RIC-6430 Primary history (Bk D)

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Primary Australian history (Book D) 

Published by R.I.C. Publications ® 2008 

Copyright © R.I.C. Publications ® 2008 

Revised and reprinted 2015 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 

RIC– 6430 

Additional titles available in this series: 

Primary Australian history (Book A) 

Primary Australian history (Book B) 

Primary Australian history (Book C) 

Primary Australian history (Book E) 

Primary Australian history (Book F) 

Primary Australian history (Book G) 

Copyright Notice 

A number of pages in this book are worksheets. 

The publisher licenses the individual teacher who 

purchased this book to photocopy these pages to 

hand out to pupils in their own classes. 

Except as allowed under the Copyright Act 1968, 

any other use (including digital and online uses 

and the creation of overhead transparencies 

or posters) or any use by or for other people 

(including by or for other teachers, pupils or 

institutions) is prohibited. If you want a licence to 

do anything outside the scope of the BLM licence 

above, please contact the Publisher. 

This information is provided to clarify the limits of 

this licence and its interaction with the Copyright 

Act. 

For your added protection in the case of copyright 

inspection, please complete the form below. Retain 

this form, the complete original document and the 

invoice or receipt as proof of purchase. 

Name of Purchaser: 

Date of Purchase: 

Supplier: 

School Order# (if applicable): 

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Internet websites 

In some cases, websites or specific URLs may be recommended. While these are checked and rechecked at the time of publication, 

the publisher has no control over any subsequent changes which may be made to webpages. It is strongly recommended that the class 

teacher checks all URLs before allowing students to access them. 

View all pages online 

PO Box 332 Greenwood Western Australia 6924 

Website: www.ricpublications.com.au 

Email: mail@ricgroup.com.au

Primary Australian 

history 

Foreword 

D 

Contents 

Teachers notes ...................................................................................................................................... iv – xvii 

How to use this book ............................................................................................................................. iv – v 

Curriculum links ..........................................................................................................................................vi 

Useful Australian history resources ...............................................................................................................vi 

Historical literacy skills ........................................................................................................................ vii – viii 

Public holidays ............................................................................................................................................ix 

Time line of major Australian and world events .......................................................................................x – xvi 

Australian Prime Ministers since Federation ................................................................................................xvii 

The beginning .................................................... 2–5 

Aboriginal Australians .................................... 2–5 

Maritime exploration.......................................... 6–9 

William Dampier: Hero or villain? .................... 6–9 

Early settlement ............................................. 10–33 

The First Fleet ......................................... 10–13 

Convicts at work ...................................... 14–17 

Yagan and his people ............................... 18–21 

Life in the new colony .............................. 22–25 

The Macarthurs’ merino wool ................... 26–29 

Bounty migrants ...................................... 30–33 

Discoveries .................................................... 34–45 

The mighty Blue Mountains ....................... 34–37 

Edward Hargraves discovers gold ............. 38–41 

Coal River, NSW ...................................... 42–45 

Progress ........................................................ 46–53 

The shearers’ strike ................................. 46–49 

Beasts of burden ..................................... 50–53 

Primary Australian history is a series of seven books designed to provide students 

with an awareness of the chronology of major events in the history of Australia and 

the signifi cance of these events in shaping the nation. 

Titles in this series include: 

• Primary Australian history Book A 

• Primary Australian history Book B 

• Primary Australian history Book C 

• Primary Australian history Book D 

• Primary Australian history Book E 

• Primary Australian history Book F 

• Primary Australian history Book G 

A new nation .................................................. 54–73 

Federation .............................................. 54–57 

Changes ................................................. 58–61 

World War I—In Gallipoli .......................... 62–65 

The Depression ....................................... 66–69 

World War II—Australia under attack ........ 70–73 



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People and politics ........................................ 74–85 

The $5 faces ........................................... 74–77 

John Howard ........................................... 78–81 

Nuclear testing ........................................ 82–85 

Modern Australia ......................................... 86–101 

Sydney’s icons ........................................ 86–89 

NAIDOC Week ......................................... 90–93 

Australian sporting greats ........................ 94–97 

Earth Hour ............................................ 98–101 

Quizzes ...................................................... 102–115 

Quiz questions ...................................... 102–114 

Quiz answers ................................................ 115 

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Teachers notes 

Topics within the sections follow a similar four-page format of a teachers page followed by three (3) student pages. The three student pages may be 

about different individual aspects of an historical event or time or three connected activities associated with one historical event. 

Features 

• A series of quick multiple choice quizzes for each topic is provided on pages 102–116. All answers are supplied. 

• Curriculum links for Society and Environment and English are provided on page vi. 

• A list of useful R.I.C. Publications resources for teacher support for each section of the book is printed on page vi. 

• An explanation of the fi ve broad historical literacy skills is provided on page vii. 

• A list of public holidays relevant to Australia’s history and celebrated by each state is provided on page ix. 

• For teacher reference a time line of major Australian and world events from 1788 to the present is on pages x to xvi. 

• A list of Australian Prime Ministers since Federation is given on page xvii. 

Teachers page 

The teachers page contains the following information: 

The title of the topic indicates the 

person or event in Australian history 

being discussed. 

A time line is included to place 

events in chronological order 

and also to indicate similar or 

signifi cant events occurring during 

the same time frame elsewhere in 

Australia or in the rest of the world. 

How to use this book 

The sections of this book incorporate an introduction to some of the major events to have 

infl uenced the course of Australian history. In the early levels, the activities are intended to 

form a basis for future learning about historical events. The events have been arranged, in 

part, to follow the chronology of events from the migration of the Australian Aboriginals to 

the modern day. 

Each section contains one or more main historical events. The sections are: 

• The beginning • Maritime exploration • Early settlement 

• Discoveries • Progress • A new nation 

• People and politics • Modern Australia 

Indicators state literacy outcomes 

for reading and comprehending the 

informational text and outcomes 

relating to cross-curricular activities on 

other student pages. 

Worksheet information provides 

additional information to place the topic 

in context with events of the time. It 

also includes specifi c details about the 

use of the worksheet, if required. 



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The page number for the quiz 

questions relating to each topic is 

given. 

Answers are provided where 

necessary. Open-ended tasks require 

the teacher to check the answers. 

Further exploration activities offer suggestions for 

developing the knowledge and understanding of the 

topic or for widening the scope of the knowledge by 

investigating similar people or events. 

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Student pages 

1. 

• The title of the topic. 

• Informational text about the topic. 

2. 

• The title of the topic. 

• Comprehension activities to establish understanding. 

Answers for these activities are provided on the teachers page. 

• Fact file: An interesting fact is included to extend knowledge. 

How to use this book 

Student pages 


The student pages follow the following format: 

• The fi rst student page is an informational text, providing details and dates of key people 

and/or events and the signifi cance of their role in Australian history. 

• The second student page includes a variety of comprehension activities to establish student 

understanding of the text. 

• The fi nal student page is a cross-curricular activity designed to deepen understanding of 

the topic or to widen the scope of knowledge. 



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3. 

• The title refl ects the activity to be completed. 

• Fact file: An interesting fact is included to 

extend knowledge. 

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Curriculum links 

State English Society and Environment 

NSW 

Vic. 

WA 

SA 

Qld 

TS2.1, TS2.2, TS2.3 

RS2.5, RS2.6, RS 2.7 

WS2.9, WS2.13 

ENSL0301, ENSL0302, ENSL0304 

ENRE0301, ENRE0302, ENRE0305, ENRE0307, ENRE0308 

ENWR0301, ENWR0302 

LS 3.1, LS 3.2, V 3.1, V 3.2 

R 3.1, R 3.2, R 3.4 

W 3.1, W 3.2, W 3.3, W 3.4 

2.1, 2.2, 2.4 

2.11, 2.12 

Refer to curriculum documents at 

. 

Useful Australian history resources 

There are a number of R.I.C. Publications’ titles which may be used to extend knowledge 

and develop a deeper understanding of the history of Australia. 

• Australian Curriculum History — a seven book series 

• SANDTRAKS: Salt Water and Sand tracks — a single book and DVD for middle to 

upper primary 

• Primary Society and Environment — a seven-book series which includes a number 

of relevant Primary Australian history topics 

• Aboriginal studies — a three-book series 

• Australian Aboriginal culture — a four-book series 

• Australian studies — a three-book series 

• Gold in Australia — a single book for upper primary 

• Anzac Day — a single book for use throughout the primary school 

• Australian explorers — a single book for upper primary 

• Famous Australians — a three-book series for middle to upper primary 

• Australian politics — a single book for upper primary 

• Successful Australians — a single book for upper primary 

• Australia on the map 1606–2006 — a two-book series for middle to upper primary 

• Australian identity — a single book for upper primary 

• Democracy – a single book for upper primary 

CCS2.1, CCS2.2, CUS2.3, CUS2.4 

SSS2.7, SSS2.8 

SOSE0301, SOSE0302, SOSE0303 

ICP 3.1, ICP 3.2, ICP 3.3, ICP 3.4 

C 3.1, C 3.2, C 3.3 

TCC 3.1, TCC 3.2, TCC 3.3 

NSS 3.1, NSS 3.2, NSS 3.3 

2.1, 2.2, 2.3 

2.7, 2.8 

TCC 3.2, TCC 3.3, TCC 3.4, TCC 3.5 

CI 3.1, CI 3.4, CI 3.5 

SRP 3.2, SRP 3.4 

State government websites are a 

valuable source for information about 

individual states. 

• http://www.nsw.gov.au/ 

• http://www.vic.gov.au/ 

• http://www.tas.gov.au/ 

• http://www.qld.gov.au/ 

• http://www.wa.gov.au/ 

• http://www.nt.gov.au/ 

• http://www.act.gov.au/ 

• http://www.sa.gov.au/ 



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vi Primary Australian history R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au 

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Historical literacy skills 

It is not possible for us to know exactly what life was like in a time or place of which we have no direct experience. But we can study 

evidence of past events and eras to reach some understanding of the past. The more sources we use and the deeper we question their 

content, the greater our understanding and the more balanced our opinions will be. 

It is important to bring the study of people and events of the past alive, kindling a genuine interest in history. This can be achieved by 

incorporating many learning areas into the investigation of an historical event. 

As events do not occur in isolation, it is necessary for students to appreciate the context as well as the content of an event. To 

achieve this, students need to develop historical literacy skills which will allow them to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and 

understanding of an event. 

There are fi ve broad areas of historical literacy skills: 

1. Understanding chronology 

• To understand and use words and phrases linked to the passing of time. 

• To appreciate that the past can be divided into different eras between which there are similarities and differences. 

• To describe how life today is different from that in any era of the past. 

• To order events, people and eras chronologically, using dates and CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era) conventions. 

2. Understanding continuity and change 

• To demonstrate an awareness of people and events beyond living memory. 

• To consider reasons why certain events occurred and how decisions made affected the outcome of events. 

• To look at events from the viewpoints of all parties involved and consider why some people had more infl uence than others. 

• To compare and contrast characteristics of different eras. 

3. Interpreting historical information 

• To recognise the difference between and the value and reliability of primary * and secondary * sources. 

• To understand the cause and effect of an event using a range of sources and studying it from different aspects. 

4. Understanding historical information 

• To use literal, inferential and applied questioning techniques to learn about the past from a range of sources. 

5. Organising and communicating information 

• To use a range of presentation techniques to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of people, events and eras of the past. 



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The level at which each of these skills is practised deepens as students gain confi dence and maturity. By studying the past in an 

effective way, they will recognise processes and be able to predict possible outcomes of similar events as they occur in the present 

time. 

In studying the history of their own country, students will learn how events of the past have shaped the present and how actions taken 

today will affect life in the future. 

* Primary sources are usually original documents which contain fi rst-hand information about a topic. Some primary sources are 

diaries, letters, autobiographies, interviews, original works of art or artefacts, photographs, and surveys. 

* Secondary sources are second-hand versions. They are edited primary sources or commentary on, or discussion about, primary 

sources. Some secondary sources are bibliographies, journal articles, reports, biographies, commentaries, newspaper and magazine 

articles. 

For the purposes of this series of books, fi ctional primary sources have been created. 

‘Those who cannot remember the past are 

condemned to repeat it.’ 

George Santayana 1863–1952 

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Historical literacy skills class record 

Name 

Understanding chronology 

Understanding continuity nuity 

and change 

Interpreting historical 

information 

Questioning historical 

information 

Organising and 

communicating information 

Notes 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Public holidays 

All states and territories of Australia observe a number of special days each year, most of which are not public holidays. While many of 

the public holidays celebrated are also observed in other parts of the world, such as Christmas, Easter and the Queen’s Birthday holiday, 

a number of them celebrate events specifi c to Australian history. 

Some days are observed on the same date throughout Australia, while others vary among states and territories. Public holidays are 

listed below. 

• Australia Day — 26 January — national public holiday 

This day commemorates the founding of the fi rst British settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788, under the command of Captain 

Arthur Phillip, by the First Fleet. 

• Anzac Day — 25 April — national public holiday 

This day commemorates the landing of the ANZAC troops at Gallipoli on this day in 1915, but also serves as a reminder of all 

who have fought or served in the defence forces for Australia. A holiday on this day is also observed in New Zealand, Tonga and 

Western Samoa. 

• Labour Day — first Monday in October for NSW, SA and ACT; second Monday in March for Vic. and Tas.; first Monday in 

May for Qld; first Monday in March for WA — national public holiday 

This day commemorates the eight-hour working day which was established in 1871. 

• Canberra Day — third Monday in March — ACT only 

This day celebrates the offi cial naming of Canberra at a ceremony on 12 March 1913 by Lady Denman, wife of Lord Denman, the 

Governor-General at the time. 

• Proclamation Day — 28 December — South Australia only 

This day celebrates the day in 1836 when South Australia was proclaimed a province. 

• Foundation Day — first Monday in June — Western Australia only 

This day celebrates the foundation of the Swan River Colony on 1 July 1829. 



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Time line of major Australian and world events (>60 000 BCE – present day) 

The beginning – 1799 

>60 000 BCE: Aboriginal Australians are thought to have arrived in Australia. 

35 000 BCE: Aboriginal Australians are thought to have reached Tasmania. 

1300: Marco Polo discusses the possibility of a great unexplored southern land. 

1606: Luis Vaez de Torres sails through the Torres Strait. 

1606: Willem Janszoon, sailing in Duyfken, makes the fi rst European discovery of Australia. 

1616: Dirk Hartog, a Dutch explorer, sails to Western Australia. 

1622: Trial is shipwrecked off the coast of Western Australia. 

1629: Batavia is shipwrecked off the coast of Western Australia. 

1642: Abel Tasman makes the fi st European discovery of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). 

1688: William Dampier, English explorer, arrives on the west coast of Australia. 

1701–1714: War of the Spanish Succession occurs. 

1705: Edmund Halley predicts the return of a comet. 

1708: First accurate map of China is drawn. 

1712: First practical steam-powered piston engine is invented. 

1713: Britain becomes the dominant force in North America. 

1715: France takes control of Mauritius. 

1716–1720: China invades Tibet. 

1719: Daniel Defoe writes Robinson Crusoe. 

1721: French and English East India companies compete for trade in India. 

1722: The Dutch reach the Samoan Islands and Easter Island. 

1725: The Gujin Tushu Jicheng encyclopedia is printed in China. 

1726: Jonathon Swift writes Gulliver’s travels. 

1728: Danish explorer is the fi rst European to cross the Bering Strait. 

1739–1748: The War of Jenkins’ Ear is fought between Britain and Spain in the Caribbean. 

1739: Highwayman Dick Turpin is hanged in Britain. 

1747: British Royal Navy introduces lime rations to prevent scurvy. 

1752: Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar. 

1754–1763: The French and Indian War takes place in North America. 

1755: Samuel Johnson’s dictionary is fi rst published. 

1756–1763: The fi rst global confl ict, the Seven Years War, occurs. 

1757: The sextant is invented by John Campbell. 



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1761: The marine chronometer is invented by John Harrison. 

1762–1796: Catherine the Great begins her reign as Empress of Russia. 

1765: James Watt develops the steam engine. 

1766–1769: Frenchman Louis-Antoine de Bougainville circumnavigates the globe. 

1769: Napoleon Bonaparte, later to become Emperor of France, is born. 

1770: Captain James Cook lands on the more hospitable east coast of Australia and claims it for Britain. 

1771: The fi rst edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica is published. 

1775–1783: The American War of Independence occurs. 

1779: James Cook is murdered in Hawaii. 

1788: The First Fleet, under the command of Arthur Phillip, arrives at Sydney Cove and the NSW colony is founded. 

1789: Mutineers on HMS Bounty cast William Bligh adrift in an open boat on the Pacifi c Ocean. 

1789–1799: The French Revolution occurs. 

1793: The fi rst free settlers arrive in Australia. 

1798: George Bass and Matthew Flinders circumnavigate Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). 

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1800–1899 

1802: the fi rst steamship, Charlotte Dundas, is built. 

1804: The fi rst steam rail locomotive is built. 

1804: Hobart Town is established in Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania). 

1812: Grimms’ fairy tales, by the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, is published. 

1813: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth locate a path through the Blue Mountains. 

1816: Shaka becomes leader of the Zulus. 

1818: Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is published. 

1819: Thomas Stamford Raffl es founds the British colony of Singapore. 

1821: Napoleon Bonaparte dies on St Helena. 

1822: Tea is cultivated in India, ending China’s monopoly. 

1822: The Rosetta Stone is deciphered by Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion, the ‘Father of Egyptology’. 

1823: The game of rugby is invented. 

1824: ‘Australia’ is offi cially adopted as the name for the fi rst colony. 

1825: Van Diemen’s Land is proclaimed as a separate colony from New South Wales. 

1829: Swan River Colony is founded. 

1832: Swan River Colony is renamed Western Australia. 

1833: Port Arthur opens as a penal settlement in Van Diemen’s Land. 

1836: South Australia is proclaimed as a separate colony from New South Wales. 

1837: Queen Victoria begins her reign. 

1840: Treaty of Waitangi is signed in New Zealand. 

1845–1848: The Irish potato famine occurs. 

1848: Gold is discovered in California. 

1851: The gold rush begins near Bathurst in New South Wales. 

Victoria is proclaimed as a separate colony from New South Wales. 

1852–1856: David Livingstone crosses Africa. 

1853: Last convict transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. 

1853: The railway and telegraph are introduced in India. 

1854: The Eureka Rebellion occurs in Victoria. 

1856: Van Diemen’s Land is renamed Tasmania. 

1859: Queensland is proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales. 

1861: Archer wins the fi rst Melbourne Cup. 

1862: France begins to colonise Vietnam. 

1864: The Red Cross organisation is established. 

1865: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s adventures in Wonderland is published. 

1866: The Ku Klux Klan movement is begun in the USA. 

1868: The last convicts are transported to Australia. 

1873: Uluru (Ayers Rock) is sighted by Europeans for the fi rst time. 

1873: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the ‘Mounties’, are formed. 

1876: Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeat the American army in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. 

1880: Ned Kelly is hanged in Melbourne. 

1883: The Federal Council of Australasia is formed. 

1885: Gold is discovered in the Transvaal (Gauteng). 

1887: The Raffl es Hotel in Singapore is opened. 

1889: Sir Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfi eld Oration. 

1890: Massacre of Native Americans occurs at Wounded Knee. 

1894: Rudyard Kipling’s The jungle book is published. 

1899–1902: Boer War takes place in South Africa 



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1900–1999 

1901: Lord Hopetoun proclaims the Commonwealth of Australia. 

1901: Queen Victoria dies. 

1902: The Franchise Act gives non-Indigenous women throughout Australia the right to vote. 

1903: Wilbur and Orville Wright make the fi rst powered fl ight. 

1905: British New Guinea is transferred to Australian administration. 

1909: Canberra chosen as capital city of Australia. 

1911: Northern Territory is transferred from South Australian control to the Commonwealth. 

1912: Titanic sinks during her maiden voyage from Britain to the United States. 

1914: The Panama Canal in Central America opens, connecting the Pacifi c and Atlantic oceans for shipping. 

1914–1918: Australian troops fi ght in World War I. 

1915: ANZAC troops land at Gallipoli. 

1917: Tsar Nicholas II and his family are assassinated in Russia. 

1919: Amritsar Massacre takes place in India. 

1920: Qantas is formed as an airline. 

1920: Australia takes control of German New Guinea. 

1923: Tutankhamen’s tomb is opened. 

1923: Vegemite is fi rst produced. 

1927: The fi rst Federal Parliament is held in Canberra. 

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is established in Australia. 

1929: The Wall Street Crash takes place. 

1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge opens. 

1932–1933: The ‘Bodyline’ cricket tour of Australia takes place. 

1933: Western Australia passes a referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia, but it is rejected by the British 

Parliament. 

1933: Australia Antarctic Territory is established. 

1939–1945: Australian troops fi ght in World War II. 

1946: The Cold War between the USA and the USSR begins. 

1948: The fi rst all-Australian car is produced—the Holden (FX) 48-215. 

1950–1953: Australian troops fi ght in the Korean War. 

1953: Mount Everest is climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. 

1956: Melbourne hosts the Olympics. 

1957: The Soviet Union launches the fi rst artifi cial satellite, Sputnik. 

1959–1975: Australian troops fi ght in the Vietnam War (from 1965). 

1961: Russian Yuri Gagarin becomes the fi rst man in space. 

1969: Apollo 11 space mission—Armstrong and Aldrin land on the moon. 

1971: Neville Bonner becomes the fi rst Aboriginal Australian federal Member of Parliament. 

1973: The Sydney Opera House opens. 

1975: The Khmer Rouge take control of government in Cambodia. 

1981: Asian immigration into Australia increases. 

1983: Australia wins the America’s Cup. 

1986: Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster occurs. 

1988: Bicentenary of European settlement in Australia. The new Parliament House opens in Canberra. 

1989: Tiananmen Square Massacre occurs in Beijing. 

1990: Nelson Mandela is freed from captivity in South Africa after 27 years. 

1991: The Cold War offi cially ends with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 

1994: Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa. 

1995: Israeli Prime Minister, Yitznak Rabin, is assassinated. 

1996: John Howard is elected Prime Minister. 

1997: Diana, Princess of Wales, is killed in a car crash. 

Head of Yagan is returned to Australia. 

1998: World population reaches six billion. 

1999: A massive hailstorm hits Sydney, causing $1.7 billion in damage. 



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2000–2008 

2000: John Howard’s Liberal government introduces the goods and services tax (GST). 

Sydney hosts the Summer Olympics. 

2001: Australia celebrates the centenary of Federation of Australia. 

The World Trade Centre towers in New York City are destroyed by terrorists. 

2001 Mars Odyssey reaches the orbit of Mars. 

2002: The euro is offi cially launched as the new single currency for 12 of the European Union’s member states. 

Terrorist bombings in Bali nightclubs kill 202 people. 

East Timor gains independence from Indonesia. 

Brazil wins the Football World Cup for the fi fth time. 

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spreads around the world. 

2002–2003: Athens hosts the Summer Olympics. 

2003: US-led coalition force invades Iraq, beginning the Iraq War. 

Space shuttle Columbia disaster occurs. 

Chinese space program launches its fi rst manned space fl ight, Shenzhou 5 

Almost 35 000 people in Europe die as a result of a prolonged heatwave. 

Australia wins the Cricket World Cup. 

England wins the Rugby World Cup. 

2004–2005: The Orange Revolution takes place in Ukraine. 

2004: Australia and the USA sign a free trade agreement. 

An Indian Ocean earthquake creates a tsunami which kills more than 260 000 people. 

The Madrid train terrorist attack claims the lives of 191 people and injures over 1000. 

Hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne cause over 3000 deaths as they batter the Caribbean. 

2005: Hurricane Katrina causes major destruction along the Gulf Coast of the US, killing almost 2000 people. 

An earthquake in Kashmir claims the lives of almost 90 000 Indians and Pakistanis. 

The London transport terrorist attack claims the lives of 52 people and injures 700. 

A terrorist attack in Delhi on the eve of the festival season kills 61 people and injures almost 200 more. 

In cricket, England wins the Ashes by defeating Australia. 

American Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France for the seventh time. 

2006: North Korea conducts its fi rst nuclear weapons test. 

Pluto is reclassifi ed as a dwarf planet. 

Saddam Hussein is executed in Baghdad. 

Steve Irwin, the ‘crocodile hunter’, dies after being fatally pierced by a stingray barb. 



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Melbourne hosts the Commonwealth Games. 

Australia regains the Ashes from England. 

Italy wins the Football World Cup. 

2007: Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is held in Sydney. 

Buddhist monks in Burma protest against military rule in the country. 

Australia wins the Cricket World Cup. 

South Africa wins the Rugby World Cup. 

Kevin Rudd (ALP) elected Prime Minister. 

2008: Federal Parliament offers an offi cial apology to the ‘stolen generations’ on behalf of the Australian Government. 

Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing, China. 

The Australian Olympic team wins 14 gold medals, coming 6th in the medal tally. 

Barack Obama becomes the fi rst African-American president of the USA. 

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia. 

Global Financial Crisis affects the stock market, commodities, petrol prices, employment and food prices. 

An earthquake measuring 7.9 hits China, killing more than 69 000 people, making it China’s worst disaster in more 

than 30 years. 

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2008–2011 

2008: Terrorist attacks in Mumbai kill 164 people and wound over 300. 

India lands a probe on the moon. 

Cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar, killing 100 000 people. 

Bill Gates retires from Microsoft. 

First passenger plane (an Airbus A319) lands in the Australian Antarctic Territory. 

The wrecks of the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, which both sunk 

after a battle in 1941, are located by the Finding Sydney Foundation. 

Apple iPhone is offi cially released in Australia. 

Quentin Bryce becomes the fi rst female Governor-General of Australia. 

First commercial Qantas Airbus A380 takes fl ight. 

Google Street View images of Australian city streets are added to Google Maps and Google Earth software. 

Rugby World Cup held in Australia, with New Zealand defeating Australia 34–20. 

2009: Indian train crash kills 21. 

Earthquake hits Sumatra, Indonesia, killing over 1000 people and injuring over 2000. 

An earthquake and tsunami in the Samoan region kill almost 200 people. 

West Java earthquake kills around 79 people, injures over 1250, and displaces over 210 000. 

Air France Flight 447 crashes into the ocean killing all 228 passengers, aircrew and cabin crew aboard. 

Scientists announce the discovery of the oldest fossil skeleton of a human ancestor. 

Swine fl u pandemic kills over 14 000 worldwide. 

Black Saturday bushfi res kill 173 people, injure 414, destroy 2100 homes and displace 7562 people. 

Queensland affected by severe fl ooding. 

Soldier Mark Donaldson awarded the Victoria Cross for acts of heroism in the war in Afghanistan. 

Anna Bligh is elected Premier of Queensland and becomes the fi rst female Premier. 

Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull apologise to the ‘Forgotten Australians’—in particular, British children forced to 

emigrate during the 1960s. 

Australia defeats South Africa in the third Test and the fi rst Twenty20. 

The Socceroos draw (0–0) against Qatar, qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. 

Mark Webber wins his fi rst Formula One Grand Prix at the 2009 German Grand Prix. 

The Australian cricket team loses The Ashes cricket series, 2 Tests to 1 in England. 

2010: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested. 

The eruption of a volcano in Iceland affects air traffi c across Europe for six days. 

Polish president and top political leaders killed in a plane crash. 

Earthquake and tsunami in Chile kills around 500 people. 

Mary MacKillop is declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Australian population offi cially exceeds 22 million people. 

MV Shen Neng 1, a Chinese bulk carrier, runs aground off Great Keppel Island, spilling oil in the Great Barrier Reef 

Marine Park. 

16-year-old sailor Jessica Watson completes a solo voyage around the world. 

250 Australian and British WWI soldiers are laid to rest in a new military cemetery in Fromelles, France. 

A boat carrying up to 80 asylum seekers crashes into a cliff face on Christmas Island, killing at least 30. 

Australia wins two gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Canada. 

Australia defeats Germany in the fi nal of the 2010 Men’s Hockey World Cup to win its second world cup title. 

Australia tops the medal tally in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Australia wins the 2010 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 defeating New Zealand at Bridgetown, Barbados. 

Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife win the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. 

Surfer Stephanie Gilmore wins the 2010 ASP World Tour—her fourth such win. 

2011: US military formally ends mission in Iran. 

