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Case study: How the Brits came to dominate Australia and made it part of the British Empire.
A- Finding Australia.
Endeavour: Captain Cook's First Voyage and The History of Australia in a nutshell
Did James Cook really discover Australia? What were the goals of the Endeavor expedition?
Read the following text, find the missing words.
A new voyage
In ______, after a brilliant career in the Royal Navy, ______________ was asked by the Royal Society
(a world-famous scientific organization) to captain ship called “___________” on a voyage of discovery.
His orders were to take a group of _____________, astronomers, botanists and artists to explore the
_________________. He was also asked to look for a great southern continent – the mysterious
“___________________________” or “unknown southern land”. _______________knew there was
land there somewhere -and had even landed on the west coast of Australia- but they didn’t know quite
how much land there was, and it had never been mapped properly or “claimed” by any country!
Land ahoy!
After several months at sea, Cook arrived in
_______________________ in 1769 and sailed all
around it. Then, in
___________________________, Cook landed on
the east coast of Australia at
____________________. The area reminded him
of South Wales in Britain so he called the whole
area ___________________________. Cook
planted a British flag on an island nearby and
claimed the territory for Britain…despite the fact
that there were _________________ tribes
already living in the area.
European countries didn’t care that the land they “discovered” was already occupied by people who
had lived there for thousands of years. As far as they were concerned, they had the power (i.e the
guns) and the right (they were Christians and these “natives” weren’t) to take all the land they wanted.
In fact, they saw it was their duty to bring __________________ to the “godless” natives!
The real Australians
When Cook arrived in Australia he wrote in his diary that “when we got near the beach, we could see
several people of a dark or black colour”. Cook was referring to the native people whose ancestors had
lived in Australia for over _______________ years. These people are sometimes called
__________________________.
When Cook first arrived in Australia there were approximately 500,000 Aboriginal Australians living all
over Australia, speaking 200 different languages. Generally, the tribes moved around to different areas
at different times of year ___________ for food. Tragically, ___________________ that the British
brought with them to Australia (like smallpox) would kill around half of the Aboriginal Australian
population over the next few decades.
A few years after Cook’s first landing, the Brits returned to Australia to set up the first permanent
___________________________. The colony they built later became the city of ________________,
the largest city in modern-day Australia.
B- Transportation nation.
The 'First Fleet'
The British Government decided to send a well-known naval commander, Captain Arthur Phillip, to set
up the first settlement or colony on Australian soil. They also wanted him to take over 700 convicts
from Britain's overcrowded jails to help him do it. It was hoped that these prisoners would never return
to Britain - after their sentences were completed, they would be forced to stay in Australia because
they wouldn't be able to get home!
ln May 1787, 11 ships left Portsmouth heading
for the new British colony of Australia. There
were over 1300 people on board the ships in
total, including 736 convicted criminals. These 11
ships are today known in Australia as the 'First
Fleet' and are acknowledged as the 'Founders of
Australia'. They arrived on 26 January 1788, now
known as Australia Day or Foundation Day. ln
2004, an estimated 8 million people attended
Australia Day celebrations across the country.
Life down under
The oldest convict on the First Fleet was an 82-
year-old woman called Dorothy Handland. She
survived the trip but hanged herself from a tree
when she saw the conditions which she was
expected to live in. John Hudson, who had stolen
some clothes and a gun, was the youngest
convict. He was nine years old.
The convicts began to build the settlement. Each
convict was assigned a master who used them to
carry out whatever work they wanted for the rest of their sentence This was usually for seven years,
fourteen years ... or life! Good, hardworking convicts earned themselves an early release, whilst bad
behaviour ended in a whipping - or an extended sentence! Over the next 20 years, British courts
transported over 20,000 more convicts to join them.
