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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.

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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.

The voyages of Captain Cook

How did James Cook die?

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.