North Korean Leader Kim Jong II dies. 

Apple CEO Steve Jobs dies. 

Earthquake hits Turkey killing 604 and injuring around 4000 people. 

Two separate terrorist attacks in Norway kill over 70 and injure over 300 people. 



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xiv Primary Australian history R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


2011–2013 

2011: Osama bin Laden killed in a planned military operation. 

An earthquake off the coast of Japan triggers a tsunami, causing almost 16 000 deaths, injury to over 6000, 

damage to roads, railways and buildings; and causing a meltdown at a nuclear power plant. It is the most powerful 

earthquake ever recorded to hit Japan and fourth most powerful in the world. 

Syria unrest begins. 

Violence erupts in Libya. 

Suicide bomber kills 37 people and injures 173 others at Moscow Airport. 

Major fl oods occur in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria. 

Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions as part of the war in Afghanistan. 

Forensic experts confi rm the remains found on the grounds of the former HM Prison Pentridge are those of bush 

ranger Ned Kelly. 

Bushfi res in Perth destroy 50 homes. 

A boat carrying over 200 asylum seekers sinks off the coast of Java while heading for Christmas Island. Around 160 

people die. 

Australia defeats New Zealand to win the 2011 Netball World Championships in Singapore. 

Cadel Evans wins the 2011 Tour de France. 

Samantha Stosur wins the 2011 US Tennis Open. 

The Gold Coast is announced as the host of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

Sally Pearson, track and fi eld athlete, is named the female IAAF World Athlete of the Year for 2011. 

Lionel Rose, Aboriginal boxer, dies. 

Nancy Wake, World War II resistance fi ghter, dies in England aged 98. 

2012: 20-year-old shoots and kills 20 children and 6 adult staff members at a Connecticut elementary school. 

The robotic rover, Curiosity, lands on Mars. 

Olympic Games held in London, England. 

Vladimir Putin elected as Russian President. 

Cyclone Heidi batters Pilbara region of Western Australia. 

Severe fl ooding affects towns in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. 

Genieve Blackwell is appointed the fi rst female Anglican bishop in New South Wales. 

A carbon pricing scheme is introduced in Australia. 

Total solar eclipse in northern Australia. 

Daniel Keighran is awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the war in Afghanistan. 

The Sydney Swans win the 2012 AFL Grand Final, defeating Hawthorn. 

Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden Commodore drivers Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell win the 2012 Bathurst 

1000. 

Murray Rose, Olympic swimmer, dies. 

Tony Greig, cricketer and sports broadcaster, dies. 

2013: China Moon rover lands on moon. 

Nelson Mandela dies. 

Typhoon Haiyan devastates the Philippines, killing at least 6300 people. It is one of the strongest typhoons ever 

recorded. 

Tokyo wins the honour of hosting the 2020 Olympic Games. 

A high-speed Spanish Alvia train crashes killing 79 and injuring 140 people. 

A tornado strikes Moore, Oklahoma, killing 25 and injuring 377 people. Wind speeds of 340 km/h are recorded. 

Scientists successfully clone human stem cells. 

An eight-storey commercial building collapses in Bangladesh killing over 1100 and injuring approximately 2500. 

An earthquake in Sichuan, China, kills 196 people and injures at least 11 826. 

Two bomb explosions near the fi nish line of the Boston Marathon kill 3 people and injure 264 others. 

Margaret Thatcher dies, aged 87. 

A meteor over Russia causes human injury and damage to property. 

A heatwave results in bushfi res in Tasmania. 

Cyclone Oswald causes heavy rainfall and fl ooding in Queensland. 

The Murrawarri Republic declares its independence from Australia. 



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www.ricpublications.com.au R.I.C. Publications ® Primary Australian history xv 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


2013–2015 

2013: Racehorse Black Caviar retires, with an unbeaten record of 25 wins. 

Giant Murchison Widefi eld Array telescope in Western Australia goes online. 

Australian intelligence agencies accused of tapping the phones of the President of Indonesia, his wife, and other 

offi cials. 

The analog television signal in Victoria is switched off, completing Australia’s transition to digital television. 

Australia wins the 2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup in India. 

Australia regains The Ashes for the fi rst time in seven years, after winning the fi rst three tests of the 2013–14 Ashes 

series. 

Hazel Hawke, social activist and former wife of ex-Prime Minister Bob Hawke, dies at the age of 83. 

2014: European Space Agency (ESA) lands Rosetta’s Philae Probe on a comet. 

Ebola virus affects countries including Africa, United Kingdom, the US and Spain. 

Malaysia Airlines fl ight MH17 with 298 on board is shot down over the Ukraine. 

South Korean ferry sinks killing 304 passengers, mostly secondary school students. 

Malaysia Airlines fl ight MH370 disappears with over 200 passengers. 

The 2014 Winter Olympics are held in Sochi, Russia. Australia wins three medals. 

Bushfi res destroy homes and land in Stradbroke Island, Perth hills and the Grampians, Victoria. 

General Peter Cosgrove is named Governor-General of Australia. 

Tropical Cyclone Dylan hits Queensland. 

Cameron Baird is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the war in Afghanistan. 

Cricketer Philip Hughes dies as the result of being hit in the neck by a bouncer, during a Sheffi eld Shield match at the 

Sydney Cricket Ground. 

Man Haron Monis takes customers and staff hostage in a Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Martin Place, Sydney. The gunman 

and two hostages die and four others are injured. 

Flooding occurs in Queensland and New South Wales. 

Australia defeats England in the 2013–14 Ashes series. 

Australia wins 137 medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

Sir Jack Brabham, racing car driver, dies at the age of 88. 

Gough Whitlam, former Prime Minister, dies, aged 98. 

2015: US, Iran and fi ve other nations reach an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program. 

Bushfi res in the Adelaide region destroy 32 houses and 125 other buildings. 

Australia wins the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. 

Australia wins the 2015 Cricket World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. 

Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister, dies, aged 84. 

Richie Benaud, cricket captain and television commentator, dies, aged 84. 

Severe storms bringing torrential rain and gale force winds hit Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra regions of NSW, killing 

eight and causing widespread fl ooding and damage. 



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Thousands celebrate the centenary of the Gallipoli landing. 

xvi Primary Australian history R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Australian Prime Ministers since Federation 

Prime Minister Term and length of office Political party 

Sir Edmund Barton 01/01/1901 – 24/09/1903 2 years 9 months Protectionist 

Alfred Deakin 24/09/1903 – 27/04/1904 0 years 7 months Protectionist 

Chris Watson 27/04/1904 – 18/08/1904 0 years 4 months Labor 

Sir George Reid 18/08/1904 – 05/07/1905 0 years 11 months Free Trade 

Alfred Deakin 05/07/1905 – 13/11/1908 3 years 4 months Protectionist 

Andrew Fisher 13/11/1908 – 02/06/1909 0 years 7 months Labor 

Alfred Deakin 02/06/1909 – 29/04/1910 0 years 11 months Commonwealth Liberal 

Andrew Fisher 29/04/1910 – 24/06/1913 3 years 2 months Labor 

Sir Joseph Cook 24/06/1913 – 17/09/1914 1 year 3 months Commonwealth Liberal 

Andrew Fisher 17/09/1914 – 27/10/1915 1 year 1 month Labor 

Billy Hughes 27/10/1915 – 09/02/1923 7 years 4 months Labor/Nationalist 

Stanley Bruce 09/02/1923 – 22/10/1929 6 years 9 months Nationalist 

James Scullin 22/10/1929 – 06/01/1932 2 years 3 months Labor 

Joseph Lyons 06/01/1932 – 07/04/1939 7 years 3 months United Australia 

Sir Earle Page 07/04/1939 – 26/04/1939 0 years 3 weeks Country 

Robert Menzies 26/04/1939 – 28/08/1941 2 years 4 months United Australia 

Arthur Fadden 28/08/1941 – 07/10/1941 0 years 6 weeks Country 

John Curtin 07/10/1941 – 05/07/1945 3 years 9 months Labor 

Frank Forde 05/07/1945 – 13/07/1945 0 years 1 week Labor 

Ben Chifl ey 13/07/1945 – 19/12/1949 4 years 5 months Labor 

Sir Robert Menzies 19/12/1949 – 26/01/1966 16 years 1 month Liberal 

Harold Holt 26/01/1966 – 19/12/1967 1 year 11 months Liberal 

Sir John McEwen 19/12/1967 – 10/01/1968 0 years 3 weeks Country 



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John Gorton 10/01/1968 – 10/03/1971 3 years 2 months Liberal 

Sir William McMahon 10/03/1971 – 05/12/1972 1 year 9 months Liberal 

Gough Whitlam 05/12/1972 – 11/11/1975 2 years 11 months Labor 

Malcolm Fraser 11/11/1975 – 11/03/1983 7 years 4 months Liberal 

Bob Hawke 11/03/1983 – 20/12/1991 8 years 9 months Labor 

Paul Keating 20/12/1991 – 11/11/1996 4 years 3 months Labor 

John Howard 11/11/1996 – 03/12/2007 11 years 9 months Liberal 

Kevin Rudd 03/12/2007 – 24/06/2010 2 years 6 months Labor 

Julia Gillard 24/06/2010 – 27/06/2013 3 years 3 days Labor 

Kevin Rudd 27/06/2013 – 18/09/2013 2 months 22 days Labor 

Anthony Abbott 18/09/2013 – Liberal 

www.ricpublications.com.au R.I.C. Publications ® Primary Australian history xvii 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Aboriginal Australians 

Time line 

50 000 BCE 

Last ice age: Australia is linked by land to both New 

Guinea and Tasmania. Migration between islands 

occurs. 

Aboriginal Australians living in Lake Mungo area, New 

South Wales. 

38 000 BCE 

Aboriginal Australians living in Devil’s Lair, Western 

Australia. 

24 000 BCE 

Aboriginal Australians living in Koonalda Cave on the 

Nullarbor Plain, South Australia. 

10 000 BCE 

Temperature rises, ice melts, seas rise and land 

bridges disappear. 

~1400 CE 

Chinese exploration into the Indian Ocean begins. 

1488 CE 

First European expedition to sail around the Cape of 

Good Hope occurs. 

1494 

Treaty of Tordesillas signed between Portugal and 

Spain. 

1497 

Portuguese discover a sea route to Asia. 

1511 

Portuguese capture Melaka and take control of the 

Indonesian spice trade. 

1530-1570 

Dieppe Maps are drawn in France. 

1606 

Torres Strait between New Guinea and Australia is 

sailed through by Spanish explorer, Luis Vaez de 

Torres. 

1700s 

Aboriginal Australians trade with Macassans from 

south-west Sulawesi. 

1788 

European settlement of Australia. 

The beginning 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about Aboriginal Australians’ affi nity with the land. 

• Completes a research activity to make notes about Aboriginal Australian weapons and 

tools. 

Worksheet information 

• It is thought Aboriginal Australians came to Australia from Asia around 50 000 to 60 000 

years ago. There was less sea between Australia and Asia then so they could have walked 

across land bridges and used water transport such as rafts to cross passages of ocean. 

• Different groups of Indigenous Australians once lived all over Australia, and, at the time 

of European settlement, the largest population was in the temperate coastal climate 

regions in the south and east. Wherever they lived, in harsh desert environments, cold 

mountainous environments or mild coastal environments, their diets and hunting methods 

would vary accordingly. 

• Torres Strait Islanders are the other group of Indigenous Australians and live in mainland 

Australia and the Torres Strait Islands between Australia and New Guinea. These 

islands are part of the state of Queensland. These Indigenous people were traditionally 

agriculturalists who hunted and gathered for extra food supplies when necessary. 

• Quiz questions relating to this section can be found on page 102. 

Answers 

Page 4 

1. Answers should indicate that they have survived by adapting to their environment and by 

understanding Australia’s plant and animal life. 

2. They were semi-nomadic as they would shift from place to place when food supplies 

were getting low. 

3. (c) 

4. Teacher check 

5. Just by looking at a set of animal tracks, they could tell what kind of animal it was, what 

direction it was going, its size (by judging the depth of the track), whether it was male 

or female (by the spacing between the back legs), approximate age and how fresh the 

track was. 

6. A hunter tracks and kills wild animals for food. A gatherer searches for, picks and 

collects mainly plants for food or other uses. 

Further exploration 

• Research to fi nd examples of humpies or lean-to’s, traditional Aboriginal Australian 

shelters. Identify the materials used to make them. 

• Find out examples of plants that were used for bush medicines and how they were 

prepared; e.g. oily sap from a conkerberry tree applied to ease rheumatism. 



Display Copy 

2 Primary Australian history R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricpublications.com.au 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Aboriginal Australians – 1 

The beginning 

Aboriginal Australians were the first human inhabitants of Australia. They are believed 

to be one of the oldest remaining civilisations in the world. 

Living with their country 

Aboriginal Australians fi rst arrived in northern 

Australia and then settled across the continent, 

including the island of Tasmania. They adapted 

well and survived because of what they learnt 

and understood of Australia’s plant and animal 

life. All they needed was provided by nature. They 

learnt to live in different environments across the 

continent. 

Most Aboriginal Australian groups were seminomadic; 

meaning they moved to another place 

after staying in an area for a certain amount of 

time. They would make a campsite near a water 

source and hunt and gather food from around the 

area. They were very careful in taking only what 

they needed. When food supplies in a location 

were getting low, they would shift to another area 

so the numbers of plants and animals they had 

taken would return to normal. Their movements 

were within a specifi c area, and they would 

return to the same places at the same time each 

year. Therefore, Aboriginal Australians had no 

need to stay in one place to grow crops or to rear 

animals for food. They did not need to clear land 

for shelters. Available bark, leaves, twigs and 

grass were used to make shelters, or a cave or 

natural outcrop would serve as a shelter. 

Bush tucker and bush medicine 

Aboriginal people passed on their knowledge 

from one generation to the next as to how certain 

plants and animals could be used as food (bush 

tucker) and medicines (bush medicine). They 

knew which plants and animals were edible, in 

which season they were available and how to 

gather or hunt for them. Bush tucker from plants 

included fruits, nuts, berries, fl owers, fungi, seeds 

and tubers (root vegetables such as yams). Bush 

tucker from animals included kangaroo, emu, 

witchetty grubs, eggs, fi sh, shellfi sh, goanna, 

ants and wallaby. The older women, in particular, 

knew how to prepare bush medicine for a variety 

of problems. These included treatment for 

snake and spider bites, burns, jellyfi sh stings, 

headaches, eye infections, rashes, cuts and 

stomach upsets. 

Hunters and gatherers 

Women were the gatherers, collecting plants, 

small animals, wood for fi res and material 

for shelters. Men were the hunters and were 

exceptional at tracking animals. Just by looking 

at a set of animal tracks, they could tell what kind 

of animal it was, what direction it was going, its 

size (by judging the depth of the track), whether 

it was male or female (by the spacing between 

the back legs), approximate age and how fresh 

the track was. They used many different tools for 

hunting and gathering. These included digging 

sticks, boomerangs, woomeras, fi sh traps, 

fi shhooks, snares, clubs, spears and axes. 

www.ricpublications.com.au R.I.C. Publications ® Primary Australian history 3 

ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 



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Aboriginal Australians – 2 

Answer the questions about the text on page 3. 

The beginning 

1. Why have Aboriginal Australians survived to become one of the oldest remaining civilisations 

on Earth? 

2. Why were Aboriginal Australians semi-nomadic? 

3. Circle the three items that are all examples of bush tucker. 

(a) witchetty grubs, boomerangs, emu 

(b) fishhooks, woomeras, bark 

(c) berries, shellfish, ants 

4. List three things that could be treated by bush medicine. 

5. Explain why Aboriginal Australians are described as being exceptional trackers. 

6. What is the difference between a hunter and a gatherer? 



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Aboriginal Australians reached Tasmania by means of a land bridge that existed between the island 

and the mainland. After it disappeared during the last ice age, the Indigenous people there were 

isolated until the arrival of European settlers. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Aboriginal Australian weapons and tools 

The items in the table below are examples of weapons and tools used by Aboriginal Australians. 

Use a dictionary, nonfiction books from the library or the Internet to write notes about each 

item. Include notes about what it is used for, how it is used and what it is made from. 

Weapon/Tool 

digging stick 

boomerang 

fishhook 

snare 

Notes 

The beginning 



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woomera and spear 

axe 

Aboriginal Australians did not carry first aid or medicine kits. They used plants and materials that 

were available at the time. If a favoured plant was not available, there were always others that could 

be used. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1606 

Willem Janszoon, aboard the Duyfken, sights Australian 

coastline at Cape York Peninsula. 

1616 

Dirk Hartog lands at west coast of Australia. 

1629 

Batavia is wrecked off the Western Australian coastline. 

1642 

Abel Tasman is fi rst European to sight Van Diemen’s 

Land. 

1651 

William Dampier born. 

1665 

Black Death in London. 

1666 

Great Fire of London. 

1672 

Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674). 

1688 

William Dampier, travelling in Cygnet, beaches on 

north-western coast of Australia near King Sound. 

1696 

Willem de Vlamingh explores Rottnest Island and the 

Swan River. 

1697 

William Dampier’s fi rst book, A new voyage around the 

world, published. 

1699 

William Dampier in HMS Roebuck, lands at Dirk Hartog 

Island, Shark Bay, Western Australia. 

1700 

William Dampier sights New Guinea and charts its 

northern coastline. Explores Bismarck Islands off northeastern 

coast and discovers Dampier Strait. 

1701 

William Dampier’s second book published. 

1701 

War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). 

1705 

Edmund Halley predicts return of comet. 

1708 

Jesuit missionaries make fi rst accurate map of China. 

1709 

William Dampier’s third book published. 

1713 

Utrecht Treaty places Britain as dominant force in 

America. 

1715 

French take power in Mauritius. 

1715 

William Dampier dies. 

William Dampier: 

Hero or villain? 

Maritime exploration 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions to demonstrate an understanding of its content. 

• Finds information to write a summary of William Dampier’s career. 


• For the activity on page 9, students focus on information they have found through 

research, reviewing a number of different websites to validate information. 

William Dampier was the fi rst known British explorer to reach Australia. His impressions 

were not favourable but his descriptions of the people, landscape, plants and animals 

motivated others to search for Terra Australis Incognita, the ‘unknown southern land’. It 

was believed by many that in order to balance the land mass in the Northern Hemisphere, 

there must be more land south of the equator. 

Gradually, a great extent of the continent was explored, fi rst by the Dutch and then by 

British and French explorers. But many years before James Cook charted New Zealand 

and explored the eastern coast of Australia, claiming it for King George III, William 

Dampier had explored part of the western coast. 

Dampier’s interest in natural history and eye for detail allowed him to produce sketches 

and notes of such great importance that Charles Darwin used them as reference material 

on his celebrated voyage to the Galapagos Islands on board HMS Beagle. Dampier had 

visited the islands about 150 years before Darwin. 

Dampier rescued Alexander Selkirk, who had been marooned on an island off the west 

coast of South America after he had a disagreement with his captain on board Cinque 

Ports. Dampier’s record of this rescue inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe. 

This story was an inspiration to another famous British maritime explorer, Matthew 

Flinders, who went on to chart the whole of the Australian coastline. 

Quiz questions relating to this section can be found on page 102. 

Answers 

Page 8 

1. None (0) 

2. Dampier Archipelago, Dampier Strait 

3. charted coastlines, explored Dampier Strait, produced global wind charts 

1 2 

4. p c 

5. Down: 

3 4 

1. pirate – person who attacks 

d i s h o n e s t 

and steals from ships 

r r h 

2. corrupt – dishonest 

5 

a r v i 

4. thief – person who takes 

6 

things belonging to others 

t m u t i n e e r 

5. violent – causing great pain 

e p o f 

Across: 

t l 

3. dishonest – lies and cheats 

e 

often 

6. mutineer – person who 

n 

rebels against authority 

7 

c h e a t 

7. cheat – person who does 

things dishonestly 


• William Dampier has had a number of plants named after him. Find out what they are and 

where they can be found. Make labelled sketches of the plants and create a decorative 

display. 

• Read and write a book review of either Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe or Gulliver’s 

Travels by Jonathan Swift. 

• Collect pictures and information about the Dutch, French and British maritime explorers 

(and their ships) who discovered different parts of Australia. Arrange them around a map 

of Australia. 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

William Dampier: Hero or villain? – 1 

‘A pirate! A pirate you say? How dare you label one of England’s 

greatest maritime explorers and naturalists in such a way!’ spluttered 

Sir Horatio Barnaby. 

‘Calm down, old boy. I just like to look at both sides of the coin, don’t 

you know!’ Lord Fortescue-Pike was running his lean fi ngers along the 

books on the shelf. ‘Here! Let’s take a good look at these and see what 

we can come up with. You fi nd the evidence to paint him as a good 

fellow and I’ll do my best to convict him as a notorious villain.’ 

The men worked silently and soon had enough information for an interesting discussion about 

William Dampier. 

Maritime explorer and naturalist 

• The fi rst person to sail around the world three 

times. 

• Was the fi rst English person to reach Australia, 

80 years before Captain James Cook – 1688. 

• His fi rst book inspired an interest in the 

‘unknown southern land’. 

• Had Dampier Archipelago named after him. 

• Charted and named the Bismarck Islands to 

the east of New Guinea, discovering the strait 

between them, later named Dampier Strait. 

• Made careful notes and sketches of natural 

history that were used by Charles Darwin. 

• Impressed Captain James Cook and Admiral 

Nelson with his navigational techniques and 

detailed charts. 

• Discovered that winds cause ocean currents 

and produced excellent charts of global 

winds. 

• Inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson 

Crusoe and Jonathan Swift to write Gulliver’s 

travels. 


Pirate and notorious villain 

• Organised mutinies on many ships. 

• Launched many raids on treasure-fi lled 

Spanish ships. 

• Stole maps and charts from Spanish ships. 

Their importance to the English royalty saved 

him from punishment for his crimes of piracy. 

• Plundered towns along the South American 

coast. 

• Treated fellow offi cer, George Fisher, violently 

and threw him in a Brazilian jail, continuing 

the voyage to Australia without him. 



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• Court martialled for his treatment of Fisher 

and thrown out of the Navy. 

• Recorded tales of his crimes and acts of 

destruction in his diaries. 

• Kept money meant for expeditions and ship 

repairs for himself. 

• Took bribes from captured Spanish ships and 

allowed them to go free. 

For the rest of the evening, the two friends discussed d the interesting ti life of William Dampier. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

William Dampier: Hero or villain?– 2 

Use the text on page 7 to answer the questions. 


1. How many Englishmen had reached Australia before Dampier? 

2. Name two places that have been named after William Dampier. 

3. Name three things William Dampier did that would have been useful for other maritime 

explorers. 

4. Many people believe that William Dampier was a great scoundrel and would use the words 

listed below to describe him. 

mutineer 

pirate 

violent 

thief 

corrupt 

cheat 

dishonest 

Place the words in 

the correct place 

in the puzzle. 

1 2 

3 4 

5. (a) On separate paper, write clues for each word and arrange them in down and across lists, 

using the numbers on the puzzle. 

(b) Copy the puzzle onto grid paper and give it to a friend, with the clues, to complete. 

i 

7 

6 

o 

5 

u i e 



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t 

William Dampier is the only pirate to have a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery in London. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Guess who’s coming to dinner! 

William Dampier had a very interesting and adventurous life. He travelled the world 

on the high seas, landing on foreign shores and experiencing the lives of people very 

different from his own. 

1. You have invited William Dampier as a mystery guest to dinner at your home. Before he enters 

the dining room, you introduce him to the other guests already seated at the table. 

(a) Type ‘William Dampier’ into an Internet search engine. Use facts from different websites to 

write the speech you would give to your guests, giving information about William Dampier’s 

life and adventures, as clues to his identity. 

Ladies and gentlemen, our special guest this evening … 


(b) Write three questions that you would like to ask William Dampier about his life and 

adventures. 



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(c) What is your opinion of William Dampier? Hero Villain 

Buccaneer Rock in Roebuck Bay is believed to be the location of William Dampier’s buried treasure 

chest. Legend says that, on some nights, Dampier’s ghost can be seen at the rock, searching for 

the chest! 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The First Fleet 

Early settlement 

1786 

Time line 

Coal gas used to generate light. 

1787 

American constitution signed. 

13/05/87 Fleet leaves England. 

03/06/87 Fleet reaches Canary Islands. 

14/07/87 Fleet crosses equator. 

07/08/87 Fleet reaches Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

13/10/87 Fleet reaches Cape Town, South Africa. 

1788 

01/01/88 Fleet reaches Adventure Bay, Van 

Diemen’s Land. 

18/01/88 Fleet reaches Botany Bay. 

26 /01/88 Fleet go ashore at Port Jackson and the 

British fl ag is raised. 

07/02/88 Captain Arthur Phillip appointed 

Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief 

of the territory of New South Wales. 

14/02/88 Supply leaves for Norfolk Island to 

establish colony. 

02/10/88 Sirius leaves for Cape Town for 

supplies. 

1789 

French Revolution (1789-1799). 

Mutiny on HMS Bounty. 

1790 

19/03/90 Sirius leaves for China for supplies but 

is wrecked off Norfolk Island. 

17/04/90 Supply leaves for Batavia for supplies. 

03/06/90 Convict ship, Lady Juliana, arrives at 

Sydney Cove. 

20/06/90 Supply ship, Justinian, arrives at Sydney 

Cove. 

1791 

1792 

George Vancouver charts King George 

Sound in south-west Australia. 

d’Entrecasteaux circumnavigates 

Australia. 

Marion du Fresne expedition lands at 

Marion Bay, Tasmania. 

Indicators 


• Writes a report recording the voyage of the First Fleet. 


• For the convicts of the First Fleet, the voyage to Botany Bay was a journey to the end 

of the world. They would never again return to their homeland. By the time the fl eet left 

England, many of the convicts had already been on board the ships for several months. 

• Marines were enlisted to guard the convicts. The wives and children of the marines were 

also on board. 

• During the voyage, 69 people were lost through death, discharge or desertion and 22 

babies were born. 

• The fl eet comprised: 

two naval escorts: Flagship HMS Sirius and HM Brig Supply 

six convict ships: Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales and 

Scarborough 

three storeships: Borrowdale, Fishburn and Golden Grove. 

• The route taken by the First Fleet took advantage of helpful sailing winds; from 

Portsmouth, England, it sailed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands; to Rio de Janiero, Brazil; 

to Cape Town, South Africa; and, fi nally, to Botany Bay. 

• Journals of the voyage were kept by a number of people in the fl eet, most notably: Philip 

Gidley King, John White, Watkin Tench, David Collins and John Hunter. Governor Phillip did 

not keep a journal but his offi cial papers and documents have been published together as 

an accurate account of the voyage. 


Answers 

Page 12 

1. (a) Captain Arthur Phillip 

(b) 11 

(c) To establish a penal colony as Britain’s prisons were overcrowded. 

2. Teacher check. Examples: Crops planted at the wrong time of the year, intense summer 

heat and drought conditions. Seeds need to be planted in the early spring so they can 

grow through the summer and be harvested in the autumn, and plants need water to 

survive. 

3. Teacher check. Example: With less food, people would be able to do less physical labour, 

because the body weakens if it is not given enough food. 

4. Teacher check. Examples: Desperate, isolated, scared and desolate because the ship 

may not return and they would die. 

5. Teacher check. Examples: Overjoyed, relieved and thankful because they had been 

saved. 



Display Copy 


• Discover the reasons for the increase in crime and overcrowding of prisons in Britain in 

the late 18th century and why the British government decided to transport convicts to 

Australia. 

• From the Internet, discover the origins of the Cadi Jam Ora: First Encounters Garden 

Display in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Read the information and write a report 

on the arrival of the First Fleet from the Aboriginal Australians point of view. 

• The Second Fleet is often referred to as the ‘Death Fleet’. Find out why this is so. Draw a 

series of sketches to illustrate the story of the Second Fleet and its arrival in Port Jackson. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The First Fleet – 1 

The First Fleet is important in the history of Australia as 

the people who survived the nine-month voyage—officers, 

crew, marines and convicts—are all considered to be the 

founders of the Australian nation. In May 1787, the fleet of 

11 ships, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, set 

sail for Australia to establish a penal colony as prisons in 

Britain were becoming overcrowded. 

