of a significant development or event on an Australian colony.
• ACHASSI099: Analyse different perspectives and interpretations of the past.
• Cross-curriculum priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

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Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe key government policies affecting Aboriginal peoples from 1788 to 1901.
• Identify and explain the rationale behind policies such as Protectionism, Assimilation, and Land Dispossession.
• Analyse short and long-term impacts of these policies on Aboriginal communities.
• Evaluate differing historical perspectives, including Aboriginal voices.

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Resources Needed

• Printed timelines for group work
• Printed policy fact cards (Protectionism, Asssimilation, Terra Nullius, Missions and Reserves, etc.)
• Large wall map of Australia (pre- and post-colonial overlays)
• Copies of select excerpts from Aboriginal testimonies, government reports, or newspaper articles (1800s)
• Butcher’s paper and markers
• Audio recording device or camera (optional: for student reflections)
• Sticky notes & coloured markers
• Role cards for empathy activity
• Timer or stopwatch
• Access to “Yarning Circle” setup space (if available)

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Lesson Structure

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Phase 1: Engage (15 minutes)

Activity Title: “If Walls Could Talk”

Setup:
Students are seated near a historical image projected at the front: a group of Aboriginal children outside a mission school in the late 1800s.

Prompt Questions:

• What do you notice about this image?
• What might these children be thinking/feeling?
• Who took the photo – and why?
• If the buildings in the photo could talk, what would they say?

Students jot responses on sticky notes and place them around the image. This sparks curiosity and supports the development of empathy.

Transition: Introduce today’s focus: "Government Policies and Aboriginal Peoples: A Historical Overview (1788–1901). We'll explore the decisions made by people in power and what that meant – and still means – for Aboriginal communities."

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Phase 2: Explain (25 minutes)

Activity Title: Timeline Talk

Teacher-led delivery using interactive storytelling / slide visuals.

Walk through a short, digestible timeline highlighting key policies:

1. Terra Nullius (1788) – Legal fiction justifying colonisation
2. Land Acts and Land Dispossession (1820s–1830s)
3. Beginnings of Protectionism (from 1838) – introduction of reserves and missions
4. Policies of child removal & early Board for Protection of Aborigines (1869 VIC)
5. Assimilation ideologies emerging – positioning Aboriginal culture as needing ‘civilising’

Use analogies and questions to maintain engagement (e.g., "If someone came into your house today and told you that you don’t own it anymore because it's 'empty', how would you react?")

Break for 5 mins and allow clarifying questions.

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Phase 3: Explore (30 minutes)

Activity Title: “Policy Roundtable”

Group activity (solo student rotates roles or works with teacher as facilitator):
Student reads short 'Policy Fact Cards’ and engages with 4 role-play persona cards:

• Aboriginal Elder resisting relocation
• Colonial officer drawing maps of new towns
• Child in a mission school
• Settler defending their land grant from colonial authorities

Instructions:

• For each policy, student takes one role and reads a brief 1st-person perspective script provided.
• Reacts in character.
• Reflects afterwards on how information felt different in each role.

This drama-based task builds historical empathy while deepening understanding of the nuanced impacts policies had.

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Phase 4: Elaborate (30 minutes)

Activity Title: Echoes Through Time

Task: Using primary sources (letters, interviews, testimonies), student creates a “Voice Collage”.

Includes:

• 1 quote from policy documentation or government statement
• 1 excerpt from an Aboriginal oral history/testimony
• 1 quote from a 19th-century newspaper or settler journal
• Student reflection or creative response (2–3 sentences)

Product:
An A4 visual collage (can be handwritten or typed) combining text+image elements. Encourages creative synthesis and links voices across perspectives.

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Phase 5: Evaluate (15 minutes)

Activity Title: River of Time Reflection

Using a long strip of paper or whiteboard representing a river, student places events, policies, and personal impacts (“boulders”, “currents”, “reefs”) along it.

• Strong currents: policies that accelerated change (e.g., land legislation)
• Boulders: obstacles from Aboriginal perspectives (e.g., mission life)
• Reefs: hidden dangers (child removal policies)

Optional Extension:
Record an audio or video reflection answering:

“Why is it important to learn about government policies toward Aboriginal peoples before Federation? How do these policies still affect us today?”

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Assessment (Formative)

• Participation in Drama/Empathy activity
• Content & insight in the "Voice Collage"
• Accurate identification and analysis of policy impacts during River of Time activity
• Quality of reflection (written or verbal)

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Differentiation & Support

• Visual learners: offered visual aids and infographics.
• Auditory learners: use of oral histories and recorded perspectives.
• Extra challenge: Design and justify an alternative historical policy approach to one of the real historical examples
• Learning needs: Teacher scribe support, additional breaks, or simplified texts with visuals

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Cross-Curriculum Priorities

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures: Central focus on hearing Aboriginal voices, interrogating colonial narratives
• Civics and Citizenship: Introduction of policy consequences, government roles in shaping societies

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Teacher Reflection (Post-Lesson)

• Did the student connect emotionally with the materials?
• Was role-playing effective in building empathy?
• What evidence shows understanding of different perspectives?
• Was the mix of creative and analytical learning successful?

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Extension/Next Steps

In the next lesson, students will explore "Aboriginal Resistance and Resilience" — looking at how Aboriginal communities responded and resisted during the colonial period.

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✦ Optional Bonus: Student can curate a gallery wall summarising policy impacts visually (charts, photos, quotes). This can be exhibited at the end of the unit.

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Let history speak. Let unheard voices be heard.