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Colonial Australia Introduction

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Colonial Australia Introduction

Read the timeline and source cards, then solve the questions. Colonial history includes different perspectives: consider who made each decision and who was affected.

A. What was happening?

For tens of thousands of years before British colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lived across the continent and its islands. There were many distinct Nations, languages and ways of life. People maintained deep connections to Country and cared for it through knowledge and practices developed over generations. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook mapped parts of the east coast for Britain and claimed them for the British Crown. On 26 January 1788, the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove, in the Country of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. Britain established a penal colony there. This was not an empty land: British arrival began a period of profound change and dispossession for First Nations peoples.

BEFORE 1788 First Nations peoples live across the continent and islands, with many Nations and languages.

1770 James Cook maps parts of the east coast for Britain and claims it for the Crown.

26 JANUARY 1788 The First Fleet arrives at Sydney Cove; Britain establishes a penal colony.

WHY DID BRITAIN WANT A COLONY? British prisons were overcrowded. Leaders also wanted to extend the empire and establish a strategic position in the Pacific.

1.Choose the best explanation of colonisation in this context.

Travelling to a place to learn about it
A powerful country establishing control over another place and its people
Trading goods between neighbouring communities
Moving to a new home by choice

2.The timeline shows that First Nations peoples lived in Australia before 1788. Name two details from the passage that show the diversity of First Nations Australia.

3.Put these events in chronological order by writing 1, 2 and 3 beside them: First Fleet arrives; Cook maps parts of the east coast; First Nations peoples live across the continent before colonisation.

4.Match each British motive to the explanation in the source cards.

Overcrowded prisons
Expanding the empire
Strategic position

Britain wanted a position in the Pacific.
Britain wanted somewhere to send convicts.
Leaders wanted to extend British power and territory.

5.True or false? Sydney Cove was uninhabited when the First Fleet arrived in 1788. Use one piece of evidence from the passage to support your answer.

TrueFalse

6.Which statement best describes the relationship between the events of 1770 and 1788?

Cook's mapping and claim came before Britain established a colony at Sydney Cove.
The First Fleet arrived before Cook mapped the coast.
Cook established the penal colony in 1770.
The two events happened in the same year.

7.Use the source cards to explain two reasons Britain established a colony in Australia.

8.Complete this inquiry question using the evidence: “Why did establish a colony in in ?”

9.A British leader might describe colonisation as extending the empire. How might a Gadigal person have experienced the arrival of the First Fleet differently? Give one reasoned possibility, using respectful language.

10.Write one respectful question you would investigate next about Colonial Australia. It should help you learn about an event, a motive, or the experience of First Nations peoples.