Captain James Cook, who had landed at the east 

coast of Australia almost 20 years earlier, had 

described the land around Botany Bay as fertile 

and perfect for farming. But the people of the 

First Fleet found that this was not so. The fl eet 

continued north to Sydney Cove, arriving there 

on 26 January 1788. Here they established the 

fi rst European colony, Port Jackson, later to be 

called Sydney. 

The fi rst farm was established at Farm Cove, the 

present site of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Cereal 

crops were sown but, due to the poor sandy 

soil, the harvest was a complete failure. As they 

were unable to establish a productive farm, the 

settlers were dependent on the ships’ supplies 

and everyone, from the convicts to the governor, 

was on food rations. 

In early February 1788, Philip Gidley King, acting 

as Lieutenant-Governor, was sent on HM Brig 

Supply to establish a second colony on Norfolk 

Island, directly east in the Pacifi c Ocean. He took 

with him seven freemen, nine convict men and 

six convict women. They found the soil to be 

richer than at Port Jackson and crop production 

was successful. 

Within six months, more fertile land was found to 

the west of Port Jackson on the Parramatta River 

and successful farming was established there at 

a settlement named Rose Hill. In 1791, Rose Hill 

was re-named Parramatta. 


In early October 1788, one of the two ships left 

with the settlers, HMS Sirius, was sent back to 

Cape Town to buy provisions. The trip took seven 

months, during which the remaining supplies 

were heavily rationed and farming and building 

work was cut back. 

In February 1790, Sirius was again sent to buy 

supplies, this time from China, but the ship was 

wrecked near Norfolk Island. The colony was 

now left with only one ship and Supply was sent 

to Batavia for provisions. By this time, there was 

only three months worth of supplies remaining. 



Display Copy 

In early June 1790, the fi rst convict ship of the 

Second Fleet, Lady Juliana, arrived at Sydney 

Cove. This was followed nearly three weeks later 

by Justinian, a store ship, loaded with provisions 

for the colony. 

The arrival of Justinian proved to be the turning 

point in the colony’s fortunes. Rations increased 

and the development of the colony began in 

earnest. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The First Fleet – 2 



1. (a) Who was in command of the First Fleet? 

(b) How many ships left Britain with the First Fleet? 

(c) Why did the fl eet set sail for Australia? 

2. What factors do you think might have contributed to the failure of the fi rst farm? Explain your 

answer. 

3. Why do you think farming and building work was cut back when supplies were heavily 

rationed? Explain your answer. 

4. How do you think the settlers felt as they watched the Supply sail away on its voyage to 

Batavia for supplies? Explain your answer. 



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5. How do you think the settlers would have reacted to the arrival of the Second Fleet? Explain 

your answer. 

From 1788 to 1868, 806 ships transported 162 000 convicts from Britain to Australia. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Voyage to the other side of the world 

The voyage from Britain to Australia and life in the colony before the 

arrival of the Justinian would have been beyond the imagination of 

many people back in Britain. 


1. You have been commissioned by the British Government to keep a 

record of the voyage of the First Fleet. 

(a) Type ‘First Fleet’ into an Internet search engine. Use the material 

from different websites to make notes for your report. 

People/Livestock 

Food 

Health 

Conditions 

Ports of call 



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(b) Write a draft of the report. Proofread and edit it. Now write a fi nal copy. 

(c) Add a map of the voyage, including the route taken, ports of call and dates, to the report. 

The small herd of cattle (one bull, one bull calf and four cows) brought to Australia with the First Fleet 

escaped into the bush on arrival, only to be found seven years later and numbering 61. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1718-1775 

British convicts transported to American colonies. 

1775-1783 

American War of Independence. 

23/01/1787 

Lord Sydney agrees to send convicts to New South 

Wales. 

26/01/1788 

First Fleet arrives at Port Jackson. 

1790 

Second Fleet of convicts arrive. 

1791 

Third Fleet of convicts arrive. 

1792 

French Republic is proclaimed. 

1793 

First free settlers arrive in New South Wales. 

1795 

Britain seizes South African Cape Colony from Dutch. 

Rural depression in Britain. 

1801 

Matthew Flinders completes coastal survey of Australia. 

1802 

Nicolas Baudin charts the south and west coasts of 

Australia. 

Baudin and Matthew Flinders meet near the coast of 

South Australia at Encounter Bay. 

1824 

Moreton Bay penal settlement opens (Brisbane). 

1827 

Albany, WA settled. 

1829 

Swan River Colony settled. 

1830 

Port Arthur penal settlement opens (Tasmania). 

1849 

Swan River Colony proclaimed a British penal 

settlement. 

1850 

Western Australia receives its fi rst convicts. 

1851 

Australian gold rush begins. 

1852 

Last convicts arrive in eastern Australia (Tasmania). 

1856 

Van Diemen’s Land renamed Tasmania. 

1868 

Last convicts are transported to Western Australia on 

Hougoumont. 

1877 

Port Arthur prison closed. 

Convicts at work 


Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the work done by convicts. 

• Writes a report recording the voyage of the First Fleet. 


• As the prisons in Britain were overcrowded, many prisoners were kept in hulks, old 

merchant ships and naval vessels which had been converted into fl oating prisons. 

Convicts were kept on the hulks before being transported to Australia. They ate and slept 

on the hulks and were taken to work on the land during the day. By the time the ships set 

sail, prisoners may have already spent many months on the hulks. 

• Between 1788 and 1868, more than 162 000 convicts were transported to Australia. 

About half of these were sent to Port Jackson (Sydney), Port Phillip (Melbourne) and 

Moreton Bay (Brisbane). Just under half were sent to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), 

with the rest sent to New South Wales and Western Australia. 

• Convict manpower was used to construct many public buildings, roads and bridges which 

are still in use today. 

• Convicts who were kept in government service were considered the most unfortunate. 

There was a great chance that they would have to work in chain gangs at the worst jobs, 

such as hewing rocks and building roads. 

• Accommodation for government convicts was often in small, mobile shells which were 

transported as the convicts completed one job and moved to the next. 

• The stockades in which the labour gangs worked were surrounded by high fences and 

were heavily guarded. There was little chance of a successful escape attempt. If prisoners 

did escape from the stockade, the inhospitable conditions of the bushland would usually 

defeat them. 

• Life for assigned convicts was also very hard, but there was the possibility that it would 

be less brutal, depending on the temperament of the master. 

• Their jobs included working the land as agricultural labourers, building bridges, making 

salt or bricks, or mining coal. Convicts working these jobs were fortunate in that they 

learned a trade which would be useful to them when they gained their freedom. 


Answers 

Page 16 

1. (a) crime, unemployment, transportation, poverty 

(b) unemployment poverty crime transportation 

2. (a) true (b) true (c) false 

3. Teacher check. Examples: desperate, life not worth living, hopeless, hell on earth 





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• Discover the history of some convict-built structures and roads, such as Fremantle Prison, 

Old Great North Road and Ross Bridge. Write a brief report about each. Include sketches 

and pictures. 

• Find out about the female factories of Tasmania. Draw a map to show their locations and 

write a brief report, including dates of operation, numbers of prisoners and life in the 

factories. 

• Write an explanation of conditions of ‘tickets of leave’ given to some convicts. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Convicts at work – 1 

The decision to use Australia as a penal colony was made because 

the prisons in Britain were severely overcrowded. Soldiers 

returning from the American War of Independence added to the 

unemployment, which was already large because of the Industrial 

Revolution. Unemployment led to poverty, which led to crime. 

The British Government did not want to spend 

money building new prisons, so they chose to 

transport the prisoners instead. As America 

had just gained its independence from Britain, 

convicts could no longer be sent there and 

Africa was not suitable. It was decided that the 

convicts would be sent to Botany Bay in the faroff 

southern land of Australia. 

The crimes for which people were transported 

ranged from lesser crimes such as stealing 

(which carried a sentence of seven years), to 

murder (which carried a life sentence). 

When the convicts landed at Sydney Cove, 

skilled male convicts were kept in government 

service because they were needed to build roads, 

bridges, prisons and other public buildings. Useful 

skills learnt included brickmaking, carpentry, 

accounting, nursing, bookkeeping and farming. 

Prisoners working outdoors worked in chain gangs, 

which prevented them from escaping. Anyone 

who disobeyed the guards or behaved in an angry 

manner was fl ogged with a lash (a whip). 

Male convicts who were not required by the 

government were assigned to work for offi cers 

and free settlers. In return for their slave labour, 

they received food, clothing and shelter. How the 

assigned convicts were treated depended on 

the nature of their master. Some masters were 

cruel, treating the convicts harshly and providing 

very poor living conditions. Others were more 

humane and treated the convicts well, while still 

expecting them to work hard. 


Some women prisoners were chosen as wives 

by the free settlers. The women stood in a line 

and each man would drop a piece of cloth at 

the feet of the woman he wanted to marry. If 

she picked it up, the pair were married and the 

woman was free. Women who were not chosen 

as wives were either sent into domestic service 

or to a female factory. 

At the female factory, women spent their time 

making clothes for convicts. Fleece was carded 

and then spun into yarn by the women before it 

was woven into cloth on looms operated by men. 

Prison uniforms were then sewn by the women. 

When prisoners had completed their sentence 

they were given an absolute pardon, which 

meant they could return to Britain if they chose to. 

Some prisoners were released early and given a 

conditional pardon, which meant they were free 

but could not return to Britain. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 



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Convicts at work – 2 


1. (a) Add the missing 

vowels to 

complete the 

words. 

(b) Use the words to 

create a simple 

cause and effect 

fl ow chart. 

2. Tick as true or false. 

(a) Britain used to send convicts to America. 

(b) Skilled convicts worked for the government. 

(c) Female prisoners did not have to work. 

cr 

3. Write fi ve words or phrases to describe how the convicts might have felt about their lives in the 

new colony. 

4. (a) Circle the group of convicts who you think were luckiest. 

skilled men unskilled men women 

(b) Explain your choice. 

5. Describe your opinion on the system of transporting convicts. 

m 

n mpl ym nt 

tr nsp rt t n 

p v rty 




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Assignment to become free settlers was replaced with the probation system, in which, after two 

years of good behaviour, prisoners were paid for their labour. Half of their wages were saved for them 

and given to them on their release. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Convict life 

While convict life could not be described as pleasant, for those who obeyed the rules and 

kept out of trouble, it was bearable. The penal settlements were well organised and the 

prisoners were looked after, although the conditions were very basic. 

1. (a) Use the Internet to investigate life as a convict. 

(b) Use notes to record your information in the table under each of the headings. 


Food Clothing Housing Work 

Security Escapes Punishment Pardon 



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2. Use your notes to write an illustrated report on convict life. 

A black and yellow convict uniform, known as the ‘magpie’, was worn by prisoners who continued to 

break the law while still serving their original sentence. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Yagan and his people 

Time line 

1788 

European settlement in Australia. 

The fi rst confl ict between the First Fleet and Indigenous 

Australians occurs at Rushcutters Bay (29 May). 

In December, Arabanoo is the fi rst Indigenous Australian 

to be captured by Europeans. 

1789 

In April, an outbreak of smallpox decimates the 

population of Indigenous Australians living in the Port 

Jackson area. 

In November, Governor Phillip captures Bennelong and 

Colebee. 

1790 

Pemulwuy attacks Governor Phillip’s gamekeeper, 

resulting in the fi rst punitive expedition. 

1795 

Yagan is born. 

1799 

The six-year long Black Wars begin, a period of 

resistance against white settlement. 

1804 

Hostilities against Indigenous Australians in Van 

Diemen’s Land increase. 

1813 

Indigenous Australians assist colonists to fi nd a way 

through the Blue Mountains. 

1829 

Swan River Colony is established. 

1831 

Member of Yagan’s family group killed. Yagan involved 

in revenge group. Settler is killed. 

1832 

Settler killed by Nyungars. Yagan declared an outlaw. 

Yagan is captured. Yagan escapes from Carnac Island. 

1833 

Yagan is shot and killed. Yagan’s head is sent to Britain. 

1964 

Yagan’s head buried in Everton Cemetery. 

1997 

Yagan’s head returned to Perth, WA. 


Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the relationship between Yagan, an Aboriginal 

Australian resistance hero, his people and the fi rst settlers of the Swan River Colony. 

• Considers and explains the different viewpoints of the settlers and Yagan and his people. 


• Life before European arrival could be harsh but was relatively uncomplicated for 

Indigenous Australians. They managed their environment carefully and sustained it 

through climatic changes for more than 50 000 years. Their life began to change with 

the arrival of the colonists, as the majority of the new arrivals thought the Aboriginal 

Australians were ’uncivilised’. They did not cultivate the land, build fences or develop 

farms as the colonists did. To the colonists this meant that Indigenous Australians had 

no right to the land they had occupied for tens of thousands of years and claimed it for 

themselves. The effects of colonisation on Aboriginal Australians caused them to commit 

violent acts to demonstrate their anger at their land being taken over, their food being 

taken and their way of life being destroyed. 

• Many Aboriginal Australians began to incorporate the European way of life in order to 

survive. Their traditional customs and lifestyle was gradually broken down. Contact with 

the colonists introduced foreign diseases such as smallpox, fl u, colds and measles. These 

could be fatal to them as they had no immunity and many of them died. 


Answers 

Page 20 

1. (a) 1795 

(b) Nyungar 

(c) the south-west of Western Australia/around the Swan River near Perth 

(d) tall with a strong build 

(e) highly respected member of his people 

2. The relationship between them was quite peaceful at fi rst. 

3. 1. Nyungar/Indigenous/Aboriginal Australian 

2. claim 

3. wandering/going/travelling/moving 

4. fencing 

5. crops 

6. rearing 

7. land/property 

8. theirs 

9. Nyungars/Indigenous peoples/Aboriginal Australians 

4. They began to kill the settlers’ animals and pick their crops. 

5. Yagan was declared an outlaw after he was involved with a group that was seeking 

revenge after a family member was killed by a settler. Later, he was involved in more 

payback killings. 



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• Discuss why Yagan is considered an Aboriginal Australian resistance hero, even though he 

was involved in slaying people. 

• After completing the activity on page 21, students could discuss or write their own 

opinion about each of the scenes and what they would have done in the same situation. 

• After the herdsman, James Keats shot Yagan and received his reward, the Perth Gazette 

criticised his actions and described them as ‘a wild and treacherous act … We are not 

vindicating the outlaw, but, we maintain, it is revolting to hear this lauded as a meritorious 

deed’. Discuss why the paper might have made these comments. (Note: Keats left the 

colony soon after, possibly because he feared being killed.) 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Yagan and his people – 1 


Yagan was a Nyungar (Noongar) man who lived in the south-west of Western Australia. He 

was believed to have been born around 1795, which would have made him about 35 years 

of age when Captain James Stirling established a colony on the Swan River in 1829. This 

colony was situated in what is now known as Perth and Yagan’s people occupied much of 

the area. 

A taller than average man with a strong build, 

Yagan was a highly respected member of his 

people. When the British fi rst settled along the 

Swan River, relations between them and the 

Nyungars were quite peaceful. They began to 

trade fi sh and mammals for fl our and bread. 

However, this relationship was about to change. 

As with Aboriginal Australians all over the country, 

the settlers thought the Indigenous people had 

no right to claim land. The settlers saw them 

wandering from place to place to hunt and gather 

instead of fencing off pastures for growing crops 

and raising animals. They didn’t understand the 

traditional Aboriginal Australian customs and way 

of life. The settlers began to fence off more and 

more land which they considered to be theirs, 

not the Nyungars. This meant the Nyungars had 

less and less places for hunting and gathering 

food and medicines, and for fi nding materials for 

shelters and tools. 

Yagan and his people thought it fair that they 

could kill the settlers’ cattle and sheep and pick 

their crops to provide enough food for themselves. 

After all, hadn’t the settlers taken over their 

land and killed a lot of the native animals the 

Nyungars used as food? The settlers didn’t see it 

that way, and, when a member of Yagan’s family 

group was shot and killed while raiding a potato 

patch in 1831, real confl ict began. 

Yagan was with the group that went to seek 

revenge. A settler was speared and killed in the 

attack. Some months later, in June 1832, another 

settler was killed by a group of Nyungars. Yagan 

was named responsible and declared an outlaw, 

with a reward offered for his capture. Several 

more confl icts involving Yagan occurred. Finally, 

in October 1832, Yagan was captured. He was 

sentenced to live on Carnac Island, but managed 

to steal a small boat and escape to the mainland. 

Once more he was involved in payback killings 

as more Nyungars, including his brother and 

father, were killed. 

On 11 July 1833, two young brothers were 

herding cattle when they recognised Yagan 

among a group of Nyungars. One of the brothers 

shot him in the back. Before the Nyungar people 

had a chance to perform a traditional burial, 

Yagan’s head was cut off. It was preserved by 

smoking and sent to Britain to be put on display. 

It was later buried in Britain for many years, but, 

after lengthy, high-level government talks, was 

fi nally returned to Australia in 1997. It will be 

buried when Yagan’s grave is fi nally located. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 



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Yagan and his people – 2 


1. Fill in the following details about Yagan. 


(a) Born: 

(c) Lived: 

(d) Description: 

(e) Character: 

(b) Name of people: 

2. Describe the relationship between the Nyungars and the British settlers when the Swan River 

Colony was fi rst established. 

3. Fill in the missing words to complete sentences describing what the settlers thought about the 

Aboriginal Australian way of life. 

The settlers thought the 

1 

people had no right to 

2 

land. The settlers saw them 

3 

from place to place to hunt and 

gather, instead of 

4 

off pastures for growing 

5 

and 

6 

animals. The settlers began to fence off more and more 

7 

, which they considered to be 

8 

and not the 

9 

. 



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4. What did Yagan and his people do when the settlers kept fencing off 

the land they considered to be theirs? 

5. Explain why Yagan was declared an outlaw. 

Before Yagan’s preserved head was sent to Britain for display, a corded headband made with feathers 

of the red-tailed black cockatoo was attached to it. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Different points of view 


Carefully study the two scenes below. The top scene shows some British settlers 

fencing off land for farming, while Yagan and his people look on. The bottom scene 

shows Yagan and his people spearing a sheep belonging to the settlers, while a settler looks 

on. Write what you think each person would have been thinking in each situation. 

Settler: 

Yagan: 

Settler: 



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Yagan: 

Australian sculptor, Robert Hitchcock, was commissioned to create a life-size statue in bronze of 

Yagan in 1984. It stands on Heirisson Island in the Swan River, Perth, not far from the city centre. 

Vandals have twice beheaded the statue, which has been restored. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Life in the new colony 


Time line 

1788 

Port Jackson’s crops fail. 

1788 

(November) Parramatta established. 

1790 

Governor Phillip’s house at Rose Hill completed. 

1793 

First free settlers arrive. 

1796 

Edward Jenner discovers smallpox vaccine. 

French, under Napoleon, win campaign in Italy. 

1799 

Rosetta Stone discovered. 

1802 

First steam ship. 

1804 

First steam train. 

1805 

Nelson wins Battle of Trafalgar. 

1807 

Prohibition of slaves in British ships or to British 

colonies. 

1815 

Battle of Waterloo. 

1819 

First tarmac roads built. 

1821 

Electric motor invented. 

1826 

Malaka Strait Settlement founded. 

1829 

Western Australia colonised. 

1831 

Charles Darwin’s voyage in Beagle starts. 

1832 

Morse code invented. 

1833 

Abolition of slavery throughout British Empire. 

1837 

Electric telegraph invented. 

1838 

Myall Creek massacre in NSW occurs. 

1840 

Treaty of Waitangi signed in New Zealand. 

1841 

Dr Livingstone arrives in Africa. 

1849 

California gold rush. 

1851 

Discovery of gold in Australia. 

1855 

Ned Kelly born. 

1880 

Ned Kelly executed. 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the lives of the early pioneers in Sydney and 

Parramatta. 

• Completes a compare and contrast chart. 


• The second settlement in NSW, at Rose Hill, was located on the navigable Parramatta 

River which fl owed into Port Jackson. The name was from the Australian Aboriginal 

word ‘Burrammatta’, meaning ‘place where the eels lie down’, because of the native 

eels found in that part of the river. James Ruse, a former convict, was the fi rst farmer at 

Experimental Farm. The fi rst market was held where the Parramatta Town Hall now stands 

in 1792. Grain, fi sh, poultry and clothing were sold there. The fi rst jail was built in 1796 

and the Parramatta Female Factory constructed between 1818 and 1821. Most of the 

colony’s woven cloth was produced there. 

• Students should be able to get a sense of what the ‘bush telegraph’ is, using contextual 

information from the text, but some may need an explanation—even in very isolated 

areas, news travels very quickly. Passed from one person to another, people are often 

amazed that others know so much about what is going on in their lives, especially when 

they haven’t told other people about it themselves. 

The word ‘telegraph’, which can be defi ned as ‘a device used to send messages by 

electric signals along wire’, may also need to be explained. Students may like to research 

information about the years in which telegrams were an essential part of Australia’s 

communication system. 


Answers 

Page 24 

1. (b) 

2. (a) fi ve years (b) and (c) Teacher check 

3. (a) A person who grazes livestock on land or she he doesn’t own. 

(b) The development of the wool industry and the increased demand for beef, as more 

people arrived in the colony, created wealth for many squatters. 

4. (a) Answers could include information about the convicts harsh treatment, punishments 

and living conditions. 

(b) Teacher check 

(c) Gold had been discovered. 



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• Research information to create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a well-known bushranger; e.g. Ben 

Hall, Captain Thunderbolt, Mary Ann Bugg, Captain Moonlight. 

• Write a letter home to Britain from a free settler who arrived in Australia in 1795 and was 

granted some land near Parramatta. Describe some of the hardships, but also explain 

why you are pleased you decided to come to New South Wales and why you are hopeful 

about your future. 

• With a partner, role-play a very clever policeman asking a settler if he or she has seen 

Ned Kelly in that area. Think about where Ned could be hiding, what the land around 

there is like and the crimes he could be wanted for. Decide if the settler really wants you 

to fi nd Ned and check that his or her answers match what other people have said. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Life in the new colony – 1 

Life in the new colony was very difficult. There was very little food because the crops 

planted at Port Jackson had failed. Food was rationed and everyone was hungry and 

feared they would all die of starvation. They couldn’t hunt or fish as there were few 

muskets, boats or fishing lines available and, unlike the local Aboriginal Australians, they 

didn’t know what native plants they could or couldn’t eat. 

In November 1788, Governor Phillip decided 

to establish a colony 23 kilometres away on 

the Parramatta River where the soil was much 

better. 100 people, including 70 convicts, started 

clearing for farm land and constructing buildings 

at Rose Hill. It was an excellent decision because 

the wheat, barley, corn, oats and fl ax crops grew 

well and there was food at last. 

The convicts in the colony were treated very 

harshly and punished brutally by being fl ogged 

for quite minor crimes or even hanged for more 

serious offences. Although there were a number 

of freed convicts in the colony, the fi rst free 

settlers arrived in 1793. It was a brave move as 

the colony was such a dangerous place to live. 

Supplies of candles, soap, food, equipment and 

other necessities were scarce and they were in 

constant danger of violence from drunken convicts 

as well as disease. There was also the possibility 

of confl ict with some of the Indigenous people, 

particularly in less populated areas. The settlers 

were keen to use land, but they had to survive 

the intense heat, drought and their isolation from 

family, friends and even neighbours. 

Squatters 

A squatter is someone who uses land he or 

she doesn’t own for grazing livestock. In 1788, 

Governor Phillip had the power to grant land to 

settlers, soldiers and ex convicts, but they had 

to live on the land and cultivate it. He wanted 

farms located close to Sydney, but many people 

moved further out and squatted on the land. Life 

was hard for them but when demand for beef 

increased and the wool industry developed, many 

of them became very rich. Eventually squatters 

were allowed to buy some of the land they used 

or pay rent. These rich pastoralists often became 

very powerful and infl uential. 



Display Copy 

Bushrangers 

In the early years, most bushrangers were escaped 

convicts who lived in the bush and survived by 

stealing horses, money, food, guns and clothing. 

Some of them became folk heroes, and, by way 

of the ‘bush telegraph’, people would warn them 

when the police were looking for them. After gold 

was discovered in the 1850s, more of the young 

men born in the bush joined the bushrangers and 

began to steal gold and other items. Eventually, 

many of the bushrangers were shot or caught and 

hanged by the police and so, by the 1880s, there 

were very few of them left. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Life in the new colony – 2 


1. The crops at Port Jackson failed because: 


(a) it didn’t rain. (b) the soil wasn’t suitable. (c) the settlers were poor farmers. 

2. (a) How many years after settlement did the fi rst free settlers arrive? 

(b) Describe some of the dangers they faced. 

(c) Do you think they were wise to come to Australia? Give reasons for your answer. 

3. (a) What was a squatter? 

(b) Why did many of them become wealthy? 

4. (a) Why do you think convicts tried to escape? 

(b) Why did some of them become bushrangers? 



Display Copy 

(c) Why did the number of bushrangers increase after 1851? 

In 1836, it became legal for squatters to graze livestock on land by paying the government 10 pounds 

rent a year. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Living then and now 

By 1790, convicts had built a small house for Governor Phillip at Rose Hill, Parramatta. 

Find out as much as you can about the early houses built in the colony and imagine 

what living in one would have been like. Compare it with living in your home today. Think 

about, for example, household conveniences like water and heating, jobs like cooking 

and cleaning, and lifestyle and entertainment. 

1. Complete the compare and contrast chart below. 

cooking 


Category Now Then 

electric or gas oven, microwave, campfi re, wood, stove, camp 

barbecue 

oven 



Display Copy 

2. Would you prefer to live now or then? Give reasons for your choice. 

The original Government House in Parramatta was replaced by a beautiful two storey Georgian 

building in 1799. It continued to be used as a residence and offices by governors of NSW until 1856. 

It has since been restored and placed in the care of the National Trust. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1788 

Arrival of the First Fleet. 

1790 

The Macarthurs arrive with Second Fleet. 

1790 

Pemulwuy begins resistance campaign in Sydney area. 

1791 

Emancipists are given land in Parramatta area. 

1793 

Land granted to the Macarthurs at Parramatta (Elizabeth 

Farm). 

1796 

Macarthurs purchase their fi rst merino sheep. 

1797 

Coal discovered at Newcastle, NSW. 

1798 

Bass and Flinders prove Van Diemen’s Land is an island. 

1799 

Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). 

Black Wars begin in Hawkesbury and Parramatta areas. 

1801 

John Macarthur sent to England for court martial. 

1803 

Camden Park land granted to Macarthurs. 

1807 

First wool bale exported. 

1808 

Rum Rebellion. 

1809 

Lachlan Macquarie appointed Governor of NSW. 

1813 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth locate a route across 

the Blue Mountains. 

1817 

John Macarthur returns to Australia. 

Bank of NSW is established. 

1824 

The Australian newspaper established. 

1834 

John Macarthur dies. 

Battle of Pinjarra. 

1835 

Batman explores Yarra River and locates site for 

Melbourne. 

1837 

Queen Victoria begins her long reign. 

1850 

Elizabeth Macarthur dies. 

The Macarthurs’ merino wool 


Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about John and Elizabeth Macarthur and their role in 

establishing the Australian wool industry. 

• Composes diary entries for Elizabeth Macarthur. 


• Both John and Elizabeth played very important roles in establishing the Australian wool 

industry. Elizabeth took charge of Elizabeth Farm when John was exiled and after he died, 

in 1834, until her death in 1850. She is recognised today at the Elizabeth Macarthur 

Agricultural Institute. 

• John became a very infl uential and powerful man. He was a member of the NSW 

Legislative Council and a founder of the Bank of Australia and the wine industry. 

• There is considerable debate about the Rum Rebellion on 26 January 1808, exactly 

20 years after foundation. Governor William Bligh (of Bounty fame) considered John 

Macarthur to be the ‘arch-fi end’ who had incited the rebellion of the NSW Army Corp, 

led by Major Johnson. Military rule was in force in the colony until the arrival of Governor 

Macquarie. Bligh, who had been detained by the Corp, fi nally returned reluctantly to 

Britain, where he was promoted to admiral. Macarthur was exiled and Johnson arrested. 

Macarthur’s recount of the situation was quite different. He accused Bligh of extraordinary 

conduct, oppression, tyranny, gross fraud, having total disregard for justice, seizing land 

with no pretext, arresting citizens unlawfully and threatening magistrates. But it was also 

true that the offi cers and men of the NSW Army Corps had a monopoly in the rum trade, 

which was the medium of exchange in the colony, and Bligh had imposed prohibition of 

spirits; which was not in their best interests. 


