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The Navigators: Shipwrecked off 'New Holland'

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Painting shows shipwreck survivors on shoreline, wrecked ship in background
The Navigators: Shipwrecked off 'New Holland'

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  3–4


Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders are ready to take their maps and discoveries home.

They have been exploring the coasts of 'New Holland' for many months. Both men suffer tragedy on their return voyages. Watch this clip to find out what happens to them.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Flinders and Baudin have spent many months at sea exploring 'New Holland'. Their journals, drawings, charts and samples are proof of their discoveries. Why would they hurry to take these precious discoveries home?
  2. 2.Why did so many of Flinders's crew die on his voyage around 'New Holland'? Listen for the dangers to health and safety that these sea explorers faced. Flinders is often called a 'hero'. Listen for the things he did that could be called 'heroic'.
  3. 3.Who might have drawn and painted the shipwreck scenes shown in the clip? Why did they do this? The 80 shipwrecked sailors were all rescued six weeks later. How could they have survived for this long on the sandbank? What evidence can you find in the shipwreck images shown in the clip to help explain this?
  4. 4.Imagine you met Flinders and his companions in Port Jackson after they rowed back from the shipwreck. What questions would you ask about their journey in the long boat? Consider their feelings about the ship the 'Bridgewater' leaving them behind, the dangers of rowing all that way in an open boat, and what kept them going. Write or record an interview with Flinders about this rescue mission.

Date of broadcast: 23 Feb 2010


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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