Humanities and social sciences / Year 5 / Knowledge and Understanding / History

Curriculum content descriptions

Reasons (economic, political and social) for the establishment of British colonies in Australia after 1800 (ACHASSK106)

Elaborations
  • investigating the reasons for the establishment of one or more British colonies such as a penal colony (for example, Moreton Bay, Van Diemen’s Land) or a colony that later became a state (for example, Western Australia, Victoria)
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

English history

Video

Tour of NSW Government House

This resource is a YouTube playlist containing a series of videos taken as a group of senior high school students are given a guided tour of NSW Government House in 2010. The tour covers primary sources such as architecture, furniture and images significant to the history of Australia and NSW.

Video

The British arrive in Tasmania

Learn why, in 1803, the British established a colony in Tasmania, at Hobart Town. Find out about the hardships faced by the convicts and early colonists and the early industries that helped some of them prosper. Find out about the effect that displacement had on the local palawa people.

Interactive

Old Government House Parramatta virtual tour

This resource is about exploring Governor Macquarie’s preferred residence while learning more about the early colony through this virtual tour of Old Government House at Parramatta.

Text

Life on the land

This is a resource about life on the land in Australia in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It includes details about land grants allocation, the establishment of Australia's first farms, the condition of the land, the processes used to farm the land, and case studies about the early farming families in Australia. The ...

Video

NSW Governor Marie Bashir – 2010 speech to students

This resource is a YouTube playlist containing a series of videos from a speech the NSW Governor Marie Bashir gave to senior high school students at Government House in 2010. She speaks on a range of topics, including the Australian system of government, the history of Australia and NSW, and her life. She also answers ...

Text

Defining moments in Australian History

This extensive web-based resource examines events, people and places of profound significance to the Australian people and their personal, community and national histories. The resource includes a list of 100 'defining moments' identified by historians supported by background information, images, video and links to the ...

Text

Stories: journey to the west

This is a two-part presentation of slides, telling and illustrating the Chinese Buddhist legend of 'Journey to the west'. 'Part 1: the adventures of Monkey' introduces the main character, Monkey, and the folk story outlines how his character evolves, becoming boastful and mischievous. 'Part 2: preparing for the great journey' ...

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Victorian Heritage Database

This is a rich, interactive resource that lists Victoria’s most significant heritage: places, objects, shipwrecks and archaeological sites. It has four main sections: Introduction; Explore heritage map; Recommended tours; and Timeline browser. The Explore heritage map searches for sites and provides information and images ...

Interactive

What house is that?

This is an interactive streetscape of nine houses, each from a different era and of different styles. They represent the nine main housing styles in Victoria. Information about each of the houses includes: features and style; the Architect; designers; historical observations; house owners; and general social history of ...

Video

The convict voyages

What do you think it was like for convicts on their voyage from England to Australia? Would you be surprised to discover that their life expectancy on board a convict vessel was actually higher than that of free settlers? Watch this video to discover why this might be, and learn about the convicts themselves.

Video

The water cycle in the Murray-Darling Basin

This 12 minute video explains the water cycle in the context of the Murray Darling Basin and the great variability in rainfall in the region causing frequent floods and droughts. It highlights the importance of the rivers in the Murray Darling Basin for agriculture, environmental health, water supply, habitat for migratory ...

Online

Burke and Wills: Then and Now

This is a website about a journey in 2010 that retraced the 1860 Burke and Wills expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Topics include: the landscape, the route, the flora and fauna, Burke’s tree, aboriginal bush foods and various interviews with experts and involved individuals. The resource is presented ...

Online

Seeing the Land from an Indigenous Canoe

This is website about the significant contribution Aboriginal people made in colonial times by guiding European explorers and colonists, stock and goods across the Victorian river systems. The resource includes introductory information and 31 Story Objects in the format of videos, audio, images and text. Each object also ...

Online

Indigenous Stories about War and Invasion

This is a website about Indigenous experiences of invasion and war during the British invasion, World War I and World War II. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are eight story objects that tell the stories of individuals, events and ...

Image

'Southern Sun' above Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1931

This is a gelatin silver-toned composite photograph measuring 32 cm x 25.5 cm, created by E.W. Searle. The Avro-10 Southern Sun plane piloted by Charles Ulm celebrated the arrival in Sydney of aviatrix Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Amy Johnson had crash landed in Brisbane and was flown ...

Image

Pacific Islander labourers planting sugar cane, Mackay, 1870s

This is a black-and-white photograph showing large groups of poorly dressed indentured Pacific Islanders planting sugar cane on a plantation at Mackay in Queensland. Fourteen or more Pacific Islanders are manually placing sugar-cane cuttings at regular intervals in long furrows. Two mounted white men oversee their work ...

Image

Pacific Islander labourers outside slab-hut dwellings, late 1800s

This is a black-and-white photograph showing indentured Pacific Islanders and their families posing by their slab-hut homes, probably on a coastal Queensland sugar plantation. They are wearing Western-style clothes, with the women in long skirts and the men wearing jackets and trousers. The huts appear to have been constructed ...

Image

Pacific Islander labourers clearing land, c1895

This is a black-and-white photograph showing nine Pacific Islander men using picks and axes to clear undergrowth and small trees from a clearing in a thickly vegetated area at Farnborough in central Queensland. The men are bare-chested, hatless and barefoot, with some wearing sarong-like garments. A white man stands in ...

Image

Pacific Islander labourers hoeing a cane field, c1902

This black-and-white photograph shows indentured Pacific Islanders methodically hoeing weeds from a large sugar-cane field at Herbert River in north-eastern Queensland. They wear Western-style clothes and hats. A white man, only just visible on the left and facing the Islanders, stands in front of the line of labourers, ...

Image

Pacific Islander labourers in the Mackay District, late 1800s

This posed black-and-white photograph shows indentured Pacific Islanders by their grass hut homes, probably on a Mackay sugar plantation in Queensland. Some are seated on logs or rough timber benches and one woman can also be seen. They are dressed in Western-style clothes. More huts can be seen on the cleared rise in the ...