Answers 

Page 28 

1. (c) 

2. (a) 

3. Answers should indicate the following: The wool produced by the Macarthurs was of 

high quality. There was demand for it in Europe for clothing because of the Napoleonic 

Wars. John Macarthur spent years in England and had a fl air for publicity. 

4. (a) South Africa 

(b) He bought merinos because of the quality of their wool and because he thought they 

would survive in NSW’s hot climate. 

(c) The Macarthurs did not crossbreed their sheep with local sheep and they got some 

purebred merino sheep from the royal stud. 




Display Copy 


• Research information about sheep shearing in the Macarthurs’ time and shearing today. 

Use this information to show similarities and differences using a compare and contrast 

chart. 

• The crew of Captain William Bligh’s ship, Bounty, was involved in a mutiny. Find out about 

when, where and why it happened and brainstorm words and phrases to describe Bligh; 

then decide if you think he was a suitable man to be Governor of NSW 

• The Macarthurs travelled to Australia on the convict ship Scarborough. Research 

information about what life was like for the convicts on the ship and compile a list of 

possible reasons to explain why only 186 of the 259 convict men survived the journey. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


The Macarthurs’ merino wool – 1 

John and Elizabeth Macarthur, who arrived in Australia with the Second Fleet in 1790, 

are remembered for their contribution to the Australian wool industry. 

After they married in 1788, John served with 

the British army in Spain before being sent to 

Australia as an offi cer with the NSW Army Corp. 

Their journey to Australia was very long and 

diffi cult. Elizabeth had to take care of John and 

their infant son, Edward, who both became very 

sick. Their tiny baby girl was born on the ship but 

she did not survive the voyage. 

Governor Phillip was in charge of the colony at 

Port Jackson, but John was a very ambitious man 

and had many arguments with him, often creating 

a stir in the colony. John got on much better with 

Major Grose, who was a commanding offi cer in 

the NSW Army Corp. Grose appointed Macarthur 

to the position of paymaster at Parramatta, about 

a half a day’s journey away, and then also made 

him Inspector of Public Works. 

In 1793, John was granted land near Parramatta 

and used convict labour to set up Elizabeth Farm. 

Three years later, John bought Spanish merino 

sheep from South Africa, believing they would be 

better suited to the hot climate than other breeds. 

Unlike the other farmers who had imported 

merino sheep, Macarthur did not crossbreed his 

sheep with local sheep. 

In 1801, Macarthur was involved in a duel and 

was sent back to England to be court martialled. 

With the help of Lord Camden, the charges were 

dropped and he was given a large sheep station 

south of Sydney and some purebred merinos from 

the royal stud. Macarthur called this property 

Camden Park. The fi rst bale of fi ne merino wool 

was sent to England in 1807. Fortunately, the 

demand for wool in Europe was high because of 

the Napoleonic Wars and the Macarthurs quickly 

became Australia’s wealthiest family. 

But Macarthur was seldom far from trouble and 

became involved in the Rum Rebellion in 1808. 

He resigned from the army so he couldn’t be 

court-martialled again, but Governor Bligh exiled 

him from NSW and he had to return to England. 

Elizabeth took charge of the farm while he was 

away and managed it very well. John had a fl air 

for publicity and over the next seven years in 

England he established NSW’s reputation as a 

wool centre. 



Display Copy 

Two hundred years later, John and Elizabeth’s 

descendents still own Camden Park and their 

legacy lives on. Australia produces very high 

quality woollen fi bres and is the world’s largest 

wool-producing country. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The Macarthurs’ merino wool – 2 



Find the best answers. 

1. Camden Park: 

(a) is at Parramatta. 

(b) belongs to Lord Camden. 

(c) is south of Sydney. 

The best answer is . 

2. Elizabeth Macarthur: 

(a) was a good farmer. 

3. Explain why the Macarthurs became so wealthy. 

(b) returned to England. 

(c) didn’t have children. 

The best answer is . 

4. (a) Where did John Macarthur get his fi rst merino sheep? 

(b) Why did he buy merino sheep? 

(c) Why was the Macarthurs’ merino wool better than other farmers’ wool? 

5. Many people believe Elizabeth Macarthur was just as important as John in establishing the 

Australian wool industry. 

Do you agree? 

Explain your answer. 



Display Copy 

Governor William Bligh blamed John Macarthur for influencing the NSW Army Corp to rebel against 

him. They thought Bligh was a tyrant whose rash decisions were destroying the colony. Bligh had 

stopped them from trading rum, so the military takeover was later called the Rum Rebellion. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Elizabeth Macarthur’s diary 

Imagine what life in Australia was like for Elizabeth. Think about the things that happened 

and how she may have felt. Complete each diary entry by describing likely events and 

what she could have done and thought. 

1. 28 June 1790 

I can see Port Jackson, but what a journey we’ve had. 

2. 1793 

John was granted land at Parramatta and we have built our fi rst home here. John has called it … 

3. 26 Jan 1808 

What a day! But John is very pleased. Major Johnson and the NSW Army Corps have fi nally 

rebelled and have taken over control from Governor Bligh; a violent, rash and tyrannical man. 



Display Copy 

The Macarthurs’ first bail of wool was taken to England in 1807 by their son Edward, who was sent to 

explain his father’s version of the Rum Rebellion. Edward became an officer in the British army and 

returned to serve in Australia. He was later knighted. He died in 1872. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Bounty migrants 

Time line 

1772 

Canal building increases in Britain. 

1779 

A fully automatic weaving process is established in 

Britain. 

1785 

The power loom is invented in Britain. 

1798 

Bass and Flinders circumnavigate Van Diemen’s Land. 

1801 

John Murray discovers Port Phillip Bay. 

1811 

Luddite riots in Britain (1811–1815). 

1817 

Phillip Parker King explores coastline from Exmouth to 

Arnhem Land and North West Cape. 

1825 

Van Diemen’s Land separates from NSW. 

1829 

Western Australia is formed. 

1830 

Act passed in NSW establishing trial by jury. 

Black Wars in Tasmania. 

1836 

South Australia is formed. 

1838 

Myall Creek massacre occurs. 

1839 

Colony of Port Phillip begins assisted passage of 

immigration. 

1841 

Sailing ship India, is lost at sea. Passengers rescued by 

French whaler, Roland. 

1842 

First sugar refi nery is built in Australia. 

The Native Police Corps is established. 

1851 

Victoria separates from NSW. 

1856 

Eight-hour day is established. 

1859 

Queensland separates from NSW. 

1862 

First viable sugar cane plantation established near 

Brisbane. 

1867 

Alfred Nobel produces dynamite. 

1876 

Windmills fi rst built in Australia. 

1891 

The Great Crash. 

Australian Labor Party is established. 


Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the fi rst Bounty migrants. 

• Writes a plan for a letter using notes made from Internet research and discussion. 


• Discuss what daily life in both Britain and Australia was like in the middle of the 19th 

century so students understand that emigrating was a chance for a better life. 

• Revise the process of note making using key words and phrases rather than full 

sentences. 

• From the plan, students can prepare a draft of the letter to proofread and edit before 

writing a fi nal copy, if required. 

• Although free settlers had been emigrating to Australia since 1793, their numbers were 

not enough to cope with the demands of the expanding colony. Even by including the 

convict and emancipist (ex-convict) workforces, there were simply not enough people to 

do all the work necessary. 

• The people of Britain who were suffering from poor social conditions could not afford 

their tickets to a new life. The colonial government in Australia offered to help by paying 

a bounty to shipowners for each person they brought to the colony. As soon as the 

emigrants arrived, they found suitable work with pay and conditions they could only have 

dreamed of in Britain. They also had the opportunity to buy land. 

• It became the responsibility of shipowners to advertise for emigrants and to look after 

them well during the long voyage. When their ships arrived in Australia, the owners were 

paid a bounty only for each person who was considered useful for the growing colony. 

Realising this, shipowners chose their passengers carefully. They had to be in good 

health and have a trade or profession that would be valuable to the developing colony. 

Government-assisted passage to Australia continued in some way until the 1970s. 


Answers 

Page 32 

1. 1. Australia 

2. unemployment 

3. bounty 

4. shipowners 

5. Australia 

2. (a) no 

(b) They had to meet criteria relating to age, health and occupation. 

3. £38 + £15 + £10 + £5 + £10 +£10 = £88 

4. To keep the passengers in good health so that a bounty would be paid for them. 

5. To populate the new colony, but also to relieve Britain of the expense of looking after 

them and dealing with other problems associated with poverty, such as an increased 

crime rate. 



Display Copy 


• Write a report on the fi nal voyage of the barque India. Include the ships which assisted 

the surviving passengers on their journey to Australia. 

• Choose three professions mentioned on page 31 and explain why they were important for 

the developing colony. 

• Research to fi nd the population of Australia in 1800, 1850, 1900, 1950 and 2000. What 

do the fi gures tell you? 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Bounty migrants – 1 

As the Australian colony expanded, more people were needed to do all the jobs 

that were being created. As there was still large amounts of unemployment and poverty 

in Britain, the government decided to pay shipowners to take poor people to Australia. In return, 

the shipowners would be paid a bounty for every fit and healthy person with an occupation who 

arrived in the colony. 

Australia needs you! 

Take a voyage to a new life full of opportunities for you and your family. 

Are you fit, healthy and under 40? 

Do you have a chosen trade? 

agricultural labourer, blacksmith, bricklayer, carpenter, 

farm servant, female domestic servant, mason, shepherd, wheelwright 

Leave behind the life of dirt and grime and start again in the wide, open spaces of 

Australia 



Display Copy 

Bounties received depended on the age and occupation of the emigrants. 

Bounty per head 

Married man with trade or occupation and his wife ........................................................... £38 

Child above 15 years ....................................................................................................................... £15 

Child between 7 and 15 years ....................................................................................................... £10 

Child up to 7 years ........................................................................................................................... £5 

Unmarried farm servant or female domestic servant between 15 and 30 years .............. £19 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Bounty migrants – 2 



1. Complete the sentences. 

There were plenty of jobs available in 

1 

, but in Britain there was a lot of 

2 

. The government paid a 

3 

to 

4 

for every suitable person who arrived in 5 

. 

2. (a) Could the shipowners recruit anyone to receive the bounty? 

(b) Explain your answer. 

3. How much bounty would a shipowner receive for a man, his wife and their children; three sons 

aged 17, 11 and 4 and twin daughters aged 9? 

Show how you worked out your answer. 

4. Why do you think the job of the ship’s doctor would have been important? 



Display Copy 

5. Why do you think the government encouraged poor people to emigrate to Australia? 

Seventeen people perished in the disaster that struck the barque, India, on her voyage to Australia. 

The 176 people who were saved by the assistance of the French whaler, Roland, continued their 

journey on board the Grindlay. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

To a better life 

When news reached Britain of Australia, ‘the land of opportunities’, many people 

made the choice to emigrate, knowing they would be unlikely to return. They would have felt 

sad about leaving their homeland, relatives and friends, but they wanted the chance of having 

a better life for themselves and their families in Australia. They did not dwell too much on the 

possible dangers of the long journey, such as shipwreck, disease and piracy. 

1. Imagine you have recently arrived in Australia, having left Britain on 4 June 

1841 on board the barque ship India. 

(a) Type ‘barque India’ into an Internet search engine to fi nd out what 

happened during the voyage. Make brief notes. 

(b) In a group, discuss what life in Britain would have been like at the time 

and how different it would have been in Australia. Make brief notes. 

(c) Draft a plan of a letter to your grandparents in Britain. Use the 

questions in each section to help you. 

What are you doing now? Where are you living? What is your new home like? 

What route did the ship take? What was the voyage like? Describe any exciting incidents. 

How did you feel when you arrived in Australia? How different is it to the home you left behind? 




Display Copy 

How do you feel about not returning to Britain for a long time—maybe never? 

What positive things do you have to look forward to in the future? 

More than a million people emigrated to Australia in the 19th century. Only a few people lost their lives 

in shipwrecks or through disease during the voyages. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1789 

First attempts by convicts and free settlers in New 

South Wales to cross the Blue Mountains. 

1809 

Severe drought in New South Wales devastates crops. 

1811 

Caterpillar plague in New South Wales devastates crops 

and farming land. 

1813 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth become the fi rst 

Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains, reaching Mount 

Sugarloaf (later renamed Mount Blaxland). 

Surveyor George Evans crosses the Blue Mountains, 

reaching the present town of Bathurst. 

1814 

An institution for Aboriginal Australians is established at 

Parramatta. 

1815 

A road across the Blue Mountains is built under the 

direction of engineer William Cox by order of Governor 

Macquarie. 

Napoleon I is defeated at Waterloo, ending the 

Napoleonic Wars. 

1817 

John Oxley explores the Lachlan River. 

1818 

John Oxley explores the Macquarie River. 

Shaka forms Zulu kingdom in South Africa. 

1819 

Raffl es founds Singapore. 

1821 

Sierra Leone, Gambia and the Gold Coast become 

British West Africa. 

1824 

Martial law is declared in Bathurst area. 

1828 

Charles Sturt explores the Darling River. 

1829 

Sturt and Macleay explore the Murray River. 

1840 

Paul Strzelecki explores Mount Kosciusko. 

1844 

Ludwig Leichhardt explores area from Brisbane to Port 

Essington. 

1845 

Charles Sturt leads expedition in search of an inland 

sea. 

The mighty Blue Mountains 

Discoveries 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the crossing of the Blue Mountains. 

• Writes an account of an historical event from an alternative point of view. 


• Soon after the arrival of the First Fleet in Botany Bay, 1788, both convicts and free settlers 

made attempts to cross the forbidding Blue Mountains, located to the west of Sydney. The 

convicts believed that a city or beautiful paradise was located just beyond the mountains 

and wanted to try to reach it. All of these desperate people either died or were captured 

during their attempts. Many free settlers also tried to cross the range, as it was blocking 

the expansion of the fast-growing colony. Both offi cial and unoffi cial expeditions were 

undertaken, but all failed. After 1813, the colony became more desperate to cross the 

mountains due to drought and a plague of caterpillars devastating the colony’s farming 

land and livestock. 

• One year after Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth’s successful expedition, Governor 

Macquarie ordered a road to be built across the Blue Mountains. This was achieved 

in approximately six months by a team of 30 convicts, under the direction of engineer 

William Cox. The fi nished road stretched all the way to Bathurst, covering a distance of 

about 160 kilometres. 

• The text used on page 35 is a fi ctional newspaper article for the fi rst Australian 

newspaper, The Sydney Gazette. Discuss with students that this genre is considered 

to be a secondary source, although the journalist has reported some actual comments 

from Gregory Blaxland (these are direct quotes and are what Blaxland actually said). 

Newspaper reports are supposed to remain objective, but it is clear that the journalist has 

included his/her own thoughts. (e.g. ‘Blaxland has every right to feel this way—he and his 

team have saved the colony.’) The comments from Blaxland are also subjective and focus 

on the hardships of the journey— also, one of the other members of the team have been 

interviewed for the article. 


Answers 

Page 36 

1. The colony was desperate to fi nd new grazing land as a caterpillar plague and drought 

had devastated its crops, livestock and land. 


3. (a) fact 

(b) opinion 

(c) opinion 

4. They could see lush grassland below them as far as the eye could see. 




Display Copy 


• In the activity on page 37, students have the opportunity to consider how one of the 

convict servants might have felt about the expedition. This activity could be extended by 

perhaps considering what the Aboriginal Australians indigenous to the Blue Mountains 

might have felt when they saw the explorers. 

• Read and discuss some of the original journal entries of Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson. 

(These can be found on the Internet.) 

• Research to fi nd out about some of the other explorers who tried to cross the Blue 

Mountains prior to 1813; e.g. George Bass. 

• Use the Internet to research the Aboriginal Australians indigenous to the Blue Mountains. 

Draw a map showing some of their sacred sites. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The mighty Blue Mountains – 1 

The Sydney Gazette 

Discoveries 

10 June 1813 

Blue Mountains crossed at last! 

A trio of brave explorers has found a way over 

the Blue Mountains, discovering rich grazing 

land our growing colony of New South Wales 

desperately needs. 

The drought that struck the colony four years 

ago, followed by the caterpillar plague, had a 

devastating effect on our crops, grazing land and 

livestock. Some believed everyone would starve to 

death! The best bet for finding new land was to the 

west. But, of course, there was a big problem—the 

Blue Mountains were in the way! 

Since 1789, many have tried to cross the mountains, 

but all have failed, due to the deep valleys and 

sheer cliffs. But last month, farmer Gregory 

Blaxland became determined to find a way over. 

He decided that instead of travelling through the 

valleys, as others before him had done, it would 

be less exhausting to climb the ridges between the 

Grose and Cox rivers. 

On 11 May, Blaxland set off with two landowners, 

William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth, 

along with four convicts, four pack horses and five 

dogs. 

‘The trip was difficult from the start’, says 

Blaxland. ‘And the higher we climbed, the worse 

it became. We had to hack through thick scrub and 

were worried about falling into the steep gorges. 

We only covered about three miles * a day. We were 

also afraid of being attacked by the native people † . 

Although we never met any, we saw footprints, 

campsites and other signs they were nearby.’ 

In addition, the explorers struggled constantly 

to find water. But despite all the hardships, they 

continued on. About two weeks later, they found 

themselves on top of a mountain, which they 

named Mount York. 

Heroes—Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles 

Wentworth—have discovered a path over the mighty Blue Mountains. 

‘From Mount York, we could see a grassy valley 

and a river’, says Blaxland. ‘So we descended into 

the valley and took a well-earned break! Then we 

continued across the valley and came to another 

mountain, which we named Mount Sugarloaf # . We 

climbed it and were astounded. There was lush 

grassland below us as far as the eye could see. By 

now, we had run out of food, so we headed for 

home. It only took about five days. It’s great to be 

back—I feel on top of the world!’ 

Blaxland has every right to feel this way—he 

and his team have saved the colony. Governor 

Macquarie is said to be already planning a road to 

be built along the explorers’ route and will reward 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth with land. 

* about 5 kilometres † 


# 

Now known as Mount Blaxland. 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The mighty Blue Mountains – 2 


Discoveries 

1. Why was it so important to the colony of New South Wales that someone fi nd a way across the 

Blue Mountains? 

2. What do you think would have been the biggest hardship on Blaxland’s expedition? Give reasons. 

3. Answer as fact or opinion. 

(a) It took longer for the explorers to cross the 

Blue Mountains than it did to return home. 

(b) Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth deserved 

rewards for completing their expedition. 

(c) The convicts on Blaxland’s expedition 

must have been very helpful. 

Fact 

Fact 

Fact 

Opinion 

Opinion 

Opinion 



Display Copy 

4. Why were the men astounded when they reached Mount Sugarloaf? 

5. List three possible reasons why Aboriginal Australians may not have appeared to the explorers. 

The Blue Mountains have been home to Aboriginal Australians for tens of thousands of years and 

include some of the traditional lands of the Gundungarra and Darug people. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Into the unknown 

Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth all kept journals about their expedition. 

These help us understand how they felt during their crossing of the Blue 

Mountains. However, little is known about the four convicts who went with 

them and had to endure the same hardships. 

Discoveries 

1. Why might this be? 

Imagine you are one of the convicts. You were transported to Sydney Cove from Britain five years 

ago for pickpocketing. Since you arrived, you have been working as a servant on a farm. Then, 

one day, you are told you are going on Blaxland’s expedition—you have no choice! You have no 

idea what to expect or how you will be treated. 

2. As notes, write your thoughts and feelings about each of these things. You can use the text to 

help you. 

Before the expedition During the expedition After the expedition 

The Australian bush The worst thing(s) Returning to life as a servant 

Being told you are going on the 

expedition 



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The best thing(s) 

Seeing Blaxland, Lawson and 

Wentworth receive a reward 

3. Use your notes to write a journal entry about the completed expedition. 

The Blue Mountains were so named because they appear blue when viewed from a distance. This is 

caused by the oil from the large number of Eucalyptus trees there. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1797 

Coal is discovered at Newcastle, NSW. 

1814 

Convicts employed to cut a road to Bathurst discover 

gold, but are forced into silence by fl ogging. 

1815 

On the orders of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, Bathurst is 

founded and becomes the fi rst inland town in Australia. 

1823 

Australia’s fi rst offi cially recorded gold fi nd—assistant 

surveyor, James McBrian, discovers gold in the Fish 

River, east of Bathurst, New South Wales. 

1848 

Californian gold rush (1848–1863). 

Lead is discovered in bed of Murchison River. 

1851 

A gold nugget, worth £35, is found in the Bathurst district 

and brought to Sydney. 

First blood spilled over the issue of slavery in America. 

1852 

Second Burma War begins—The British capture 

Rangoon. 

1853 

£1000 each is granted to John Lister and William and 

James Tom after a court hearing. The men continue to be 

bitter, especially after Hargraves publishes a book giving 

an altered account of the discovery. 

Crimean War (1853–1856) 

1854 

Eureka Stockade 

1859 

Copper is discovered in NSW. 

1867 

Diamonds are discovered at Hope Creek, South Africa. 

1869 

Welcome Stranger gold nugget is found in Victoria. 

1870 

Lister and the Tom brothers continue to campaign to 

seek justice through the press and by petition. 

1886 

Gold is discovered in the Transvaal, South Africa. 

1890 

Legislative Assembly agrees that ‘Messrs Tom and Lister 

were undoubtedly the fi rst discoverers of gold obtained 

in Australia in payable quantity’. 

1893 

Gold is discovered in Kalgoorlie. 

1905 

Australia’s population reaches four million. 

Edward Hargraves discovers gold 

Discoveries 

Indicators 


• Writes a letter pleading for justice from the point of view of one of Edward Hargraves’ 

companions, John Lister. 

• Role-plays a meeting between Hargraves and Lister with a partner. 


• Few offi cial records were kept during the gold rushes in Australia. A lot of information 

about the time was found in stories passed down orally from generation to generation. 

Before the 1840s, there were many reports of gold discoveries in Australia; however, it is 

believed these were kept a secret as landowners did not want to lose their cheap labour 

to the goldfi elds. 

The situation had changed by the 1840s, as Britain feared the French or Russians could 

invade the colony as they had large fl eets in the area at that time. As the Crimean War 

was looming, a declaration of war between Russia and England would make Australia 

a target. Men were also leaving the colonies in droves to seek their fortune at the 

Californian gold rush in the USA. 

• The frenzy of prospectors at the Ophir goldfi elds left it quickly stripped of its surface gold 

and diggers began searching for more elsewhere. 

• The text written on page 39 is a series of fi ctional journal entries. Discuss with the 

students that this genre (if the journal was authentic) is a primary source. (Quotes from 

Edward Hargraves’ actual writings can be found on the Internet.) Discuss how a primary 

source of John Lister’s accounts of events may vary greatly from this document. 

• For students interested to discover if John Lister and the Tom brothers ever found justice, 

read the adjacent time line to the class. 


Answers 

Page 40 

1. (a) England 

(b) months, gold 

(c) search/look 

2. Similar landscape and rocks to Californian goldfi elds. 

3. £10 000; Appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Goldfi elds 

4. Answers will vary 

5. Wanted to be awarded the £10 000 from the government (and become famous). 

6. (a) The men wanted to claim as much gold as possible for themselves fi rst. 

(b) Answers will vary 



Display Copy 


• Use the Internet and library to discover how Edward Hargraves spent the 40 years of his 

life after the Bathurst discovery. 

• On a blank map of Australia, record the names of the most successful goldfi elds during 

the gold rush. Circle the ones which are still working today. 

• Create a chart which compares how gold was found in the 1800s compared to how it is 

excavated today. Include the tools and machinery used. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Edward Hargraves discovers gold – 1 

Read the fictitious journal entries of Edward Hargraves—the Englishman known to have 

started the Australian gold rushes. 

1850 

California: My hopes have been dashed! After 12 long 

months, my team and I head home empty handed. However, er, 

I do possess great wisdom: In California, I have witnessed ed 

goldfi elds with landscapes and rocks that are very similar to 

those at home. When I return to New South Wales, I will 

begin my search there for gold. 

January 1851 

Sydney: The Inspector–General has no ambition! I 

informed him of my plan to fi nd gold and his reply was 

most unfavourable. I am now more determined to head 

forth! John Lister (a chap who has already seen gold 

in Bathurst) will guide me west of Sydney through the 

Blue Mountains. If my suspicions are correct, I will 

soon be rewarded the £10 000 for discovering a payable 

goldfi eld! How glorious it will be to live how I wish to 

and to be forever remembered. We leave tomorrow! 

Discoveries 

February 1851 

Bathurst: What joy! Lister and the rest of our team, James and William Tom, have been panning 

in the creek and in my possession are brilliant specs of gold! Tomorrow, I will teach them to use the 

cradle so I will have enough gold to take back to Sydney to prove my discovery. 



Display Copy 

March 1851 

Sydney: Although Lister and the Tom brothers have sent word pleading with me to stay silent, I am 

bursting with news of my fi ndings! News of my discovery at Bathurst has been printed in the ‘Sydney 

Morning Herald’ (thanks to the letter I sent) and everyone is talking of nothing else but gold, gold, 

gold! I have named the magnifi cent goldfi eld I have discovered, ‘Ophir’. 

May 1851 

Sydney: The government has declared a gold discovery at last and I have been rewarded the £10 000! 

At least 300 men have abandoned their jobs—and some their families—and are right now battling 

the rugged Blue Mountains. They head towards Ophir hungry for riches. I have been appointed 

Commissioner of Crown Lands of the Goldfi elds. A wonderful and well-deserved title for me! 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Edward Hargraves discovers gold – 2 


1. Complete the sentences. 

Discoveries 

(a) Hargraves was born in 

(b) Hargraves and his team spent 12 

but were unsuccessful. 

(c) The Inspector-General did not encourage Hargraves to 

but lived in Australia. 

2. Explain why Hargraves believed New South Wales contained gold. 

3. List the two ways Hargraves was rewarded for his discovery. 

• 

• 

4. Circle words which best describe Edward Hargraves. 

in California searching for 

for gold. 

Ambitious Lazy Hardworking Clever 

Unfair Selfish Compassionate Greedy 

5. Why do you think Hargraves sent a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald about 

his discovery? 



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6. (a) Why do you think Lister and the Tom brothers wanted Hargraves to 

stay silent about the gold discovery at the Ophir site? 

(b) Do you think Hargraves shared his fortune with his companions? 

Explain: 

Once word had spread of a gold rush at Bathurst, NSW, prospectors began arriving from China, 

America, the British Isles and Europe. Over 2000 mining licences were given for the Ophir goldfields. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Claiming a stake 

John Lister was the man who guided Edward Hargraves to the site of the first gold 

rush in Australia. 

1. Reread the text on page 39 and make notes about reasons why you 

think John Lister was treated fairly or unfairly by Hargraves. 

Discoveries 

2. It is May 1851 and hundreds of men have arrived at Ophir to begin prospecting for gold. Imagine 

you are John Lister. Write a passionate letter to the Inspector-General in Sydney explaining the 

how you feel about your situation. 



Display Copy 

3. In pairs, role-play a scenario where John Lister and Edward Hargraves cross paths in Sydney 

a few months after the gold rush has begun. Rehearse your role-play and present it to another 

group or the class. 

At the time Edward Hargraves was awarded £10 000 ($20 000) from the government for his discovery, 

the average wage was 30–40 shillings (about 30–40 cents) per week. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Coal River, NS W 

Discoveries 

Time line 

1770 

Captain Cook marks islet at mouth of Hunter River on 

map. (Nobby’s Island) 

1797 

The Australian mining industry is born when coal is 

discovered and extracted at Newcastle on the NSW 

north coast. 

1822 

The penal settlement at Coal River is moved to Port 

Macquarie. 

1823 

Newcastle declared a free town. Building of hospitals, 

stores and a church begin transition of Newcastle from 

a penal area to a civil settlement. 

1831 

Coal mining changes hands from government to private 

enterprise mining. 

1843 

First coal mine is opened at Redbank, near Ipswich, 

Queensland. 

1851 

The fi rst gold rush in Australia. 

1881 

Coal production in the Newcastle region reaches 1.3 

million tonnes. 

1883 

Mount Kembla coal mine is opened. 

1885 

Unique quality of fi ngerprints is realised. 