Free settlers
Life in the new settlement was tough. Few of the convicts - or their masters - knew about farming or
carpentry, two of the most important skills needed in the new colony. ln fact, the new settlement was
lucky to survive its early years. However, in 1790 the first 'free settlers' began to arrive from Britain,
attracted by the idea of a new life in another part of the world. They brought the supplies and skills
needed to help the settlement survive ... and grow. More convict ships arrived too and by 1800 the
British population in Australia had grown to around 6000.
Brits abroad
Over the next 50 years the Brits began to explore the different parts of Australia. When the explorers
returned with reports of what they had seen or found, the settlers began to move inland, hoping to
set up farms or look for gold and other valuable gemstones such as opal.
New settlements were set up in Hobart (1803), on the Brisbane River (1824), on the Swan River (1829),
on Port Phillip Bay (1835) and on Gulf St. Vincent (1836). By this time, the British population in Australia
stood at around 130,000. Today, the huge cities of Hobart (in Tasmania, the island to the south of
mainland Australia), Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide are on these sites!
A new generation
Australia was first used by the Brits mainly as a
place to dump their criminals but things soon
started to change. The majority of convicts decided
to stay in Australia at the end of their sentences.
Many became sheep or wheat farmers. An
'Australia-born' generation grew up too - people
who were born in Australia and regarded
themselves as 'Australian'. And with more free
settlers arriving, the population of Australia grew
to 405,000 by 1850. By now the colonies each had
their own councils and governors who started to
make decisions about how to run things. Soon, this
new generation of Australians began to object to
what they thought of as 'their country' being used
as a dumping ground for Britain's criminals.
Transportation ended in 1868 - by that time a total
of 162,000 convicts had been sent to Australia on
806 'transport ships'.
What was “transportation” and why was it introduced? Who were the “first fleeters” and the
“free settlers”?
Place on the map the cities of modern Australia that grew from the early settlement.
In your own words, can you describe how white settlers gradually colonized Australia?
C- Adventure or invasion?
In groups of three, using the set of documents below and
your own searches, design a leaflet, a poster, a mind map
or a Powerpoint presentation about the struggle between
British settlers and the Aboriginal Australians. Make sure
you include:
➢ a detailed definition of the term “Aboriginal Australian”;
➢ information about the Aboriginal way of life;
➢ reasons why the settlers and Aboriginal Australians
clashed;
➢ the story of Pemulwuy;
➢ details of the “Stolen Generations”.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australian-Aboriginal The expansion of the British Empire in Australia can be
interpreted in different ways
https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/stolen-
generations
Part of the
Australian Prime
Minister’s apology
to the Aboriginal
Australian children
of the “Stolen
Generations”
delivered by Kevin
Rudd in February
2008.
D- An independent Australia.
There were special councils in each of the four Australian provinces - with governors in charge - that
took some responsibility for running things in the province. The provinces were all run slightly
differently, having different rules and ideas about land, education, the railways, and so on. Of course,
Australia was still part of the British Empire and all the big decisions were made by the British
Parliament - but the everyday running of each province was left to the governor and his council.
However, by 1901 Australia was a united nation, running itself and making key decisions that
concerned the whole country through its own parliament. So how did this change happen?
Put the cartoons in the chronological order (you can use this Internet link to help you) and thanks
to them create a digital timeline (thanks to Timetoast) charting the history of Australia from
“colonization to independence” (1770-1901).
Birth of a nation
1901 is a very important year in Australian history. It marks the birth of a nation - that is. when ail six
independent territories joined as one to form 'Australia'. A new capital city was even built from scratch
- Canberra - because they couldn't decide whether it should be Melbourne or Sydney. Soon after, a
new flag was created.
The new Australia quickly created its own army and navy, as well as new laws on education, transport,
pensions and much more. However, there were still some legal links to Britain after 1901. For example,
the British Parliament could (if it chose to) meddle with the powers of Australia's Parliament. This never
actually happened but the idea still annoyed Australians. Over the next few decades though, Australia
gradually gained more and more control, until finally, in 1986, Australia became totally independent
of Britain.