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The explorers’ diaries

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Black and white portrait photo of Sir Thomas Mitchell and Sir George Grey

Subjects: Geography, History, Science, Technologies
Years: 5–6, 7–8, 9–10

In their journals, some early explorers of Australia described scenes of large-scale agriculture by Aboriginal people.

Sir Thomas Mitchell rode past 9 miles of harvested grain. Sir George Grey saw miles of deeply tilled gardens used for growing vegetables.  

Bruce Pascoe explores the reasons why Aboriginal civilisation, economy, agriculture and aquaculture are rarely mentioned in history books. 

Do all historians and archaeologists support this conclusion? Explain why, why not.

Note for the audience

Many primary sources used in this resource have words to describe Indigenous people that many people find offensive but at the time were widely used and, unfortunately, accepted. Words such as "blacks", "Aborigine" and "natives" were commonly used in colonial Australia to describe Indigenous people, but today they are considered outdated and highly offensive by many people.

Things to think about

  1. 1.Why do you think these aspects of Aboriginal history aren't more widely known?

  2. 2.Pascoe argues that Australians have grown up ignorant about their own country because they were given the colonists' interpretation of Australian history. What do you think about this argument?

  3. 3.

    How does hearing the explorers' observations of Aboriginal agriculture impact your understanding of Australian history?

View the full Bruce Pascoe: Aboriginal Agriculture, Technology and Ingenuity collection.

Teachers

In 2014, Bruce Pascoe wrote a book called Dark Emu that challenged the belief that the First Australians were hunter-gatherers. In researching his book, Bruce examined the journals of the early explorers and found evidence of a complex civilisation that was using sophisticated technologies to live, farm and manage the land.

Researchers continue to discover new evidence of the earliest human occupation of Australia.

Acknowledgements

All videos produced by Tim Purdie and Beth Shepherd for ABC Education.


Production Date: 2019

Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2019 (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.

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