1891 

Construction of Trans-Siberian Railway begins. 

1892 

Rudolph Diesel creates diesel fuel. 

1896 

First Olympic Games of the modern era are held. 

1897 

Balmain colliery in Sydney is opened. 

1899 

Boer War (1899-1902) 

Boxer Rebellion occurs in China. 

1902 

Explosion at Mount Kembla mine kills 96 people. 

1907 

Monongah mine disaster occurs in the United States 

and 362 people are killed. 

1913 

Senghenydd pit disaster occurs in south Wales and 436 

people are killed. 

1915 

Opal found at Coober Pedy. 

1923 

Mount Isa is established when silver and lead is 

discovered in the Cloncurry fi eld. 

Indicators 


• Place dates and events in chronological order on a time line. 


• The mining of coal at Coal River was a very signifi cant discovery as it gave the new 

colony of Sydney Cove its fi rst ever profi t. It became the birthplace of the Australian coal 

mining industry and, as profi ts were used to establish other Australian colonies, the start 

of Australia’s growing economy. Being the largest exporter of coal in the world, Newcastle 

coal continues to boost the economy. 

• The locations of the historic site of the fi rst convict coal mines at Newcastle have been 

researched and discovered. Enter: ‘Drilling into the convict coal mines of Newcastle 

Australia’ into YouTube and watch as huge machines drill into 

the side of a road to discover and view the inside of the historic coal mines of Newcastle. 

• This report is a secondary historical source. Primary sources of that time would include 

newspaper articles reporting the discovery of coal, as well as John Shortland’s sketches 

of the harbour and records of coal in the cliffs of Coal River. 

• To read historical quotes about the birth of the city of Newcastle visit the website: 

. 


Answers 

Page 44 

1. (a) false 

(b) true 

(c) false 

(d) true 

(e) true 

2. It took two years. 

3. (a) export 

(b) mutiny 

(c) breakwater 

4. Answers may include: 

(a) How far north of Sydney is Newcastle? 

(b) How old was Lt Charles Menzies when he established a penal colony at Coal River? 

(c) What did convicts use to transport coal to ships in the early 1800s? 

5. The profi t from coal was used to build and run Sydney and, in time, the other Australian 

colonies. 



Display Copy 


• Write a letter from the point of view of a convict mining coal in Newcastle under the 

command of Lt Charles Menzies. 

• Imagine you are an Aboriginal Australian returning to the mouth of the Hunter River for a 

communal gathering. You arrive to discover an enormous object made of wood fl oating 

in the harbour and men in strange garments traipsing all over. With a partner, role-play 

dialogue between you and another Aboriginal Australian about what you see and how you 

feel about it. 

• Create a table to compare the process of mining coal in the early 1800s to today. Include 

the different machinery used. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Coal River, NSW – 1 

Read the report about Coal River (known today as the Hunter River) in New South 

Wales and Australia’s first export product—coal. 

Discoveries 

Before it was accidentally discovered by English 

settlers, the area 160 km north of Sydney, 

around present-day Newcastle, was a place 

of communal gatherings by the Awabakal and 

Worimi Aboriginal people. A major campsite 

could be found at the mouth of the river. 

In 1791, eight escaped convicts, including 

William Bryant, discovered coal in the area—the 

fi rst recorded discovery of coal in Australia. 

Five years later, a group of fi sherman came upon 

the river while sheltering from bad weather. The 

men collected samples of coal from its cliffs and 

returned to Sydney to show their fi ndings. 

In 1797, Lieutenant John Shortland, who was 

searching for escaped convicts, became the fi rst 

European to explore the area surrounding ‘Coal 

River’. He renamed it the Hunter River, although it 

continued to be called Coal River for some time. 

Shortland also sketched the harbour and made 

records of the large quantities of coal he could 

see in the cliffs. 

For two years, ships sailed along the Hunter River 

to gather coal and take it back to Sydney. In 1799, 

they had collected enough coal for a shipload to 

be sent to India. This became Australia’s fi rst 

recorded export. 

As both escaped convicts and freemen were 

travelling to the Hunter area for coal, it was 

decided that a coal mining camp should be 

established there. In 1801, King’s Town was 

set up, but was abandoned later, after a mutiny. 

Three years later, 21-year-old Lieutenant Charles 

Menzies was sent to set up a penal colony in 

the area now named Newcastle. Sydney’s worst 

convicts were sent to Newcastle as punishment. 

They dug for coal in the surrounding cliffs and 

built a breakwater to create a port so ships could 

dock and collect the large amounts of coal mined. 

Often with legs in irons, the convicts worked 

from sunrise to sunset and delivered the coal to 

the ships in wheelbarrows. 

The large profi ts made from Newcastle’s coal 

would now fi nance the building and running of 

the colony at Sydney Cove. In later years, the 

profi ts from coal would also help fi nance the 

establishment and running of the other Australian 

colonies. 

Today, Newcastle is the second largest city in 

New South Wales and more coal is exported from 

the area than anywhere else in the world. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 



Display Copy

Coal River, NSW – 2 


1. Answer as true or false. 

Discoveries 

(a) William Bryant was the fi rst person to ever see the Hunter River. 

(b) Coal River was renamed the Hunter River by John Shortland. 

(c) Australia’s fi rst export of coal was shipped to England. 

(d) The port of Newcastle was created by convicts. 

(e) Coal was gathered from the banks of Coal River. 

2. How many years did it take to gather enough coal to export the fi rst shipload? 

3. Find the word in the text which matches the defi nition. 

(a) To send to other countries for sale or exchange 

(b) A rebellion against authority 

(c) A barrier which breaks the force of waves 

4. Write a question for these answers. 

(a) 160 km 

(b) 21 years old 

(c) Wheelbarrows 



Display Copy 

5. Why was the discovery of coal in Newcastle so important to New South Wales and the rest of 

the country? 

In 1770, Captain Cook, sailing about 4 kilometres offshore, made a mark on his map of a rocky islet 

at the mouth of a river. This islet is now known as Nobby’s Head and is located at the mouth of the 

Hunter River, Newcastle. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Discoveries 

Coal River time line 

Use the text on page 43 to add dates and key facts to complete the time line about Coal 

River and the mining of coal in Newcastle. 

Prior to 

European 

settlement 

1796 

1799 

Time line 

First known discovery of coal by the escaped convict William Bryant 

and seven others. 

Lt John Shortland is the fi rst European to explore the Hunter area. 

He renames Coal River the Hunter River. 

King’s Town, a coal mining camp, was established but later 

abandoned after a mutiny. 



Display Copy 

1804 

Today 

In 1800, 4000 tonnes of coal was shipped from Newcastle. By 1900, the town’s coal exports reached 

3.5 millions tonnes and today, about 86 million tonnes of coal is exported. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The shearers’ strike 

Progress 

Time line 

1788 

Sheep are fi rst brought to Australia with the First Fleet. 

1797 

Waterhouse and Kent import Spanish merino sheep from 

South Africa. 

1803 

Sheep are shipped to Tasmania. 

1807 

Reverend Samuel Marsden returns to England with wool 

from the colony. 

1829 

Sheep are shipped to Western Australia. 

1834 

Merino sheep are brought to Port Phillip district. 

1836 

South Australia Company employs women as shearers. 

1843 

Drought kills more than 200 000 sheep. 

1866 

The shearing table is invented. 

1868 

A shearing machine is patented. 

1877 

Wolseley and Savage patent a shearing and rope drive 

machine. 

1882 

A sheep is completely machine-sheared for the fi rst time. 

1886 

Australasian Shearers Union is founded. 

1888 

Tom Roberts paints the famous artwork Shearing the rams. 

Dunlop Station, NSW, is the fi rst large machine shed with 

40 machine stands. 

1889 

The Worker, a newspaper by the Australian Labour 

Federation, was formed. 

1891 

The Queensland shearers’ strike. Ends when unions can 

no longer afford to support the camps. 

1893 

New Zealand gives women the vote. 

1894 

Second shearers’ strike. Unionists defeated again. 

1895 

Australia suffers a severe drought (1895–1903). Sheep 

numbers drop by half. 

1925 

In Western Australia, the ‘Mad Eight’ shearing team shear 

2000 sheep in eight hours. 

1939 

British government agrees to buy the entire Australian 

wool supply for the duration of the war (1939–1945). 

1956 

Shearers in Queensland win a ten month strike against 

reduced shearing rates. 

Indicators 


• Compares and contrasts a shearer’s life to a pastoralist’s life. 

• Writes dialogue between a union leader and a pastoralist. 


• As wool was the dominant export of Australia of the time, the 1891 shearers’ strike had 

a great effect on the Queensland economy. It also helped to shape Australia’s culture. 

Governments were criticised for the support they gave to employers over employees and 

unions were formed to fi ght for the workers. 

• By the end of the 19th century, strikes were signifi cant in the rise of unionism. Although 

the shearing strikes in the 1890s were unsuccessful, the government began to realise 

the strength of unions. A merger of unions formed the Australian Workers’ Union and also 

played a part in the beginning of the Australian Labor Party. 

• Since the invention of the Wolseley mechanical sheers, little has changed in the way 

sheep are shorn except that the comb is now wider. Today, young men are reluctant to 

take shearing on as a profession as it is so physically demanding. 

• A letter is a primary source of information revealing details about the time in history it was 

written. Much information can be gathered by reading letters from the past. 

• If students are interested to see if the shearers’ strike was successful, read aloud the 

relevant parts of the adjacent time line. 


Answers 

Page 48 

1. (c) 

2. (a) 

3. The Wolseley shearing machine. 

4. They walked. 

5. To stop farmers being able to decide on the price per sheep shorn and so unions could 

help protect the shearers’ wages. 

6. (a) How many shearers were at the camp in Barcaldine? 

(b) Where were the union leaders taken to once arrested? 

7. (a) Possible answers: upset, frustrated, angry etc. 

(b) ‘Of course, we do our best to get in their way!’ 



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• Find and read poems about this time in history and shearing life; for example: ‘Freedom 

on the wallaby’ by Henry Lawson and ‘Waltzing Matilda’ by Banjo Patterson. Discuss their 

meaning. 

• Sing the song ‘Click goes the shears’ and discuss the stanza which describes how a 

sheep is shorn. 

• Find out more about the life of a shearer and the shearing profession by visiting the 

following websites: 

– http://www.jondaryanwoolshed.com 

– http://www.shearoutback.com.au 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The shearers’ strike – 1 

Read the letter written by a shearer from Queensland to his family back in England. 

Progress 

April 1891 

Dear Mum and Dad 

Things have changed so much since my last letter. For 

such a long time the wool industry was booming over here 

in Queensland. Of course, it’s us shearers who do the 

backbreaking, stinking hot work and the farmers who 

send the fleece to England and get rich on the profits! 

They think they’re royalty living in these enormous town 

houses while we sweat like pigs in their woolsheds! 

Some of the sheds even have this new ‘Wolseley shearing 

machine. It took me a while to get the hang of it but now that I use the 

mechanical shears instead of the blade, I’ve upped my record from 255 to 267 sheep a 

day—second fastest in the gang! 

There’s been some bitter fighting between shearing gangs and the station owners over 

our wages. We could walk the bush for a week to a station and find out the cocky* is only 

paying pittance a head! They think that because it’s their shed, they can pay us whatever 

they feel like! 

Anyway, our gang and a heap of others have come together and joined the Shearers’ Union. 

The union leaders are fighting for a set price per sheep shorn. We’ve been on strike for four 

months now. I’m living in a tent at a striking workers’ camp in Barcaldine with about 



Display Copy 

4000 other shearers. We get our daily rations and do drills (bit like the army). The police 

are always watching. Some of the union leaders who stood up to the government have been 

taken away to St Helena’s Island. Poor blokes—they just wanted a fair go for us shearers. 

Not every shearer is striking though. Some aren’t fussed about joining a union. The police 

or army pick them up at the train station and escort them to the sheds to work. Of course, 

we do our best to get in their way! 

This strike must be getting through to the government though ‘cause it says in today’s ‘The 

Worker’* that the shearers’ strike is starting to cripple Queensland’. Hopefully, when I write 

next we will have won this wage war and I will be shearing again. 

Tom xx 

*cocky – a farmer/station owner 

*The Worker – a political newspaper of the time 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The shearers’ strike – 2 


Progress 

Tick the shears with the correct answer. 

1. Tom is a: 

(a) union leader. (b) farmer. (c) shearer. 

2. Before the strike, the wool industry in Queensland was: 

(a) growing. (b) steady. (c) failing. 

3. What invention helped Tom increase his record of sheep shorn in one day? 

4. How did shearers travel from one station to the next in the 1890s? 

5. Explain why the shearers went on strike in Queensland in 1891. 


(a) About 4000. 

(b) St Helena’s Island. 



Display Copy 

7. (a) How do you think the striking shearers felt about the shearers still working? 

(b) Copy the line in the text that tells you this. 

In 1788, 29 sheep survived the long voyage arriving in Sydney on the First Fleet. Once shorn, each sheep 

gave only 500 grams of wool. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Finding a solution 

1. In your group, make notes comparing the life of a shearer to a pastoralist (farmer) in 

the 1890s. 

Shearer 

Pastoralist 

Progress 

2. Imagine a leader of the Shearers’ Union and an owner of a large sheep station meet to discuss 

the strike. Write the dialogue between the two men below. 

Union leader: 

Farmer: 

Union leader: 

Farmer: 

Union leader: 



Display Copy 

Farmer: 

During World War II, the British Government wanted to continue receiving all of Australia’s wool and 

so shearers did not have to volunteer to go to war. Many didn’t go. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Beasts of burden 

Progress 

Time line 

1788 

Arrival of the First Fleet. 

1789 

Rose Hill Packet, a boat, is built to carry stores along 

Parramatta River to Rose Hill. 

1829 

Bullocks are used in Charles Sturt’s expedition. 

1853 

Cobb and Co is established. 

1854 

First steam railway is opened in Australia between 

Flinders Street in Melbourne and Port Melbourne. 

1860 

Three cameleers, with 26 camels, accompany Burke 

and Wills on their expedition. 

A team of 42 bullocks haul two and a half tonnes of 

wool over the Gap in southern Queensland. 

1866 

Sir Thomas Elder imports 120 camels from Pakistan. 

1870 

Building of Overland Telegraph Line begins. 

1898 

26 bullocks pull 12 tonnes of wool a distance of 298 

kilometres. 

1912 

Building of transcontinental railway line across the 

Nullarbor Plain begins. 

1924 

Cobb and Co’s last service from Surat to Yeulba is 

closed down. 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about the role of animals in the history of transport in 

Australia. 

• Creates an information poster. 


• Moving people and food around the area of Port Jackson led to the growth of the local 

transport industry. Waterways were used wherever possible as they presented an 

immediate, natural course along which people and goods could be transported. But where 

travel over land was desirable, draught animals were needed. 

• A bullock is a strong type of bull which can be trained to pull loads and respond to 

commands. The drays they pulled were strongly built to accommodate large, often very 

heavy, loads. 

• The team of bullocks pulling a cart were arranged in pairs. The lead pair were the most 

experienced, whilst the polers (at the back, harnessed to the pole) were the strongest. 

• Although a bullock team could only travel about 8 to 16 kilometres per day, compared 

to twice that distance with a horse and cart, they were better for long distance trips than 

horses. The bullocks would feed off the land but horses had to be provided with feed, 

which not only cost money but also took up room in the cart. 

• The fi rst camel to arrive in Australia was the sole survivor of a group of camels shipped 

from the Canary Islands (north-west of the African continent). Later that year, 1840, two 

more camels reached Australia. In the 1860s, the camels were arriving by the hundreds 

due to the increasing exploration of the interior for which camels were better suited than 

horses and bullocks. Thomas Elder established the Beltana Stud and the camels reared in 

his stud were healthier than those brought over directly from Africa, India and Pakistan— 

but also more expensive. 

• As useful animals in the harsh outback environment, the camels enjoyed a golden era 

until the introduction of the motor vehicle in the 1920s. Their value dropped rapidly and 

they were either destroyed as pests or released into the outback where they became 

feral. 


Answers 

Page 52 

1. (a) horse and bullock 

(b) horse—passenger transport and light draught work; bullock—heavy draught work 

2. The distance between settlements became too far to travel on foot, the animals could 

carry heavier loads (they could also forge a track through the bush). 

3. They are used to and are adapted to cope with dry conditions. 

4. The tracks they forged linking settlements and communities would have been used to 

build the fi rst roads. 

5. (a) true 

(b) false 

(c) false 

(d) true 



Display Copy 


• Create a time line to illustrate the development of boat and ship building in Australia in 

the fi rst century of settlement. 

• Create an illustrated time line to present the history of Cobb and Co. 

• Write a report on the building of either the Overland Telegraph Line between Adelaide and 

Darwin or the transcontinental railway line across the Nullarbor. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Beasts of burden – 1 

In the early days of the new colony, the distances between settlements were small and 

people were able to walk everywhere. But as the colony expanded, draught animals were 

needed to pull carts for transporting people and goods. 

To begin with, animals were not available in the 

colony to do this and so teams of convicts were 

used. Chained together, the convicts hauled loads 

such as crops, wool, timber and stone piled high 

onto two-wheeled carts. Even when draught 

animals became available, convicts were still 

used for transporting some goods. 

Bullocks and horses were brought to the colony 

from India and South Africa. Different types 

of drays or carts were developed for different 

needs. By 1800, horsedrawn carts were used for 

passenger transport in Port Jackson while bullock 

wagons were used for heavier loads. From 1828, 

post was delivered on horseback or in horsedrawn 

coaches. 

The bullock wagons were extremely valuable 

on journeys in the tough terrain before roads 

were built. The strong, patient and sure-footed 

beasts transported settlers and their belongings 

to districts outside the town. As outlying areas 

were settled, the bullocks were used to transport 

goods such as wool and grain from the farming 

areas to the markets and return with 

supplies from the town. In 1829, 

bullocks were used to carry food 

and equipment on Charles Sturt’s 

exploration of the rivers of New South 

Wales. 

Camels have also played an important 

part in Australia’s history, particularly in 

opening up the dry interior where the harsh 

conditions proved too much for even the 

tough bullock teams. The camels, which were 

brought to Australia in the 1840s, came from 

Progress 

desert countries of the Northern Hemisphere. 

From 1860 onwards they were used for work, 

controlled by camel men from Afghanistan. Such 

cameleers worked 26 camels as they trekked 

with Burke and Wills on their ill-fated 1860 

expedition to become the fi rst Europeans to cross 

the continent from south to north. 

From 1870 to 1872, packs of camels carried 

all the equipment needed to build the Overland 

Telegraph Line between Adelaide and Darwin, 

and were used again between 1912 and 1917, 

for the building of the transcontinental railway 

line across the Nullarbor. 

Although the advent of the steam train and 

motorised vehicles led to the decline in the use 

of animals for transport, the role they played in 

the development 

of the nation 

will always be 

remembered. 



Display Copy 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Beasts of burden – 2 


Progress 

1. (a) Which two animals were fi rst introduced to the colony for transport? 

(b) Describe the type of work done by each animal. 

2. Why was it important for animals to be used as transport in the colony? 

3. Why do you think the camels were able to cope with the harsh the 

conditions in central Australia? 

4. How would the animals have helped in the development of road networks in the new colony? 


(a) Convicts were sometimes used in place of draught animals. 

(b) Horses were used for pulling the heaviest loads. 

(c) Bullocks were clumsy and diffi cult to control. 

(d) Camels were vital to the development of the interior. 



Display Copy 

In 1853, the American Telegraph Line of coaches, drawn by teams of horses, began its 70-year history, 

providing transport between Melbourne and the Victorian goldfields. This company is better known 

as Cobb and Co. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Camel facts 

1. (a) Find information about camels, their uses around the 

world and the history of their relationship with humans. 

(b) Make notes (keywords and phrases) in the table. 

Countries 

found 

Diet 

Habitat 

Adaptation 

to heat and 

hydration 

Body 

features 

Behaviour 

Past uses 

Dromedary 



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Bactrian 

Progress 

Current uses 

Other 

interesting 

facts 

2. Present your information as an illustrated poster. 

The Ghan, a train, which now travels between Adelaide and Darwin, is named after the Afghan 

cameleers and their beasts which, for 40 years, connected the railhead at Oodnadatta in South 

Australia with central Australia until the rail line was extended to Alice Springs in 1929. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1788 

NSW colony is founded. 

1846 

The need for a federal authority is first suggested. 

1824 

‘Australia’ is officially adopted as the name for the country. 

1825 

Van Diemen’s Land is founded. 

1829 

Swan River Colony is founded. 

1832 

Swan River Colony is renamed as Western Australia. 

1836 

South Australia is founded. 

1840 

New Zealand is proclaimed as a separate colony. 

1851 

Victoria is founded. 

1859 

Queensland is founded. 

Van Diemen’s Land is renamed as Tasmania. 

1889 

Sir Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfield Oration. 

1898 

Federation referenda return; ‘yes’ votes in Tasmania, South 

Australia and Victoria, but not in NSW and Queensland. 

1899 

‘Yes’ votes are returned from referenda in all colonies 

except WA. 

1900 

WA votes to join the Federation. 

Australian constitution ratified by British Parliament. 

1901 

Federation and first parliament. 

1902 

The Franchise Act gives voting rights to most women. 

It excludes Indigenous Australians, and people of Asian, 

African and Pacific Island heritage. 

1903 

The Defence Act gives the Commonwealth responsibility 

for the Australian Army. 

1911 

The Royal Australian Navy is established. 

The Northern Territory is transferred from South Australia 

to the Commonwealth. 

1913 

The foundation stone is laid for the national capital, 

Canberra. 

1927 

First parliament in Canberra. 

Federation 

A new nation 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about Federation. 

• Researches, draws and evaluates the Australian fl ag. 


• At a meeting in Melbourne in 1890, initiated by the Premier of NSW, Sir Henry Parkes, 

the idea of federation was agreed to in principle by the six Australian states, Fiji and New 

Zealand. A constitution was drafted a year later at a federation convention held in Sydney. 

The fi nal draft was fi nally approved by only fi ve states and taken to London in 1900 to be 

ratifi ed by the British Parliament. Western Australia joined later that year. 

• There were many issues involved with Federation, including a fear of France and 

Germany claiming territory, concern of domination by the more populous states, loss of 

revenue by states that imposed tariffs, communication services and the location of federal 

parliament. The fi rst parliament sat in Melbourne on 9 May 1901 and met there until 

Parliament House, in Canberra, was opened in 1927. 

• Sarah’s letter is a primary source of information. This recount of events is her personal 

view and would not necessarily be the same as that of another spectator. Students should 

understand the difference between primary and secondary sources and that the way in 

which history is remembered can be infl uenced by the position taken by the person or 

people recording it. 


Answers 

Page 56 

1. (a) They asked people to vote in referenda. 

(b) Victoria 

(c) There were lots of taxes in Victoria they wanted to remove. 

2. (a) No 

(b) They were the last to vote to join. 

3. (a) There was a storm with thunder, lightning and heavy rain. 

(b) It was held outside and people may not have wanted to go and watch it in the rain. 

(c) The rain stopped and the sun came out. 

4. It was the beginning of a new century and that was an appropriate time for the 

beginning of a new nation. 

5. (a)–(b) Teacher check 


• Design a new Australian fl ag. 

• When roads and railways were developed and the telegraph line was established in 

1872, travel and communication became easier in Australia and the colonies were not 

so isolated. Work with a small group to produce a wall chart about the history of either a 

major road, a railway line or the telegraph line. 

• Write a letter to Sarah from her cousin in Britain. Comment on what she told you and ask 

her some questions so you understand more about what happened on 1 January 1901. 



Display Copy 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Federation – 1 

A new nation 

5 January 1901 

My dear cousin 

What a time we’ve been having here in Sydney and what a way to begin a new century! I’ve never 

seen anything like it before and I doubt I ever will again. They expected the celebration on 1 

January 1901 to be the ‘greatest demonstration held under the Southern Cross’, and I’m sure that 

it was. 

There has been so much discussion here for years about the states joining together and it has 

finally happened. In NSW, we had a vote in 1898 and again in 1899. Queensland’s vote was the 

closest, followed by NSW and in Victoria almost everyone voted for federation. Western Australia 

didn’t vote to join until after the British Parliament and Queen Victoria had already approved our 

constitution. 

I know old Uncle Jack will be very happy and so will Aunt Mary. His farm in New South Wales is 

close to the Victorian border and every time he had to move stock across the border to be sold, he had 

to pay tax. The cunning old fox used to tell our cousins to find a quiet part of the river and swim 

them across. Aunt Mary was always terrified they would be caught but she often travelled into 

NSW herself to avoid paying Victorian tax on the tea, tobacco and clothes she bought. 

I must admit that, at one stage, I thought it was going to be a total failure. We celebrated the new 

year in style with bells, whistles and boat sirens, but just as we were going to bed there was an 

amazing storm; thunder and lightning and then it poured. In the morning, the sky was grey and 

it was drizzling. We considered just staying home, but thank heavens we didn’t. 

By the time the five-mile* long procession started at 10.30 am, it was hot and sticky. It travelled 

towards Centennial Park with trade unionists in the lead, then came the fire brigade (their 

trucks glistening) while next were floats of every imaginable kind, troops marching proudly, and 

cars crammed with important people (1700 had been invited); our first Prime Minister, Edmund 

Barton, and our first Governor-General were escorted by a troop of lancers. The roads were lined 

with more than 250 000 people, all making a huge din as the procession passed through specially 

constructed arches representing such things as coal, wood and 

countries like France and America. There were flags, banners, 

Japanese lanterns and even oil paintings everywhere. 

Federation was proclaimed in Centennial Park and about 10 000 

voices joined in singing ‘Advance Australia Fair’. It was absolutely 

wonderful, I feel so proud to be an Australian. How I wish you could 

have shared it with me. 

Your loving cousin 

Sarah 

* eight-kilometre 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Federation – 2 


1. (a) How was it decided if the people in each state wanted to join Federation? 

A new nation 

(b) In which state were most of the people keen to join Federation? 

(c) Why do you think federation was so popular in this state? 

2. (a) Do you think the people of Western Australia were keen to join Federation? 

(b) Explain why you think this. 

3. (a) What happened in the early hours of 1 January 1901? 

(b) Why do you think this would have been a problem? 

(c) Why wasn’t it a problem? 

4. Why do you think 1 January 1901 was chosen as the date for declaration of Federation? 

5. (a) What would you have most wanted to see in the procession? 

(b) Describe the procession. 



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New Zealand was part of NSW from 1788 to 1840, when it was proclaimed a separate colony. Like Fiji, 

New Zealand was invited to join federation in 1901, but decided not to. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Australia’s flag 

1. Draw and colour the Australian fl ag. 

A new nation 

2. Find out and then explain the signifi cance of the different features of the fl ag. 

Feature 

Significance 

3. Work in a small group to discuss what you like or dislike about the fl ag and make some 

suggestions to improve it. Complete the chart below. 

Like 



Display Copy 

Dislike 

Suggestions 

The flag flown at the Federation ceremonies was the Union Jack. Australia didn’t have its own flag 

until a design was chosen in 1901 from about 33 000 competition entries. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1813 

Stamped ‘holey dollars’ and ‘dumps’ produced. 

1825 

British currency made offi cial. 

1901 

Postmaster-General’s department established. 

Australian Government made responsible for banking 

and currency. 

1910 

Australian Notes Act passed. 

Australian silver coins issued. 

1912 

Australian Coat of Arms granted. 

Commonwealth Savings Bank is established. 

1913 

First Australian bank note issued. 

1914 

First airmail from Melbourne to Sydney. 

1919 

First airmail from Britain to Australia. 

1923 

Vegemite is fi rst produced. 

1927 

First commemorative stamp issued for the opening of 

Parliament House. 

1928 

John Flynn starts the Royal Flying Doctor Service at 

Cloncurry. 

1948 

Holden launches the fi rst Australian designed and 

manufactured motor car. 

1949 

Construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric 

Scheme begins. 

1951 

The School of the Air begins broadcasting. 

1956 

The fi rst television broadcast is aired. 

1966 

Decimal currency is introduced. 

1984 

‘Advance Australia Fair’ declared the nation’s anthem. 

1988 

New Parliament House is opened in Canberra. 

1993 

Native Title Act is passed. 

2000 

GST is introduced. 

Changes 

A new nation 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about Australia after Federation. 

