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Outback House: Land ownership laws

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Man and woman in period costume ride in horse and cart
Outback House: Land ownership laws

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  5–6


Learn about changes in the law that would allow station workers to own land.

Imagine leaving your home to travel back to a time over 150 years ago, to live and work on an outback farm. Sixteen Australians take part in a reality TV show about life on Oxley Downs, a sheep station built to look and work as a real station would have in the 1860s.


Things to think about

  1. 1.By 1861, squatters were usually wealthy people of British descent. They controlled most of the land that was good for farming. People from the 'working classes', like maids and station hands, could not own their own land. What do you think about this?
  2. 2.Observe how the maids are washing clothes. Listen carefully to what is said about land ownership. What is 'Crown' land? What is 'arable' land? What brought about the changes in land ownership laws? What do you think is the 'great Australian dream' that was about to take hold among the 'lower classes' in 1861?
  3. 3.When British settlers arrived in Australia, they saw no fences or farms that in Britain would show ownership of land. Even though Aboriginal people were already there, the settlers claimed the land for the British government. What do you think about this? Also, what do you think the settlers' actions show about the difference between the way the British and the Aboriginal people saw and treated the land?
  4. 4.Find out what you can about a significant colonial squatter, farmer or pastoralist (such as John or Elizabeth Macarthur), and what this person contributed to the economic growth of the colonies. Present your ideas in an interesting way. Show your sources of evidence.



Production Date: 2005


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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