• Calculates using the imperial monetary system. 


• Students will need some understanding of the diffi culties of living in a society where there 

was little currency and how, as a consequence, people traded goods including rum and 

tobacco. 

• After considerable debate, Australia changed its currency from the imperial to the decimal 

system in 1966. The aim of the worksheet on page 61 is to demonstrate why this change 

was deemed necessary. Before starting the activity students will need to understand that 

the symbol used for pence was ‘d’. When Britain moved to the decimal system in 1971, 

pounds and pence were retained but the symbol for pence was changed from ‘d’ to ‘p’. 

Some students will need assistance to complete the worksheet and others will fi nd it 

diffi cult to do all the examples in one session. 

£ s d 

• A suitable follow-up activity would be to demonstrate 

2 6 4 

adding pounds, shillings and pence in three columns 

1 7 6 

with carrying; for example: 

2 10 5 

• Quiz questions relating to this section can be found 6 4 15 

on page 109. 

Answers 

Page 60 

1. (a) Australia Postage (b) A kangaroo on a map of Australia. (c) 1913 

2. It was issued to commemorate the opening of Parliament House, Canberra. 

3. (a) 10 shillings (b) There wasn’t a suitable entry in the competition they organised. 

4. (a) 1912 (b) 1913 (c) 1966 

5. It was diffi cult to plan and organise these services and each state had its own. 

6. (a) It was decided to offi cially adopt the British currency. 

(b) Airmail services were established between Britain and Australia. 

Page 61 

1. (a) 11d (b) 10d (c) 1s.2d 

2. (a) 3d (b) 6d (c) 1d 

3. (a) 15d (b) 13d (c) 22d 

4. (a) 1s.4d (b) 1s.1d (c) 1s.8d 

5. (a) 1s. 2d (b) 20d (c) 23d 

6. (a) 15s (b) 16s (c) £1.1s 

7. (a) 8s (b) 1s (c) 18s 

8. (a) 25s (b) 23s (c) 35s 

9. (a) 30s (b) £1.1s 




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• Draw the Australian Coat of Arms and write a brief explanation of what it represents and 

where you could see it used today. 

• Research the currencies of other countries to make a wall chart. Indicate any currencies 

that do not have a decimal system. 

• Write a very simple maths problem for others to solve using ‘holey dollars’ (worth 5 

shillings) and ‘dumps’ (worth 15 pence). Remember; 12 pence equals 1 shilling and 20 

shillings equal 1 pound. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Changes – 1 

There were important changes to be made in Australia after Federation. The 

Commonwealth Government had to take over many of the states’ responsibilities, but 

needed some time to do this. They had to decide how some things would change, tell people 

about the changes and organise and run them. Not all the states were happy about some of the 

changes and people didn’t always cooperate. The states wanted to get a fair deal and they were 

sometimes quite jealous of each other. 

Currency 

The Commonwealth Government had to 

organise some new currency for Australia. 

Currency had been a problem since Governor 

Phillip arrived with the First Feet. The British 

currency he brought with him was spent on 

food after the crops failed. Coins from other 

countries or rum and tobacco became the 

colonies’ currency. Spanish silver dollars 

were even cut into pieces of eight and used. 

In 1825, it was decided to offi cially adopt 

the British currency—but there wasn’t 

enough! Mints established in Sydney (1855), 

Melbourne (1872) and Perth (1899) produced 

offi cial gold coins for those states. Private 

banks produced notes which were still used 

by the states after Federation. In 1910, 

Australia’s fi rst offi cial silver coins were 

produced in London, followed by bronze 

pennies and halfpennies the next year. 

After parliament passed the Australian Notes 

Act in 1910, work could begin on designing 

Australia’s currency notes. None of the 

designs entered in the competition held were 

accepted, so Britain was asked to help them. 

A new nation 

Postal system 

Australia’s fi rst Postmaster-General was 

appointed at Federation. He was responsible 

for telegraphs, telephones and mail. Because 

the states already had separate postage 

systems, Australians didn’t all get the same 

postal rates until 1911, when postcards and 

letter cards cost one penny. 

In 1913, the fi rst stamps with the words 

‘Australia postage’ printed on them were 

issued. They included a picture of a kangaroo 

on a map of Australia. 

Australia’s fi rst commemorative stamp was 

issued in 1927, to mark the opening of 

Parliament House in Canberra. 

By 1914, airmail services were established 

between Melbourne and Sydney and 

between Britain and Australia by 1919. 



Display Copy 

Australia’s Coat of Arms was granted by 

King George V in 1912 and was used on 

Australia’s fi rst currency note (worth 10 

shillings) in 1913 and on every note until 

1966. Amounts ranging from 1 to 1000 

pounds were issued as notes between 1913 

and 1915. 

A holey dollar 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Changes – 2 


A new nation 

1. (a) What was written on the fi rst Australian stamp? 

(b) What illustration was on it? 

(c) When was it fi rst issued? 

2. Why was a special stamp issued in 1927? 

3. (a) How much was Australia’s fi rst currency note worth? 

(b) Why was Britain asked by Australia to help design its currency notes? 

4. (a) When was Australia granted its Coat of Arms? 

(b) When was it fi rst put on a currency note? 

(c) When did it stop being placed on every currency note? 

5. Why didn’t the Commonwealth Government start organising and running all of the country’s 

until 1911? 

6. Why are following dates important? 

(a) 1825 



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(b) 1919 

Governor Macquarie had NSW’s first coins made by cutting the centres out of Spanish coins to stop 

them being taken away on ships. The coins were called ‘holey dollars’, worth 5 shillings, and the 

middles were called ‘dumps’, worth 15 pence. They were stamped with their values. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Pounds, shillings and pence 

Australia’s currency from Federation was based on the British system of pounds, 

shillings and pence. In 1966, it was changed to a decimal system, similar to Europe and 

America’s, because it was so difficult. Have a go and see what you think! You may like to work 

with a partner. 

Pennies and shillings 

There were 12 pennies or pence (d) in a shilling (s). So 12d = 1s 

1. (a) 7d + 4d = d (b) 5d + 5d = d (c) 7d + 7d = 1s . d 

2. (a) 1s - 9d = d (b) 1s – 6d = d (c) 1s – 11d = d 

3. (a) 1s . 3d = d (b) 1s . 1d = d (c) 1s .10d = d 

4. (a) 16d = 1s. d (b) 13d = 1s. d (c) 20d = 1s . d 

5. Which is greater: 

(a) 1s.2d or 12d? (b) 1s. 5d or 20d? (c) 1s.10d or 23d? 

Shillings and pounds 

There were 20 shillings in a pound. So 20s = £1 

6. (a) 10s + 5s = s (b) 8s + 8s = s (c) 10s + 11s = £1. s 

7. (a) £1 – 12s= s (b) £1 – 19s = s (c) £1 – 2s = s 

8. (a) £1. 5s = s (b) £1. 3s = s (c) £1. 15s = s 

9. Which is greater: 

(a) £1. 5s or 30s? (b) £1. 1s or 18s? 

A new nation 



Display Copy 

10. How hard was that? Do you think the change to decimals was: 

a fantastic idea? okay? unnecessary? 

The ‘Travelling Post Office’, attached to trains, was introduced in Victoria in 1865. Mail delivery to 

country areas was faster because mail was sorted on the train. Other states copied this idea during 

the 1870s. The last travelling post office stopped working in 1985. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1914 

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, triggering 

the Great War. 

The volunteer Australian Imperial Force (AIF) is formed. 

1915 

ANZAC troops land at Gallipoli (25 April). 

Troops are evacuated from Gallipoli in December. 

1916 

Australian forces fi ght at the Western Front: Somme, 

Fromelles, Pozieres. 

The fi rst referendum on conscription is rejected. 

1917 

Battles at Bullecourt, Messines, Ypres and 

Passchendaele. 

The Commonwealth War Graves is established. 

The second referendum on conscription is rejected. 

1918 

Armistice is signed to end fi ghting at 11am, 

11 November. 

1919 

The Treaty of Versailles is signed, offi cially ending 

hostilities between nations. 

1927 

The Menin Gate memorial to soldiers who fought and 

died for the British Empire but who have no known 

grave, is opened. 

1941 

The Australian War Memorial, Canberra, is completed. 

World War I—In Gallipoli 

A new nation 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about World War I and Gallipoli written from a soldier’s 

point of view. 

• Reads text and answers questions about the war effort on the homefront. 


• Discuss the meaning of words and phrases used in Jack’s letter (page 63) and his 

mother’s letter (page 65) that may be unfamiliar with the students; e.g. calling parents 

‘mother’ and ‘father’, comrades, bayoneted, chaps, yards (one yard is equivalent to 90 

cm), trenches, fi eld phone, telegram, vests, muffl ers (like a ‘beanie’), enlist. 

• World War I was the fi rst confl ict that Australia was involved in as a whole nation, 

occurring 14 years after Federation. The manner by which Australian soldiers conducted 

themselves during the war proved that Australia ‘measured up’ as a nation. As for many 

other nations, this war was the most costly in terms of deaths and casualties. Over 

400 000 people enlisted from a population of fewer than 5 000 000. Of these, 60 000 

were killed and more than 150 000 wounded, gassed or captured by the enemy. 

• Enlistment was voluntary and many recruiting campaigns encouraged those eligible to 

enlist. There were people who opposed the war and did not choose to enlist. Some of 

these men were frowned on and received white feathers as a sign of cowardice. It is 

interesting to note that two referendums were held to make enlistment compulsory, one in 

1916 and the other in 1917. Both were defeated by narrow margins. 

• The main way women could assist in the war was by charity work, although many 

wished to take a more active role. The number of women’s organisations or membership 

numbers of organisations increased during the war. Some of these included the Australian 

Red Cross, the Country Women’s Association, the Australian Comforts Fund, the 

Australian Women’s Service Corps and the Women’s Peace Army. 

• The fi ghting ceased in World War I at 11.00 am, 11/11/1918, when Germany agreed to 

an armistice. This was later to become the date and hour Remembrance Day ceremonies 

held each year. 


Answers 

Page 64 

1. Four years 

2. Australian and New Zealand Army Corps 

3. Turkey 

4. Many of those that were wounded died slow and painful deaths from infection. 


6. Possible answers: fear of being killed, severe heat, terrible smell of the dead, tiredness, 

sleeping propped up, living in water-fi lled trenches, hunger. 

7. Answer should indicate that despite the terrible conditions, the troops ‘stuck together’ 

which gave them the strength to cope. 

Page 65 

1. By telegram. 

2. News that he and his comrades were ’sticking together’. 


4. (a) 43 

(b) He wasn’t able to enlist before if he was 40 and people who are 45 or older are too 

old, so he must be 43. 

5. Be 18 years and be a nurse. 



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• Find out about the events that led to World War I. 

• Write a recount of the life of John Simpson, who, with the help of donkeys, fetched the 

wounded or dead lying in the battlefi elds of Gallipoli. 

• Research to fi nd out other countries or regions Australians fought in during World War I 

and the conditions they had to endure. (Belgium, France and the Middle East.) 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

World War I—In Gallipoli – 1 

World War I, also known as the Great War, was fought almost 100 years ago, from 

1914–1918. It was during this war, that Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) 

troops, played a very important part in the military campaign at Gallipoli (Turkey). The troops (the 

‘Anzacs’) coped with terrible conditions over several months and courageously ‘stuck together’ 

and continued to fight. This attitude became known as the ‘Spirit of the Anzacs’. 

This is a letter from an Anzac at Gallipoli to his family. 

7 June 1915 

Dearest Mother, Father and Sister 

A new nation 

I hope this letter finds you all in good health. I cannot say I am in excellent health, but I am 

alive. Many of my comrades are not. Some have been shot, bayoneted or killed by cannon 

fire by the deadly accurate Turks and, fortunately, died instantly. Others have died more 

lingering deaths from gaping wounds becoming infected—it is difficult to treat the wounded. 

They are forced to lie on the battlefield in agony in the heat and the dirt until it is safe to 

fetch them. The smell of the dead bodies is something awful and the flies and fleas are almost 

unbearable. It is said that by October the beastly cold sets in, followed by snow and ice. 

My home is a trench dug in the side of a steep, rocky hill. In fact, the entire area is covered 

with steep cliffs. The Turks have the top positions and it is hard to hide from them. When it 

rains, the trench fills with water. We catch moments of sleep propped up on the side or lying 

in the water. 

My job two days ago was to relieve one of the chaps at the observation post up high, nearer 

the Turks. An underground tunnel leads to it—the diggers did a remarkable job. The Turks 

were only 20 yards away, so close you could hear their mutterings. We had to observe them 

and report any movement. Luckily, the field phone line hadn’t been cut. Otherwise, a runner 

would have had to go to the command post, which takes ages and means ducking bullets inbetween 

trenches. Like in a submarine, we use a periscope to look at the Turks. You have to be 

careful because they shoot at the periscope and the glass at the top can shatter and hit you in 

the face. 

As yet, I have not had to ‘go over the top’. That means climbing 

out of the trenches closest to the enemy in a big wave of men and 

charging towards them, with rifles firing. So far, I have only fired 

from a trench. Once, a Turkish explosive shell burst just outside 

our trench. It killed five chaps at the end closest to it and knocked 

the ‘stuffing’ out of the rest of us. 

Although the conditions are dreadful, and we have seen terrible 

sights of dying and dead men and are hungry, hot, tired and 

scared of what might happen, we give each other strength. We will 

stick together and do the best we can to fight this war. Please take 

strength in this thought. 

I remain your loving son and brother, Jack. 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

World War I—In Gallipoli – 2 


A new nation 

1. For how many years did World War I last? 

2. What do the letters in the word ‘ANZAC’ stand for? 

3. In which country were the Anzacs fi ghting? 

4. Why did Jack think his friends that were killed instantly were lucky? 

5. Explain what Jack had to do and what he had to be careful of at the observation post. 

6. List fi ve hardships, that you haven’t already written about, that Jack had to cope with at 

Gallipoli. 



Display Copy 

7. Explain how the ‘Spirit of the Anzacs’ helped Jack to cope at Gallipoli. 

Some captured Turkish soldiers were full of admiration for the way in which the ANZAC and other 

Allied forces fought at Gallipoli and how accurate they were at shooting. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

World War I—At home 

While Australian troops were fighting the war overseas, Australian men, women and 

children were doing what they could towards the war effort at home. 

The letter below is the mother’s reply to her son’s letter on page 63. In it she mentions some of the 

things people at the homefront were doing to help. 

25 July 1915 

Our dearest Jack 

We have all read your letter many times and fear for your safety but are glad you are alive. We live 

in fear that a knock on the door will be someone with a telegram to inform us you have been killed. 

But we will take strength in knowing you and your comrades ‘will stick together’ (as you wrote). Just 

remember that we are so very proud of you. 

There are so many things we are all doing throughout each day to fi ll our minds with other thoughts. 

The house is often fi lled with women. We knit socks, vests, mittens and mufflers, and sew rabbit skin 

vests and shirts for the Australian Comforts Fund. Some women are working in the jobs of men who 

have enlisted. This is mainly in the food, clothing and printing areas of the workforce. 

Your father is working hard at the bank. Several of the younger men have enlisted. He is thinking 

about enlisting now that the age has been raised from 40 years to 45 years. Like you, your sister wants 

to enlist when she is 18, but only nurses are allowed to be involved. However, she is helping out with 

the Comforts Fund. 

Take care, my son, and write soon. We are all thinking of you. 

Your loving mother, father and sister. 

Answer these questions about the letter on a separate sheet of paper. 

1. How did loved ones fi nd out about family members killed in the war? 

2. What helped Jack’s parents and sister cope with Jack being at war? 

3. Briefl y explain what Jack’s mother is doing to help the war effort. 

4. (a) What is the most likely age of Jack’s father? 

(i) 40 years (ii) 43 (iii) 46 

(b) Why did you choose that answer? 

5. What two things will allow Jack’s sister to be able to enlist? 

A new nation 



Display Copy 

Schoolchildren helped in the war effort by raising money doing odd jobs such as digging gardens and 

cleaning chimneys. They also attended ‘Welcome home’ ceremonies for soldiers returning home and 

for victories. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1918 

End of World War I. 

1927 

Wall Street crashes. 

1928 

Charles Kingsford Smith makes the fi rst fl ight from the 

United States to Australia. 

Bert Hinkler makes the fi rst successful fl ight from 

Britain to Australia. 

1929 

The Great Depression hits Australia. 

1930 

Don Bradman scores a record 452 not out in one 

cricket innings. 

Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup. 

Amy Johnson fl ies solo from Britain to Australia. 

1931 

Sir Douglas Mawson charts 6400 kilometres of 

Antarctic coastline and claims 42% of the continent for 

Australia. 

1932 

Australian unemployment at 29%. 

Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened. 

1934 

A photograph of the alleged Loch Ness Monster is 

taken. 

1936 

The last thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) dies. 

1937 

The radio series Dad and Dave begins. 

1939 

World War II begins. 

The fi rst fl ight is made by an Australian-made 

warplane, a Wirraway. 

The Depression 

A new nation 

Indicators 

• Reads and answers questions about the Great Depression. 

• Plans meals using foods which could be produced at home. 


• Even before the Wall Street Crash on 24 October 1929 (Black Tuesday), unemployment in 

Australia was about 10 per cent. It doubled after the crash and peaked at 29% in 1932. 

A number of factors contributed to this massive decrease in employment opportunities: 

There was a worldwide fall in demand for exports because countries didn’t have the 

money to spend. This affected government spending in Australia, with major projects 

being abandoned along with a signifi cant fall in the housing industry. Australia was 

particularly vulnerable to the worldwide depression because of its reliance on exports of 

its primary produce. 

• There was little welfare assistance available to Australian families and a considerable 

number suffered a great deal. There were long dole queues and many men became 

frustrated and depressed because they couldn’t provide for their families. However, it 

was also a time when people helped others by fundraising and providing mutual support. 

People were encouraged to be self-supportive to grow their own fruit and vegetables and 

to preserve them to be eaten throughout the year. 

• Students may like to work in small groups to complete the activity on page 69. They 

should be encouraged to consider how to provide, for example, fl our for bread, a hot drink 

(perhaps a herbal tea) and a sweetener (perhaps honey). 


Answers 

Page 68 

1. People thought immigrants would take their jobs because they would work for less pay. 

2. (a) The price fell. 

(b) People lost their jobs. 

3. Australia was very dependent on the meat, wool and wheat it exported. 

4.–6. Teacher check 


• Make a list of all the ways people during the depression were able to make use of types 

of farm animals. 

• During the depression, people recycled used goods and items because they had to. There 

was no other choice and they needed to became very good at using their imagination. 

Work in a small group to design and make shoes using only recycled materials. Evaluate 

your shoes using these questions: How strong are they? Could they be worn in the rain? 

Are they comfortable? How long would they last? 

• Find out how people made fl our at home and how they used it to make bread. Show the 

steps of the procedure on a wall chart. 



Display Copy 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

A new nation 

The Depression – 1 

The years between 1929 and 1932 were a very sad time for people in Australia and 

around the world. It was called the ‘Great Depression’. There were very few jobs available and 

many people who wanted to work couldn’t find any. Lots of them left the cities and went to the 

country where they wandered around looking for jobs. By 1932, almost one-third of the population 

was unemployed. Many couldn’t pay rent and families were evicted from their homes. 

There was very little money for dole and 

welfare payments and angry people blamed 

the government. Relief work programs were set 

up to provide jobs, like building roads, but they 

couldn’t employ everyone and pay was poor. 

Immigrant workers were unpopular because 

they worked for less pay and people thought 

they were taking their jobs. There was a lot of 

unhappiness. People didn’t understand how what 

had happened overseas could have changed 

their lives so much. 

In October 1929, the price of shares in the stock 

market in America fell. People panicked and tried 

to sell their shares but no-one wanted to buy 

them and they became almost worthless. Millions 

of dollars were lost in what was called the ‘Wall 

Street crash’. Not a lot of people actually owned 

shares, but it meant that many businesses lost all 

their money and had to close, meaning people lost 

their jobs. Construction projects stopped so raw 

materials were no longer needed. There was very 

little international trade because countries didn’t 

have the money to buy goods. This was terrible 

for Australia because it depended on selling its 

wheat, meat and wool overseas. Australia was 

affected more than most other countries. 

Life was really hard for families. There was little 

money to buy things and people depended on the 

fruit and vegetables they could grow, on chickens 

for eggs and meat, and on cows for milk, cream, 

butter and cheese. Women made clothes for their 

families out of any material they could get hold 

of and not a lot of children had shoes. Everything 

possible was recycled and pieces of cardboard 

were often put inside shoes to cover holes in the 

soles and to make them last longer. 



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Many fathers were away working and mothers 

took any extra cooking, cleaning or washing 

and ironing they could get to help their families. 

Some men were bored and unhappy and started 

drinking; some even became criminals. Many 

children had to leave school early to work and 

others were sent to live with relatives when their 

parents couldn’t afford to feed them. 

After 1932, Australia slowly recovered from 

the depression as world meat and wool prices 

increased. However, people who lived through it 

never forgot it. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The Depression – 2 


1. Why were immigrants unpopular during the Great Depression? 

A new nation 

2. (a) What happened to the price of shares when no-one wanted to buy them? 

(b) What happened to jobs when a business collapsed? 

3. Explain why Australia was affected more than other countries by the depression. 

4. What happened to some children during the depression? 

5. Explain what life was like for some people during the depression. 



Display Copy 

6. Why do you think people who lived through the Great Depression never forgot what it was like? 

The steep, winding road up Mount Wellington in Hobart was a project organised by the government to 

provide jobs during the depression. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Depression menu 

Think about what it would have been like trying to feed a family during the 

depression. Imagine you haven’t got any money to buy food and can only eat 

what you can grow, catch or collect. You live on a farm and can get food from the 

animals you keep. Of course, you know how to prepare all the food. 

1. Make a list of the foods you would be able to use. Would you be able to make bread? 

2. In real life, plan your meals for a day using only food and drink you can get 

without spending money. Try to make your meals interesting and make sure 

they are healthy and would be suitable for a family to eat day after day. (You 

may think of more foods you can add to the box above as you work.) 

Breakfast 

Morning tea 

Lunch 

Afternoon tea 

Dinner 

A new nation 



Display Copy 

3. If you did have some money, what would you buy to add to your menu and make your life 

easier? 

Many schools provided free soup and bread for children during the depression and communities raised 

money to help people. Concerts were held on Bondi Beach to collect money for the ‘vegetable fund’. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1936 

Spanish Civil War begins. 

1939 

Spanish Civil War ends. 

World War II begins. 

1940 

Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in action in North Africa, 

the Mediterranean and the Middle East. 

1941 

Japan enters World War II as a German ally. 

Tobruk falls to Australian forces. 

Australian troops in action in Malaya. 

HMAS Sydney missing, believed sunk. 

1942 

(19 February) First Japanese air raid on Australia 

takes place in Darwin, killing 280 

people. 63 more air raids would follow. 

(3 March) Japanese air raid on Broome, WA 

(killing 70 people), then Wyndham. 

(31 May) Three Japanese midget submarines 

attack Sydney Harbour, sinking the 

HMAS Kuttabul and killing 21 sailors. 

(7 June) Japanese submarine fi res shells at 

Sydney and Newcastle. 

(25 July) The fi rst of three Japanese air raids on 

Townsville occurs. 

(30 July) Japanese air raid on Port Hedland, WA. 

Japanese land on New Guinea. 

Singapore falls to Japanese troops. 

Battle of the Coral Sea. 

Battle of Milne Bay. 

Australia forces hold back Japanese troops on the 

Kokoda Track, New Guinea. 

1943 

(20/21 May) Japanese air raid on Exmouth Gulf, WA. 

(November) Japanese air raids on Darwin end. 

1945 

World War II ends. 

World War II—Australia 

under attack 

A new nation 

Indicators 


• Gives his/her point of view about what should happen to an historical site. 


• Once Japan entered World War II, northern Australia became a target for attacks. 

However, prior to the fi rst air raid on Darwin, most Australians, including military 

authorities, did not believe it would happen. As a result, Australia was largely undefended. 

But Darwin in particular was a threat to the Japanese—it was being used as an Allied 

military base and transit point for Java and Timor, which the Japanese wished to capture. 

• By September 1943, the Japanese had conducted 97 air raids on northern Australia. By 

far the worst was the fi rst air raid on Darwin. The raid caused great panic in the city and 

civilians and some military offi cers escaped as soon as they could. 

• As well as air raids, the Japanese attacked by sea. In the months following the attacks on 

Sydney Harbour by midget submarines in May 1942, merchant ships and a hospital ship 

were attacked in Australian waters, causing the loss of hundreds of lives. 

• The texts used on page 71 are fi ctional eyewitness accounts, based on factual 

information. In particular, the events related by the fi ctional sailor on HMAS Kuttabul are 

based on the experiences of a sailor who slept through the beginning of the attacks. 

In fact, most of the 21 men who died on HMAS Kuttabul drowned in their hammocks. 

Discuss with students how eyewitness accounts are primary sources and will contain 

subjective comments about events, along with important factual information. In the 

activity on page 73, students can read the text individually or as a class and discuss how 

they feel about war and what they think should be done with the midget submarine. They 

can then complete the questions individually and discuss their opinions with a partner. 

These can be reported to the class and/or used as the basis for a formal debate. 


Answers 

Page 72 

1. Eight ships were sunk and 10 damaged; parts of the town were destroyed; the military 

airfi eld was attacked and around 243 people were killed. 

2. Feb. 1942: The fi rst Japanese air raid on Australia occurred. 

March 1942: The Japanese bombed Broome. 

May 1942: Three Japanese midget submarines attacked Sydney Harbour. 

June 1942: A Japanese submarine fi red shells at Sydney and Newcastle. 

Nov. 1943: The last Japanese air raid on Darwin occurred. 


4. Australia was attacked for the fi rst time. 

5. Answers will vary, but may include the following: Both attacks took place in a harbour; 

they both had to dodge shrapnel; they were both taken by surprise. 

6. (a) 3 (b) 64 (c) 21 



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• Research to fi nd out what evidence of the Japanese air raids is left in Darwin today (e.g. 

memorials). 

• Write eyewitness accounts based on other Japanese air raids on Australia. 

• Create a map of Sydney Harbour in 1942, showing prominent landmarks, the position of 

Allied vessels and the routes taken by the Japanese submarines. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

World War II—Australia under attack – 1 

World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. When Britain declared war 

on Germany, Australia joined the Allied forces, sending soldiers to fight overseas. Then Japan 

joined the war as a German ally in 1941 and Australia was attacked … 

Attacks by air 

‘I was working in Darwin as a wharfi e when 

the Japanese air raid occurred—the fi rst and 

most disastrous attack on Australia. The date 

is etched in my memory: 19 February 1942. 

Darwin was a military base then. There were 

47 naval and merchant ships in the harbour. 

‘The air raid took us all by surprise. I had 

just fi nished work for the day when I heard 

an air raid siren, followed by the drone of 

aeroplanes. I looked up and was horrifi ed to 

see the sky fi lled with Japanese bombers and 

fi ghter planes. I later found out there were 188 

of them. People began screaming, shouting 

and running, trying to dodge shrapnel. The 

bombs were exploding all around me. This 

was the fi rst wave of bombers and it sank 

eight ships and damaged 10 others. Parts of 

the town were destroyed too. Soon after, a 

second wave of bombers attacked Darwin’s 

military airfi eld. Together, the two waves killed 

about 243 people. There would be another 63 

Japanese air raids on Darwin. They ended in 

November 1943.’ 

In March 1942, the Japanese also bombed 

Broome (WA) killing 70 people. There were 

also raids on Wyndham, Port Hedland and 

Exmouth (WA) and Townsville (Qld). 

A new nation 

Attacks by sea 

‘In May 1942, I was a sailor in the Australian 

navy when three Japanese midget submarines 

attacked Sydney Harbour. The submarines’ 

main target was the American warship USS 

Chicago. On the night of 31 May, I was on 

HMAS Kuttabul, an old ferry moored in the 

harbour near Chicago. I was asleep when the 

fi rst submarine reached the harbour. It got 

tangled in an anti-torpedo net and the trapped 

Japanese crew blew up the submarine. A 

second submarine was then seen by Chicago’s 

crew. They opened fi re but didn’t hit it. 

‘About midnight, unaware of the drama, I 

was on the deck of Kuttabul on my way to 

watch duty when the second submarine fi red 

a torpedo at Chicago. But it missed and hit us! 

The explosion lifted Kuttabul out of the water. 

The noise was deafening and shrapnel was 

fl ying about so I dropped to the fl oor. Then the 

ferry began to sink. I had to jump overboard. 

Nineteen Australian and 2 British sailors died 

on Kuttabul that night. The third submarine 

was sunk by Allied forces before it did any 

damage.’ 



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In June 1942, a Japanese submarine also fi red 

shells at Sydney and Newcastle. 

No-one was killed. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

World War II—Australia under attack – 2 


1. Describe the outcome of the fi rst Japanese air raid on Darwin. 

A new nation 

2. Complete the time line. 

Feb. 1942 

March 1942 

May 1942 

June 1942 

Nov. 1943 

3. Explain how you think you would have felt if you had been on board HMAS Kuttabul when it 

was torpedoed. 

4. What consequence did Japan becoming a German ally have on Australia? 

5. List two similarities between the two writers’ experiences. 

6. Complete these number facts. 

(a) 

(b) A total of 

(c) 



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midget submarines attacked Sydney Harbour. 

Japanese air raids took place in Darwin. 

sailors were killed on Kuttabul. 

The Japanese conducted air raids on Darwin because it was used as a base for sending troops and 

aircraft to the islands of Java and Timor, which the Japanese wished to capture. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The spoils of war 

Two of the midget submarines which attacked Sydney Harbour in 1942 were recovered 

soon afterwards. The front section of one and the back section of the other were put together 

to make one submarine. This was displayed to raise funds for the Australian navy and merchant 

navy sailors. 

The four Japanese crew who died on the submarines were given a 

military funeral in Sydney. The admiral who was in charge of Sydney 

Harbour’s defences believed it was important to honour and 

respect these brave men who had given their lives 

for their country. However, many Australians at 

the time did not agree. 

A new nation 

The fate of the submarine which had torpedoed 

the Kuttabul remained a mystery until it was discovered wrecked, in November 2006 by scuba 

divers. The wreck is now protected as a heritage site and war grave. Memorial services and 

ceremonies have been held in honour of the crew who died on board. 

1. Some people think that the wreck of this submarine should be raised and displayed in a 

museum. Write two arguments for and against this idea. Use the information above and the 

text on page 71 to help you. 

For 

Against 



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2. Explain what you think should be done with the submarine and why. Discuss your ideas with a 

partner. 

Before the Japanese launched their midget submarines, they sent a plane to fly over Sydney Harbour 

to bring back information about any Allied ships that were anchored there. However, although the 

plane flew as low as 30 metres, no-one spotted it! 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1815 

Henry Parkes born. 

1825 

Catherine Helen Spence born. 

1839 

Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence move to 

Australia. 

1842 

Henry Parkes publishes his fi rst book of verse, Stolen 

moments. 

1854 

Catherine Helen Spence’s fi rst novel published. 

1856 

Catherine Helen Spence’s second novel published. 

1866 

Henry Parkes becomes a minister for the fi rst time. 

1872 

Henry Parkes’ fi rst term as Premier of NSW. 

1877 

Henry Parkes knighted. 

Henry Parkes’ second term as Premier of NSW. 

1878 

Sir Henry Parkes’ third term as Premier of NSW. 

‘Advance Australia Fair’ fi rst played and sung in 

Sydney. 

1887 

Sir Henry Parkes’ fourth term as Premier of NSW. 

1888 

Centennial Park in Sydney is created. 

1889 

Sir Henry Parkes’ fi fth term as Premier of NSW. 

Sir Henry Parkes delivers the Tenterfi eld Oration. 

1896 

Sir Henry Parkes dies. 

1897 

Catherine Helen Spence becomes fi rst female 

candidate to stand for federal election. 

The $5 faces 

People and politics 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence. 

• Considers present-day Australians who might be chosen to appear on a banknote. 


• Before students complete page 77, discuss ways in which the survey can be carried out 

and choose the method which best suits the class. 

• Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence appear on the special centenary of 

federation issue of the $5 note. Notes of the lowest denomination generally have images 

of symbols of state. 

• The regular $5 note has the face of HRH Queen Elizabeth II on the front and an image of 

Parliament House, Canberra, on the reverse. 

• Although achieving great success in his political career, the private and fi nancial life of 

Sir Henry Parkes was besieged with diffi culties. Before emigrating to Australia, he moved 

around Britain as his father searched for work to support his large family. Henry Parkes 

sought work as a labourer and also began a business which failed. He moved to Australia 

as a bounty migrant in 1839. He tried a number of jobs and opened his own business but, 

by 1850, he was in fi nancial diffi culty. 

• He turned his attention to poetry and politics. He worked hard and became a recognised 

fi gure in society. 

• In 1866, he formed a coalition in New South Wales with the Premier, James Martin. 

• His fi rst speech in support of Federation was in March 1867 at the Inter-colonial 

Conference. After his speech, delegates from the conference called for the establishment 

of a federal council. 

• Catherine Helen Spence’s fi rst impression of Australia was not a favourable one. She is 

reported to have said that it made her feel ‘inclined to go and cut my throat’. After seven 

months growing wheat on a 32 ha farm in South Australia, the family happily moved to 

Adelaide when Spence’s father became the town clerk. 

• Spence’s talent for writing and her insatiable appetite for knowledge led her to writing 

books and a career in journalism. 

• Rejecting two marriage proposals, Spence chose to dedicate her life to raising awareness 

of the plight of many women and children and doing what she could to improve their 

lives. 


Answers 

Page 76 

Teacher check 



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• Sketch a portrait of Sir Henry Parkes or Catherine Helen Spence in the centre of an A3 

sheet of paper. Frame the sketch with facts about the person. 

• Study all the images of the $5 note. Produce a $5 note poster with sketches of each 

image and important information about each one. 

• Research the history and current use of Sydney’s Centennial Park. Design and produce an 

information fl yer including a map and places of interest within the park. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


The $5 faces – 1 

Each person depicted on an Australian banknote has contributed, in some way, to 

the development of the nation. Sir Henry Parkes appeared on the front, and Catherine Helen 

Spence on the reverse, of the special centenary of Federation $5 note issued on 1 January 2001. 

Sir Henry Parkes 

Father of Federation 

Sir Henry Parkes was born in England in 1815. 

He and his wife moved to Australia in 1839, 

where Parkes began a successful political 

career for which he was knighted in 1877. 

He was involved in developing policy on a 

number of important social issues, including 

health and education, and played a major role 

in ending the transportation of convicts to 

Australia. 

Sir Henry Parkes was an excellent, fl amboyant 

speaker who always aimed to convince an 

audience that he was the man who should be 

listened to, believed in and voted for. His most 

memorable speech is the Tenterfi eld Oration, 

delivered in October 1889, in which he pledged 

his full support for Australian Federation. 

Centennial Park is the legacy left to the people 

of Sydney by Sir Henry Parkes. It is fi tting that 

this is where the Federation celebrations were 

held on 1 January 1901, almost fi ve years after 

the death of the Father of Federation. 

Catherine Helen Spence 

Grand old woman of Australia 

Catherine Helen Spence was born in Scotland 

in 1825 and moved to Australia with her 

parents and siblings in 1839. She knew from 

a young age that she wanted to write and in 

1854 her fi rst novel was published. 

She became Australia’s fi rst professional 

female journalist, reporting regularly for the 

Adelaide Register and occasionally for other 

South Australian newspapers. 

Catherine Helen Spence was a tireless social 

and political campaigner and, as a popular 

public speaker, she travelled the world giving 

many lectures and speeches to full capacity 

crowds. 

Through her efforts, South Australia became 

the fi rst state in the world to give women 

the right to vote and to stand for a seat in 

federal parliament. In 1897, she became the 

fi rst female political candidate in Australia 

to stand for federal election, 

although her attempt was 

unsuccessful. 



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died in 1910, leaving 

her autobiography 

uncompleted. A statue 

honouring her contribution 

to public life was erected 

in Adelaide’s Light 

Square in 1986. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The $5 faces – 2 



1. Complete the table for Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence. 

Year of birth 

Place of birth 

Year moved to Australia 

Home city 

Key issues fought for 

Other issues fought for 

Adjectives to describe 

Also known as … 

Year of death 

Sir Henry Parkes 




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2. At the time Sir Henry Parkes and Catherine Helen Spence were alive, politicians were unpaid. 

Considering this, what sort of people do you think they might have been? 

Sir Henry Parkes was Premier of New South Wales five times between 1872 and 1891. He was once 

described as, ‘the most commanding figure in Australian politics’. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Today’s $5 faces 

The people whose faces appear on Australian banknotes have been 

chosen because they represent, in some way, the life and history of the nation. 

There are many people alive today who could be chosen for this honour. 

1. In a group, choose four people alive today who you believe should be on a 

banknote. State briefl y your reason for choosing each person. 

Name 

2. (a) Conduct a survey in your class to fi nd out which two people should go on the special 

banknote. Draw their images below. 

Front of note 

Reason 

Reverse of note 


(b) What other images, relating to each person, would you include on each side of the note? 



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Front of note 

Reverse of note 

3. Using a sheet of A4 paper, sketch the front and reverse images of your special banknote. 

When she delivered a sermon to an Adelaide congregation in 1878, Catherine Helen Spence became 

South Australia’s first female preacher. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1939–1941 

Robert Menzies is Prime Minister. 

1939 

John Winston Howard is born. 

1949–1966 

Menzies is Prime Minister again. 

1971 

Howard marries Alison Janette Parker. 

1974 

Howard enters parliament, winning the federal seat of 

Bennelong. 

1975 

Howard made Minister of Business and Consumer 

Affairs. 

1977 

Howard becomes Treasurer. 

1982 

Howard elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. 

1983 

Howard becomes Deputy Leader of Opposition. 

1985 

Howard elected Leader of the Opposition. 

1989 

Howard loses Liberal leadership. 

1995 

Howard becomes leader once again. 

1996 

Howard becomes Prime Minister. 

2007 

Howard fails to win fi fth term as Prime Minister and 

loses the federal seat of Bennelong. 

John Howard 


Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about John Howard, the 25th Prime Minister of 

Australia. 

• Completes a time line showing the names of Australian Prime Ministers and the dates 

they served. 


• In Australia, the Prime Minister is the head of government. He or she holds offi ce by 

commission of the Governor-General, who represents the Queen (the head of state). The 

Prime Minister is also the leader of the political party with majority support in the House of 

Representatives. 

• Useful websites that will help students to complete the time line on page 81 include: 

 

 


Answers 

Page 80 

1. (a) 26 July 1939 

(b) three older brothers 

(c) Earlwood Primary School 

(d) debating, rugby and cricket 

(e) walking, golf, watching rugby and cricket 

2. (a) John Howard is Australia’s second longest serving Prime Minister. 

(b) John Howard was Prime Minister for eleven years. 

(c) John Howard beat Kim Beazley’s party twice to remain as Prime Minister. 

3. Prime Minister/minister/Treasurer/Leader of the Liberal Party/Deputy Leader of the 

Liberal Party/Leader of the Opposition 


Page 81 

1901–03 Sir Edmund Barton 1903–04 Alfred Deakin 1904 Chris Watson 

1904–05 Sir George Reid 1905–08 Alfred Deakin 1908–09 Andrew Fisher 

1909–10 Alfred Deakin 1910–13 Andrew Fisher 1913–14 Joseph Cook 

1914–15 Andrew Fisher 1915–23 Billy Hughes 1923–29 Stanley Bruce 

1929–32 James Scullin 1932–39 Joseph Lyons 1939 Sir Earle Page 

1939–41 Robert Menzies 1941 Arthur Fadden 1941–45 John Curtin 

1945 Frank Forde 1945–49 Ben Chifl ey 1949–66 Sir Robert Menzies 

1966–67 Harold Holt 1967–68 John McEwen 1968–71 John Gorton 

1971–72 William McMahon 1972–75 Gough Whitlam 1975–83 Malcolm Fraser 

1983–91 Bob Hawke 1991–96 Paul Keating 1996–2007 John Howard 

2007–present Kevin Rudd 


• Research information about another Australian Prime Minister and write a report about 

him. Share with the class. 

• Browse through a website such as: 

 

which is specifi cally set up for children and contains personal photographs and facts 

about the current Prime Minister and information about Parliament House. 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


John Howard – 1 

John Winston Howard was the 25th person to become the Prime Minister of 

Australia, leading the Liberal Party. After Sir Robert Menzies, who helped form the Liberal 

Party, John Howard is the longest serving Australian Prime Minister. Menzies served for more 

than 18 years from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. Howard was Prime Minister from 

1996 to 2007. 

The youngest of four boys, Howard was born on 

26 July 1939. He grew up in the Sydney suburb 

of Earlwood. As a young boy, Howard worked in 

petrol stations run by his father and grandfather. 

His father died when he was 16, leaving his 

mother to bring up John and his brothers. He 

went to Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury 

Boys’ High School. In secondary school, he was 

a member of the debating, rugby and cricket 

teams. When he left school, Howard studied law 

and became a solicitor. 

In 1971, John Howard married Janette Parker. 

They have three adult children, Melanie, Tim and 

Richard, and a grandchild. When Howard was 

Prime Minister, he enjoyed a daily walk, playing 

golf and watching cricket, rugby league and 

AFL. 

Howard fi rst entered parliament in 1974 when 

he won the federal seat of Bennelong in Sydney. 

When the Liberal Party won the 1975 election, 

Howard was fi rst made a minister and later had 

the important job of Treasurer. 

After winning and then losing the position of 

Leader of the Liberal Party, Howard was once 

again voted the leader in 1995. He became 

Prime Minister after the Labor Party, led by Paul 

Keating, was beaten at the 1996 election. Howard 

won a second and third term as Prime Minister 

in 1998 and 2001 when Kim Beazley was the 

Leader of the Opposition. In 2004, Howard won 

a fourth term when Mark Latham was Leader of 

the Opposition. 

He stood for a fi fth term in 2007 but was beaten 

by the Labor Party, led by Kevin Rudd. 

During his time as Prime Minister, John Howard 

had to make important decisions about many 

matters. Some of the Australian people agreed 

with his decisions, while disagreeing with others. 



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Some of these were: 

• cutting the amount of money the government 

spent in many areas so the government would 

not owe money 

• introducing a new tax called the Goods and 

Services Tax (GST) 

• sending a peacekeeping force to help the 

people of East Timor gain independence from 

Indonesia 

• sending army and navy troops to Iraq to help 

with the invasion of Iraq. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

John Howard – 2 


1. Answer these personal facts about John Howard. 


(a) When was he born? 

(b) How many brothers/sisters does he have? 

(c) Name of his primary school? 

(d) Hobbies at high school? 

(e) Hobbies as an adult? 

2. Rewrite these sentences so they are true. 

(a) John Howard is Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister. 

(b) John Howard was Prime Minister for eighteen years. 

(c) John Howard’s party beat Paul Keating’s party twice to remain as Prime Minister. 

3. List three titles John Howard had as a member of parliament. 

4. In your own words, explain two decisions Howard had to make as Prime Minister. 

• 



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• 

Part of the regular duties of a Prime Minister is to debate issues in Parliament, do radio and TV 

interviews, attend events and meetings and make speeches. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Prime Ministers of Australia 

Complete this table of the 26 Prime Ministers Australia has had to date. You will 

notice some have been Prime Minister more than once. You need to fill in the missing dates 

or names. Use the library or websites your teacher will give you to find the information. 

1901–1903 

Sir Edmund Barton 

1903–1904 

Chris Watson 

1904–1905 

Alfred Deakin 

1908–1909 

Alfred Deakin 

1910–1913 

Joseph Cook 

1914–1915 

Billy Hughes 

Stanley Bruce 

1949–1966 

Harold Holt 

1929–1932 1967–1968 

Joseph Lyons 

John Gorton 

1939 1971–1972 

Robert Menzies 

Gough Whitlam 

1941 1975–1983 



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John Curtin 

Robert Hawke 

1945 1991–1996 

Ben Chifl ey 

Three Prime Ministers have died while in office. Joseph 

Lyons and John Curtin both died of natural causes. Harold 

Holt went missing while swimming in rough sea and is 

presumed to have drowned. 

John Howard 

2007–present 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Nuclear testing 


Time line 

1952 

(3 October) Britain explodes its fi rst nuclear bomb in 

the Montebello Islands, off the WA coast. 

1953 

(15 and 27 October) Britain explodes two nuclear 

devices at Emu Field, SA. 

1956 

(16 May/19 June) Britain explodes two nuclear devices 

at the Montebello Islands. 

(27 September/4, 11, 22 October) Britain explodes four 

nuclear devices at Maralinga, SA. 

1957 

(14 and 25 September/9 October) Britain explodes 

three nuclear devices at Maralinga. 

(15 and 31 May/19 June) Britain explodes three 

nuclear devices on Malden Island. 

(8 November) Britain explodes a nuclear device on 

Christmas Island. 

1958 

(28 April/22 August/2, 11, 23 September) Britain 

explodes fi ve nuclear devices on Christmas Island. 

1960 

Britain conducts the fi rst of its minor nuclear weapons 

tests involving plutonium, uranium and beryllium at 

Maralinga. Further tests would be conducted here until 

1963. 

1966 

France begins nuclear testing in the South Pacifi c. 

1968 

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT) opens for 

signatures. 

1974 

India conducts underground nuclear test. 

1992 

France stops nuclear testing in the South Pacifi c. 

1995 

France resumes nuclear testing in the South Pacifi c. 

2006 

India and United States sign a nuclear agreement. 

2007 

India and Pakistan sign an agreement to reduce the 

risk of nuclear war between the two nations. 

Indicators 


• Creates an information leafl et about nuclear tests in Australia. 


• Britain also conducted nuclear weapons tests at Malden Island in the Pacifi c and 

Christmas Island (before it became an Australian territory.) In addition, it conducted tests 

in Nevada in cooperation with the USA between 1962 and 1991. 

• The USA conducted nuclear testing at Christmas Island in 1962 after it became an 

Australian territory. 

• In total, the British exploded 12 major nuclear bombs in Australia. The codenames for the 

British nuclear tests in Australia were: 

Operation Hurricane 1952 Montebello Islands 

Operation Totem 1953 Emu Field 

Operation Mosaic 1956 Montebello Islands 

Operation Buffalo 1956 Maralinga 

Operation Antler 1957 Maralinga 

Operations Kitten, Tims, Rats and Vixen were codenames for minor trials involving 

plutonium, uranium and beryllium conducted at Maralinga up until 1963. 

• Britain organised a clean-up operation at Maralinga in 1967, (Operation Brumby), which 

had little effect. After the clean-up, the site was offi cially closed. In 1984, the Australian 

government established a Royal Commission to investigate the safety standards 

observed during the British nuclear tests and the disposal of toxic waste, focusing on 

Maralinga. It was found that signifi cant radiation hazards still existed at Maralinga. In 

2000, after a lengthy clean up, the site was fi nally declared clean and safe for use by its 

traditional Aboriginal owners. 

• Many victims of the British nuclear tests in Australia are still seeking compensation today. 

• The text used on page 83 is a report—a secondary source. Explain to the students that 

because the nuclear tests in Australia were so secretive, it is diffi cult to locate some 

facts about them. In the activity on page 85, the tests can be discussed as a class 

before the students complete the activity individually or in pairs. Resource materials will 

be required. Ensure the students write notes in their plans. They should also use short 

sentences and eye-catching artwork in their leafl ets to entice a member of the general 

public to read them. Once completed, the leafl ets can be compared and common 

features noted. 




Display Copy 

Answers 

Page 84 

1. 1952 Montebello islands Britain’s fi rst nuclear bomb detonated 

1953 Emu Field Two nuclear devices exploded 

1956 Montebello islands Further nuclear tests 

1956 Maralinga First lot of seven nuclear devices tested 

1957 Maralinga Second lot of seven nuclear devices tested 

1960–1963 Maralinga Minor tests 


3. (a) false (b) true (c) true (d) true 


• Read eyewitness accounts of the British nuclear tests in Australia. 

• Research to write fact fi les about the Montebello Islands, Emu Field and Maralinga today. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Nuclear testing – 1 

In the 1950s and 1960s, Britain conducted nuclear weapons tests on Australian 

soil—at Emu Field, Maralinga and the Montebello Islands. Britain, along with the USA and 

the Soviet Union, had begun developing its own nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Australia seemed 

like a good place for testing the weapons as many parts of it were sparsely populated. 

The reasons 

Why would the Australian Government allow such a thing to 

happen? Some of the reasons were: 

• Australia was part of the British Empire, so most Australians 

felt loyal to Britain, the ‘motherland’. The Australian Prime 

Minister, Robert Menzies, also hoped that hosting the tests 

would encourage Britain to help Australia in times of war. 

• The exact nature of the tests were kept secret by the British Government. 

• No-one fully understood the devastating environmental and health problems that the 

radiation from nuclear explosions could cause—although it was known that it was harmful 

to people’s health. 

The tests 

• In October 1952, the British detonated their fi rst nuclear bomb from a ship near the Montebello 

Islands off the northern coast of WA. Further nuclear tests occurred here in 1956. 

• In October 1953, two nuclear devices were exploded at Emu Field in the Great Victoria 

Desert in SA. 

• In 1956 and 1957, a total of seven nuclear devices were exploded at Maralinga, in southwestern 

South Australia. There were also hundreds of minor tests conducted here between 

1960 and 1963. 



Display Copy 

The outcomes 

• The tests exposed British, Australian and New Zealand military personnel (who were wearing 

little or no protective gear) to dangerous radioactive fallout. Thousands of people who lived 

near or downwind of the test sites (including Aboriginal people living in remote areas) were 

also exposed to radioactivity. Many of these people have since suffered from terrible health 

problems such as cancer. 

• The tests poisoned the soil at the test sites. There have been ‘clean-ups’ at Maralinga and 

Emu Field to remove or bury the soil. In 2000, Maralinga was declared to be clean and safe 

for its traditional owners to live in. 

• An unknown amount of radioactive waste from the testing near the Montebello Islands was 

dumped in the sea. It is not clear what effect this has had on the environment. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Nuclear testing – 2 


1. Complete the table about British nuclear weapons testing in Australia. 


Year Location Details of tests 

1952 

Emu Field 

1956 Further nuclear tests 

1960–1963 

Maralinga 

2. If you had been the Australian Prime Minister in the 1950s, 

would you have allowed nuclear testing to take place? 

Give reasons. 

First lot of seven nuclear devices tested 



Display Copy 


(a) The British Government was open about the nature 

of the tests it wanted to conduct in Australia. 

(b) Australia felt loyalty to Britain in the 1950s. 

(c) Radioactive fallout can cause cancer. 

(d) It is considered safe to live in Maralinga today. 

The nuclear tests held by Britain in Australia were so secretive, they had codenames. Some of 

these were Operation Hurricane and Operation Antler. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Have your say 

In 1952, the Australian public were told that nuclear tests by the British would be 

taking place. However, the exact details of the tests were kept secret. People were also not 

fully aware of the outcomes of nuclear testing. 

1. Imagine you can travel back in time to Australia in the early 1950s. You decide to hand out a 

four-page leafl et to the public to warn them about the British tests. Your aim is to encourage 

people to protest. Plan your leafl et in note form in the space below. You can use page 83 of 

this book as well as the Internet or other resources, to help you. 

Page 1: Cover page 

List images and words you wish to use that will grab 

people’s attention and make them want to read on. 

Page 2: Information 

Explain what the British are planning to do. Show the 

locations on a map. 

Page 3: Information 

Defi ne radioactive fallout. List some of the problems 

it can cause. Sketch a simple drawing of a nuclear 

explosion. 

Page 4: Appeal 

Write what you think the public should do to try and 

stop the testings. List any images you wish to use. 



Display Copy 

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies agreed to the British nuclear tests in Australia in 

1951, but the Australian public weren’t informed until the following year. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Sydney’s icons 

Modern Australia 

Time line 

1815 

Francis Greenway proposes building a bridge from the 

northern to the southern shore of Sydney Harbour. 

1836 

Arc de Triomphe in Paris is completed. 

1883 

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, is opened to the public. 

1889 

Eiffel Tower built for the International Exhibition of Paris. 

1922 

Worldwide tenders for the Sydney Harbour Bridge are 

invited. 

1924 

Construction of the bridge begins. 

1931 

Empire State Building, New York City, is opened. 

1932 

Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened to the public. 

1937 

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, is opened to the 

public. 

1957 

Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, wins the design 

competition for the Sydney Opera House. 

1958 

Construction of the Sydney Opera House begins. 

1966 

Utzon resigns from the building project. 

1973 

Sydney Opera House is opened. 

1981 

The Beehive, Wellington, New Zealand is completed. 

Indicators 


• Writes an exaggerated account of an event. 


• When reading the text, students may be encouraged to think: 

– how the bridge would have made a difference to the lives of the people of Sydney, 

connecting the northern and southern shores of the harbour and providing so many 

people with work during the years of the Depression. 

– how the opera house might have been viewed by most people. Would everyone be 

likely to attend performances there? Did people appreciate having a building site on 

the harbourside for such a long time? 

• For the student activity on page 89, it is important that the students deliberately 

exaggerate their writing to emphasise how different accounts of the same event can be 

varied; for example: 

– an offi cial version would include facts about who de Groot was and why he 

interrupted the ceremony, 

– a media version would offer a more descriptive, sensational account of the incident 

and the effect it had on the offi cials and the crowd, 

– spectators’ versions would vary depending on how close each person was to the 

action, who the audience was and how prone to exaggeration the storyteller was. 

In comparing their work, students will appreciate the importance of looking at a number 

of sources to obtain a more accurate account of an event. 


Answers 

Page 88 

1. (a) Sydney 

(b) Port Jackson 

2. (a) Harbour Bridge 

(b) 41 


4. building the roof, cost 




Display Copy 


• Research the convict past of Sir Francis Greenway, the architect who fi rst proposed 

building a bridge across Sydney Harbour. 

• Sydney Opera House is located on Bennelong Point, the site of the city’s old bus station. 

Who was Bennelong and why was the site named after him? 

• The Royal Botanic Gardens, next to the Sydney Opera House, overlook Farm Cove. 

Research the signifi cance of this name and former use of the land on which the gardens 

now stand. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Sydney’s icons – 1 

Two of the most recognised built features of the Australian landscape are both situated 

in the city which developed from the country’s first settlement, Port Jackson, over 200 years 

ago. 

Sydney Harbour Bridge 

Often referred to as the ‘Coathanger’, Sydney 

Harbour Bridge took 1400 men eight years to 

build. It cost twice as much as originally expected 

and also took the lives of 16 men. Finally, with 

great pomp and ceremony, the magnifi cent arch 

was ready to be opened to the public in March, 

1932. But things did not go quite as smoothly as 

planned. 

Jack Lang, Premier of New South Wales, was 

due to cut the ribbon and offi cially declare the 

bridge open. As he prepared himself for the task, 

a man on horseback dressed in military uniform 

came swiftly forward and slashed the ribbon with 

his sword. Francis de Groot was arrested for the 

incident and the ribbon retied so the ceremony 

could continue without further incident. 

Most people use the bridge for crossing the 

harbour, but there have been other ideas for its 

use. During the Second World War, a number 

of aircraft were fl own under the bridge in 

spectacular displays. In one show, a 

pilot changed the fl ight path of his 

aircraft just in time to fl y over 

the bridge. 

Climbing the bridge to take in the spectacular 

views of the harbour and surrounding area 

has become a very popular attraction 

in Sydney. Since 1998, people 

have been allowed to make 

the climb in organised 

groups. At the top, 

the amazing view is 

worth the effort of 

the tough climb. 

Sydney Opera House 

A ship in full sail was the image Danish architect, 

Jorn Utzon, had in mind when he entered his 

unusual design for the Sydney Opera House. The 

international popularity of the building disguises 

the serious problems that occurred during its 15 

years of construction. 

The diffi culty of building the roof was a major 

cause for concern but far greater than this was 

the cost which spiralled out of control. The 

situation became so bad that Utzon resigned 

from the project in 1966. The Opera House was 

fi nally completed in 1973 and offi cially opened by 

Queen Elizabeth II in October of the same year. 



Display Copy 

The problems encountered in the construction 

of Australia’s most famous buildings have faded 

with the passing of time and Australians will 

always be proud of the country’s two 

landmark constructions. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Sydney’s icons – 2 



1. (a) In which city are the Harbour Bridge and Opera House situated? 

(b) What was the former name of this city? 

2. (a) Which of the two Australian icons was built fi rst? 

(b) How many years apart were the opening ceremonies for each? Circle the answer. 

45 31 55 41 35 51 

3. Write one fact and one opinion about each construction. 

Harbour 

Bridge 

Opera 

House 

4. What were the two main problems with the construction of the Opera 

House? 

5. If you were given the chance to climb the bridge or to fl y in an aircraft under it, which would 

you choose? Give reasons for your answer. 

I would choose: 

Fact 

Opinion 



Display Copy 

• Sydney Harbour Bridge is the widest long-span bridge in the world. 

• There are over one million tiles on the roof of Sydney Opera House. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The grand opening 

The startling event that occurred as Jack Lang was about to 

cut the ribbon at the official opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge 

would have been recorded in a number of ways including: 

• an official version • a media version • spectators’ versions. 

How an event is recorded affects how it is viewed in future years. 

For this reason, it is important to study different versions of the same 

event when finding out what happened in the past. 

1. Imagine you were a spectator on the bridge when Francis de Groot 

rode up on his horse. Describe the event to make it sound as 

exciting and interesting as possible. 

What was going on around you before the event occurred? 

What was the atmosphere like? 

Describe the event and how people reacted to it. 



Display Copy 

2. Compare your version of the event with that of a partner. 

Write the similarities and differences between the two versions. 


Similarities 

Differences 

Australian comedian Paul Hogan was once a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Time line 

1840 

Treaty of Waitangi signed. (New Zealand) 

1924 

Australian Aborigines Progressive Association (AAPA) 

formed in Sydney. 

1932 

Australian Aborigines League formed by William Cooper. 

Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe, gave 

Treaty House at Waitangi to the New Zealand people. 

1934 

First Waitangi Day celebrations (6 February). 

1935/7 

Petition presented to Australian Federal Government to 

ask for Aboriginal representation in parliament—but no 

response is given. 

1938 

(26 January) First ‘Day of Mourning’ held for Aboriginal 

Australians. 

1940 

‘Aboriginal Sunday’ observed by some Australian 

churches. 

Centennial of signing the Treaty of Waitangi. 

1957 

National Aborigines Day Observance Committee 

(NADOC) formed. 

1967 

Referendum held to decide to include Aboriginal 

Australians in census. 

1971 

United Nations’ International Year for Action to Combat 

Racism and Racial Discrimination. 

1972 

Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs established. 

1975 

Aboriginal Sunday becomes National Aborigines’ Week. 

1988 

‘NADOC’ becomes ‘NAIDOC’ to acknowledge Torres 

Strait Islanders. 

mid-1990s—2005 

ATSIC assumes control of NAIDOC Week. 

2008 

Federal Parliament offers an offi cial apology to the 

‘stolen generations’ on behalf of the Australian 

Government. 

NAIDOC Week 


Indicators 


• Analyses and compares two pieces of music. 


• NAIDOC week (held in the fi rst full week of July each year) evolved as the result of a long 

history of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander efforts to bring issues of concern 

to the attention of governments and the general public. Several attempts have been made 

by the Aboriginal community to raise awareness of the struggle of their people, such 

as the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association (AAPA) in 1924 and the Australian 

Aborigines League in 1932; a call for the representation of Aboriginals in Parliament 

in 1935/7; the suggestion that a day of mourning be held on Australia Day to stir the 

conscience of non-Aboriginal Australia in 1937 and a call for new policies for Aboriginal 

affairs, citizenship status and rights to land. 

• The text on page 91 is a diary entry. Discuss with students that diary entries can be 

primary or secondary sources, but, in this case, the entry is a secondary resource as the 

writer did not experience any of the historical events mentioned. 

• Tracks of traditional and contemporary Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander music can be 

legally sampled on the Internet. The chosen tracks should be instrumental and contrast in 

some way (e.g. one traditional track and one contemporary track; one slow track and one 

faster track). Traditional instruments that are used in the tracks, such as the didgeridoo, 

can be discussed before the students begin the activity. Introduce the activity by reading 

through the worksheet and then have the students listen to the tracks once without 

writing or drawing anything. The students may like to close their eyes to help them 

concentrate on the music. Each track can be then played again, allowing the students 

time to write/draw about each one. When the students have completed the worksheet, 

teachers could reveal what each track was about, if relevant. The students could share 

their answers within a small group or with the class, noting similarities and differences 

between different students’ impressions of the two pieces. 


Answers 

Page 92 

1. Answers should include two of the following: poor living conditions, land rights, the fact 

they were not considered to be Australian citizens and lack of Aboriginal representation 

in parliament. 

2. 1938 First ‘Day of mourning’ held for Aboriginal Australians. 

1940 The Sunday before the Australia Day weekend became known as ‘Aboriginal 

Sunday’. 

1970s Aboriginal Sunday became National Aborigines Week. 

1988 ‘NADOC’ becomes ‘NAIDOC’ to include Torres Strait Islanders. 





Display Copy 


• Paint the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fl ags and display. 

• Design a NAIDOC poster, using words and images you feel are appropriate. 

• Invite Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander elders or parents to talk about their 

lives or tell traditional stories. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


NAIDOC Week – 1 

Last week, my school celebrated NAIDOC Week. I knew it was held every year during 

June or July and was about celebrating Indigenous culture, but I learn a lot more about it 

during the week. 

‘NAIDOC’ originally stood for ‘National Aboriginal 

and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. It has 

a long history! In the 1920s and 1930s, there 

were lots of attempts by Aboriginal Australians 

to raise awareness of the problems suffered by 

their people—like poor living conditions, their 

lack of rights concerning land and the fact they 

were not considered to be Australian citizens! Two 

organisations that drew attention to issues like 

these were the Australian Aborigines Progressive 

Association and the Australian Aborigines 

League. 

Then, in 1937, a group of people led by a man 

named William Cooper presented a petition to the 

federal government, which asked for Aboriginal 

representation in federal parliament. It had 

taken Cooper years to gather the signatures on 

the petition. (He must have been busy—there 

were about 2000 of them!). But the government 

did nothing, so Cooper decided to try something 

else. Along with a man named William Ferguson, 

he planned a ‘Day of Mourning’ to be held on 26 

January—Australia Day—1938. The men chose 

this day because it was the 150th anniversary of 

British settlement of Australia. They hoped it would 

make non-Aboriginal Australians think about how 

Aboriginal people might have suffered since 1788. 

About 1000 Aboriginal people went to a conference 

on the day. Afterwards, the National Missionary 

Council of Australia helped to promote the day as 

an annual event and, in 1940, the Sunday before 

the Australia Day weekend (later the fi rst Sunday 

in July) became known as ‘Aboriginal Sunday’. 

Soon afterwards, a committee was formed to 

promote Aboriginal Sunday. It was known as 

William Cooper 

NADOC (National Aborigines Day Observance 

Committee) and had the support of federal and 

state governments, churches and Aboriginal 

organisations. In the 1970s, the committee 

changed Aboriginal Sunday to National Aborigines 

Week. In 1988, the committee became known as 

NAIDOC, to include Torres Strait Islanders. 

Now, ‘NAIDOC’ refers to the whole week of 

celebrations. Every year, a national focus city or 

town is chosen, along with a theme and awards for 

Indigenous achievers. NAIDOC is also celebrated 

in local communities so people can learn about 

Indigenous culture, history and achievers. Our 

school’s celebrations included lessons about 

Aboriginal music, dancing, painting and Dreamtime 

stories. 

I think NAIDOC Week is really important. Not only 

is it fun, it also helps non-Aboriginal Australians to 

have a better understanding of Aboriginal people 

and their culture. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0 



Display Copy




1. Name two problems Aboriginal Australians were concerned about in the 1920s and 1930s. 

2. Complete the time line. 

• 1938 

• 1940 

• 1970s 

• 1988 

3. Mention something not included in the text that your school could do to celebrate NAIDOC Week. 



Display Copy 

4. Do you think it was a good idea for Cooper and Ferguson to have chosen 

Australia Day as the Day of Mourning? Why/Why not? 

Past NAIDOC Award winners have included actor Deborah Mailman, boxer Anthony Mundine, footballer 

Nicky Winmar, entertainer Ernie Dingo and Olympic hurdler Kyle Vander-Kuyp. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0



Listen to two pieces of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander music and complete the 

questions below. 

Piece 1 

Overall tempo (speed): 

fast medium slow 

Which instruments can you hear? 

Write three words to describe how the 

music makes you feel. 

How would you move to this music? 

Draw what you pictured in your mind while 

listening to the music. 

Piece 2 

Overall tempo (speed): 

fast medium slow 

Which instruments can you hear? 

Write three words to describe how the 

music makes you feel. 

How would you move to this music? 

Draw what you pictured in your mind while 

listening to the music. 



Display Copy 

Which piece of music did you prefer? Say why you preferred it. 

Each year, a committee made up solely or mainly of Indigenous Australians decides on the 

national focus city, theme and award winners for NAIDOC Week. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Australian sporting greats 


Time line 

1858 

Australian Rules Football is fi rst played in Melbourne. 

Melbourne Football Club is established. 

1868 

Aboriginal Australian cricket team tours England. 

1877 

Australian Rule’s fi rst league, the Victorian Football 

Association (VFA), is formed. 

1879 

The fi rst intercolonial football match is played between 

Victoria and South Australia. 

1882 

The Australian cricket team beats England for the fi rst 

time on English soil (the Ashes). 

1896 

Victorian Football League (VFL) is established. 

1924 

VFL introduce the Brownlow Medal for the best and 

fairest player of the season. 

1934 

Australia wins the Bledisloe Cup for the fi rst time. 

1938 

Sydney hosts British Empire (Commonwealth) Games. 

1948 

Don Bradman captains the ‘Invincibles’ cricket team. 

1956 

Melbourne hosts Olympic Games. 

1962 

Perth hosts Commonwealth Games. 

1982 

Brisbane hosts Commonwealth Games. 

1987 

Australia wins the Cricket World Cup for the fi rst time. 

1990 

Victorian Football League (VFL) is renamed Australian 

Football League (AFL). 

1991 

Australia wins the Rugby World Cup for the fi rst time. 

2000 

Sydney hosts Olympic Games. 

2006 

Melbourne hosts Commonwealth Games. 

Indicators 

• Reads text and answers questions about famous Australian sportspeople and sporting 

teams. 

• Completes a report about an international sporting champion or team. 


• Considering Australia’s population of just over 21 000 000, it has achieved a remarkable 

success in a wide variety of sports. This fact is refl ected in the achievements at Olympic 

and Commonwealth Games. For example, in recent times Australia ranked fourth in the 

medal tally at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, behind the countries 

of China, Russia and USA, which have enormous populations. At the Melbourne 1956 

Olympic Games, Australia was ranked third. It has also done very well, considering its 

population, in most other Olympic Games. In the Commonwealth Games, Australia has 

been ranked fi rst for 11 of the 18 competitions held so far. 

• Historically, Australia has had the most success at Olympic Games in the sports of 

swimming, fi eld hockey, cycling, rowing, equestrian and shooting. 

• Until recently, Australia has had many tennis champions, particularly in the 1960s to the 

early 1980s. Of note, Rod Laver achieved two tennis Grand Slams (winning each of the 

Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year) in 1962 and 1969, the only man to have 

done so, as did Margaret Smith Court in 1970, one of three women to have done so, in a 

calendar year. 

• The subject of the report on page 97 could be an individual past or present international 

sporting champion or an individual member of a sporting team of a particular era. Some 

categories may not be able to be completed; e.g. nickname. The activity could be partly 

completed at home and school, using resources such as the Internet, nonfi ction material 

from school and public libraries and interviewing parents, older siblings etc. Students 

should choose different subjects for their reports so they can be shared orally and 

displayed to provide students with a wide variety of Australian sporting greats. 


Answers 

Page 96 

1. Answers should include: climate makes sport popular, higher amount of competitors/ 

spectators than many countries, wide range of individual and team champions 


3. Cricket (yellow) – (b), (c), (l) Swimming (green) – (a), (d), (f) 

Tennis (red) – (e), (h), (j), (k) Netball (blue) – (g), (i) 




Display Copy 


• ‘Aussie Rules’ is a uniquely Australian game. Find out how it originated and the 

similarities and differences it has with the other Australian football codes of soccer, rugby 

league and rugby union. 

• Brainstorm to list the names of past and present Australian sporting champions in a 

variety of sports. Write each name on card along with their sport and display on a ‘Wall of 

fame’. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Australian sporting greats – 1 

Australia’s generally sunny climate is one reason why sport is very popular in 

Australia. The amount of Australians who compete in and/or watch sport is much higher 

than many other countries. Australia has many past and present international sporting champions 

in a wide range of individual and team sports. 

Individual sports include swimming, diving, surfi ng, boxing, tennis, golf, squash, Formula One motor 

racing, 500 cc motorcycle racing, triathlon, athletics, cycling, shooting and horse racing. 

Team sports include the following national teams: men’s and women’s cricket, fi eld hockey, water 

polo, basketball and wheelchair basketball; men’s rugby league and rugby union; women’s netball 

and softball; and various team events in men’s and women’s rowing and sailing. 

Read the text below about some of the achievements of Australia’s famous international sporting 

teams and individuals. 

Cricket 

Cricket is one of the longest played sports 

in Australia and one that both men’s and 

women’s teams have had lots of success in. 

A men’s team in 1948 was nicknamed the 

‘Invincibles’. It was the fi rst to win an entire 

test cricket series without losing a match. Sir 

Donald Bradman, a cricketing legend, was the 

captain. When he retired, his batting average 

was almost 100 runs! 

Swimming 

Australia has always been very competitive 

in swimming. Most of Australia’s medals 

in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games 

have been in swimming events. Famous 

male swimmers include Ian Thorpe, Murray 

Rose, Kieren Perkins, Michael Wenden, John 

Konrads and Grant Hackett. Famous female 

swimmers include Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould, 

Lorraine Crapp, Susie O’Neill, Leisle Jones, 

Petria Thomas and Lisbeth Lenton. 

Netball 

Netball is the most popular female sport in 

Australia (though males increasingly enjoy 

the game) and national teams have had great 

success. Australia has won nine of the 12 

World Netball Championships held so far and 

two gold medals in the three Commonwealth 

Games in which the sport has been played. 



Display Copy 

Tennis 

Australia is one of four nations to host a 

grand slam tennis tournament. Famous 

tennis players include Margaret Smith Court, 

Rod Laver, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ken 

Rosewall, John Newcombe, Pat Rafter and 

Lleyton Hewitt. Todd Woodbridge and Mark 

Woodforde teamed up as the ‘Woodies’ to win 

the most doubles titles as a pair. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Australian sporting greats – 2 



1. List three facts about Australian sport from the fi rst paragraph. 

• 

• 

• 

2. In each box, write six sports that Australia excels at. 

Individual sport 

3. Read the keywords and phrases about facts on four sports in which Australian is successful. 

Shade or highlight each box according to the sporting code. 

Cricket Tennis Swimming Netball 

yellow red green blue 

(a) most Olympic and 

Commonwealth medals 

(d) Murray Rose and Dawn 

Fraser are past champions 

(g) won nine out of 12 world 

championships 

(j) Lleyton Hewitt is a recent 

champion 

(b) Bradman’s batting average (c) champion team the 

almost 100 

‘Invincibles’ 

(e) champion team the (f) Leisle Jones is a recent 

‘Woodies’ 

champion 

(h) Margaret Smith Court and (i) most popular female sport 

Ken Rosewall are past 

champions 

(k) one of four nations to host (l) one of the longest played 

a grand slam event sports 

4. Explain which sporting fact you enjoyed reading about the most. 

Team sport 



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Australia is one of only four nations to have competed in every modern Summer Olympic Games 

and one of six to have competed in every Commonwealth Games. Australia has hosted the Summer 

Olympic Games twice and the Commonwealth Games four times. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


Australian sporting greats – Report 

Complete this table with information about an Australian international sporting champion or team 

member. Use your notes to write a report. Display your report with other class members’ reports. 

Champion’s name: 

Nickname: 

Date of birth: 

Place of birth: 

Sport: 

Sporting achievements: 

Hobbies: 



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Hero: 

Australia is the only country to have four professional football codes. They are Australian Rules 

(‘Aussie Rules’), soccer, rugby league and rugby union. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Earth Hour 


Time line 

2007 

Year of the surf lifesaver 

4 January Storms hit Esperance, WA. Natural 

disaster area declared. 

25 February Australian animated fi lm Happy feet 

wins an Academy Award. 

6 March Federal government approves sale of 

national airline Qantas. 

18 March 75th anniversary of the Sydney 

Harbour Bridge. 

7 July Live Earth concert held in Sydney to 

promote action about climate change. 

24 August Outbreak of horse fl u in News South 

Wales. 

2–9 September Australia hosts APEC Summit. 

24 November Federal election held. Kevin Rudd 

becomes Prime Minister of Australia. 

3 December Australia ratifi es Kyoto Protocol on 

climate change. 

2008 

January 

Heavy rains cause fl ooding across 

Queensland. Some areas are declared 

Natural Disaster Zones. 

29 March Earth Hour is held at 8pm in various 

cities around the world. 

Indicators 


• Completes a ‘Time capsule record sheet’ about the current year. 


• Earth Hour was held in Sydney, New South Wales, on 31 March 2007. The main purpose 

of the event was to show that by switching off unnecessary lights the amount of electricity 

used is reduced, meaning less coal needs to be burned resulting in less greenhouse gas 

emissions. It is believed that greenhouse gases are a cause of global warming. 

• A poster, newspaper article about an event and a diary entry are all primary sources. 

If such documents were authentic and were unearthed in a time capsule by future 

generations, they would give very specifi c clues about the year 2007—the main clue 

being that global warming was an environmental concern at that time. 

• More information, plus posters and pamphlets advertising Earth Hour, can be found at 

. 


Answers 

Page 100 

1. poster, newspaper article, diary entry 

2. (a) True (b) False (c) True (d) True (e) False 

3. Hour, lights, Earth/planet 

4. (a) At what time could the people of Sydney turn their lights back on? 

(b) Where did the girl put the three documents? 

5. (a) Answers will vary 

(b) Teacher check 


• Students imagine that the time capsule has been opened ten thousand years in the future. 

What information would it give to the people who discovered it? 

For example: people wrote on paper with ink, electricity used for light, helicopters existed 

etc. 

• Search the Internet for photographs of Sydney during Earth Hour. 

Enter the key words: ‘Sydney Earth Hour’ into an image search. 

• Find out if your school has ever buried a time capsule. What was placed in it? When will it 

be unearthed? 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Earth Hour – 1 

Read the three documents that a young girl from Sydney 

has put in to her time capsule in the year 2007. 


60 

EARTH HOUR 

7.30 PM - 8.30 PM 

SATURDAY 31 MARCH 

Switch off your lights and switch on 

to send a powerful message. 

Show that our small actions can 

make a difference to 

global warming. 

Saturday March 31 2007 

Dear diary, 

I’m writing to you by candle light. No … there hasn’t 

been a power cut. It is Earth Hour. 

A lot of people in Sydney have turned off their lights 

for one hour, from 7.30 - 8.30 pm. Not just families but 

offi ces, shops, restaurants—everyone! 

Our street looks so dark and I can hear a helicopter! 

They must be fi lming so we can see on the news tomorrow 

how dark Sydney looks. 

Earth Hour is a great idea because we need to take 

better care of our planet! If we don’t, I think the Earth 

might keep warming up and all the ice could melt. Where 

will the polar bears and penguins live then? 

Night :) 

The Sydney Morning Herald 

THE DARKEST HOUR! 

Last night at 7.30 pm, Australia’s largest city 

plunged into darkness for one hour. It was the 

world’s first attempt at a city-wide blackout to raise 

community awareness about global warming. 

Thousands of home owners and businesses, 

including Woolworths and the Commonwealth 

Bank, switched off their lights. 

The hour long blackout shows that simple steps 

can help us to care for our planet. 

Plans to repeat Earth Hour next year are already 

under way. 

Sunday 1 April 2007 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Earth Hour – 2 


1. List the three types of documents the girl has put into her time capsule. 

• 

• 

• 

2. Answer as true of false. 

(a) Earth Hour was held in Sydney. 

(b) For one hour, people turned off their televisions. 

(c) Some banks participated in Earth Hour. 

(d) The girl thinks it is important to care for the Earth. 

(e) Earth Hour will not be held again. 

3. Fill in the missing words. 

The organisers of Earth 

wanted people to recognise that small steps, 

such as switching off , can help care for the . 


(a) At 8.30 pm. 

(b) Into a time capsule. 




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5. (a) How long do you think people should wait before a time capsule is opened? years. 

(b) Why do you think it would it be interesting to read items stored in a time capsule? 

During Earth Hour, lights were switched off at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, 

Luna Park and Taronga Zoo. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

The time capsule 

When people place letters, photographs, newspaper clippings and other 

memorabilia in a container and then bury it, they are often creating a time 

capsule. Ceremonies are often held when time capsules are buried and, many 

years later, when they are dug up. Opening a time capsule and looking at 

its contents gives clues about what life was like in the past. 

Fill out the following time capsule record sheet about today. 

Name: 

Where do you live? 

Name of school: 

Who is your teacher? 

Who are your friends? 

A popular movie of today: 

A popular song of today: 

A popular TV show of today: 

What can you buy with $1? 

How much does a litre of petrol cost? 

Describe something that has been in the news lately. 

Which environmental problems are people worried about? 

Date: 




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Write a message to the students of the future. 

In 1977, the Voyager spacecraft’s time capsules were launched into outer space with a recording of 

messages in 55 different languages. Will they be opened by extraterrestrial life? 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Quiz questions 

1. Aboriginal Australians: 

(a) stayed in one area. (b) adapted to their environment. (c) grew crops. 

2. Which item is not bush tucker? 

(a) eggs (b) clubs (c) nuts 

3. Who was most knowledgeable about bush medicine? 

(a) older women (b) older men (c) men and women 

4. A hunter could tell the size of an animal by: 

(a) how fresh its track was. (b) spacing between the back legs. 

(c) the depth of the track. 

5. What would be an item women would not gather? 

(a) wallaby (b) shellfi sh (c) witchetty grubs 


pages 2–5 

pages 6–9 

1. How many times did William Dampier sail around the world? 

(a) two (b) one (c) three 

2. What is the name of the group of islands, east of New Guinea, which Dampier 

charted? 

(a) Bismarck Islands (b) Dampier Islands (c) Strait Islands 

3. Who used Dampier’s natural history notes and sketches? 

(a) James Cook (b) Daniel Defoe (c) Charles Darwin 

4. Who did Dampier throw into jail during a voyage to Australia? 

(a) Horatio Nelson (b) George Fisher (c) Jonathan Swift 

5. Dampier often raided the ships of which nation? 

(a) Spain (b) England (c) France 


William Dampier: Hero or villain? 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


pages 10–13 

1. How long did the voyage of the First Fleet take? 

(a) 2 years (b) 9 months (c) 3 weeks 

The First Fleet 

2. Where was the original destination of the First Fleet? 

(a) Norfolk Island (b) Port Jackson (c) Botany Bay 

3. Which word best describes the soil around Port Jackson? 

(a) poor (b) fertile (c) rich 

4. Who was the governor of the Port Jackson settlement? 

(a) Philip Gidley King (b) James Cook (c) Arthur Phillip 

5. What was the name of the Second Fleet’s supply ship? 

(a) Sirius (b) Justinian (c) Lady Juliana 


pages 14–17 

1. Increased unemployment in Britain was caused by the: 

(a) Industrial Revolution. (b) Agricultural Revolution. (c) French Revolution. 

2. The British government could no longer transport convicts to: 

(a) Africa. (b) America. (c) India. 

3. Prisoners working outdoors worked in: 

(a) chain mail. (b) chain stores. (c) chain gangs. 

4. Some male convicts were to free settlers. 

(a) married (b) assigned (c) fl ogged 

5. When free, some convicts could not return to Britain. This was known as a 

pardon. 

(a) absolute (b) free (c) conditional 

Convicts at work 



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pages 18–21 

1. The Swan River Colony was established in: 

(a) 1795. (b) 1729. (c) 1829. 

Yagan and his people 

2. The settlers thought Yagan’s people had no right to claim land because: 

(a) they killed their animals. (b) they hunted and gathered. 

(c) they didn’t fence off land and use it for farming. 

3. Real conflict began between the colonists and Yagan’s people when one of his family 

members was killed while: 

(a) raiding a potato patch. (b) killing a settler. (c) killing a sheep. 

4. In which year was Yagan shot and killed? 

(a) 1833 (b) 1829 (c) 1729 

5. After how many years was Yagan’s head returned from England to be buried? 

(a) 50 years (b) more than 150 years (c) about 100 years 


pages 22–25 

1. Convicts in the new colony were treated: 

(a) very well. (b) harshly. (c) well. 

2. Many of the bushrangers were: 

(a) escaped convicts. (b) very evil. (c) hated by everyone. 

3. The number of bushrangers increased when: 

(a) more convicts came. (b) gold was discovered. (c) free settlers came. 

4. Squatters: 

(a) owned their land. (b) destroyed land. (c) used land they didn’t own. 

5. The ‘bush telegraph’ was the name given to: 

(a) a telephone. (b) information passed on by people. (c) a tree. 

Life in the new colony 



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1. The Macarthurs arrived with the: 

(a) First Fleet. (b) Second Fleet. (c) Third Fleet. 

2. Elizabeth Farm was: 

(a) their fi rst farm. (b) at Camden Park. (c) where John was exiled. 

3. Macarthur was exiled because: 

(a) he sold rum. (b) he was very rich. (c) he didn’t support Bligh. 

4. Bligh was: 

(a) a kind man. (b) arrested by the army. (c) liked by the army. 

5. During the Rum Rebellion, Macarthur: 

(a) helped Bligh. (b) was blamed by Bligh. (c) was not involved. 


pages 26–29 

pages 30–33 

1. Who received the bounty from the government? 

(a) migrants (b) landowners (c) shipowners 

2. The maximum age for a migrant was: 

(a) 40 years. (b) 45 years. (c) 35 years. 

3. A female domestic servant provided a bounty of: 

(a) £15. (b) £19. (c) £30. 

4. The barque ship India was helped by a whaler from which country? 

(a) Britain (b) Spain (c) France 

The Macarthurs’ merino wool 

Bounty migrants 



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5. About how many people emigrated to Australia from Britain in the 19th century? 

(a) 1 000 000 (b) 100 000 (c) 10 000 000 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


1. In which year did Gregory Blaxland lead an expedition to cross the 

Blue Mountains? 

(a) 1789 (b) 1813 (c) 1850 

2. In which direction from Sydney are the Blue Mountains? 

(a) north (b) south (c) west 

3. Who were the other explorers who went on Blaxland’s expedition? 

(a) Gregory and Wentworth (b) Lawson and Wentworth 

(c) Charles and Wentworth 

4. Who was Governor of New South Wales at the time of Blaxland’s expedition to cross 

the Blue Mountains? 

(a) Macquarie (b) William (c) Cox 

5. What kind of plague devastated New South Wales crops in 1811? 

(a) grasshopper (b) bird (c) caterpillar 


pages 34–37 

pages 38–41 

1. The first gold rush in Australia occurred in: 

(a) 1850. (b) 1851. (c) 1852. 

2. The amount of money awarded to Edward Hargraves for his discovery was: 

(a) £100. (b) £1000. (c) £10 000. 

3. Where had Hargraves been prospecting before making his discovery at Bathurst? 

(a) California (b) Victoria (c) Alaska 

4. In which direction is Bathurst from Sydney? 

(a) west (b) south (c) east 

5. The goldfield at Bathurst was renamed: 

(a) Osiris (b) Ophir (c) Opal 

The mighty Blue Mountains 

Edward Hargraves discovers gold 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


pages 42–45 

1. How far north is Newcastle from Sydney? 

(a) 16 km (b) 160 km (c) 1600 km 

Coal River, NSW 

2. Name the escaped convict who made the first known discovery of coal. 

(a) John Shortland (b) Charles Menzies (c) William Bryant 

3. What did John Shortland rename Coal River? 

(a) King’s River (b) Newcastle River (c) Hunter River 

4. In which year was Australia’s first ever export shipped? 

(a) 1791 (b) 1799 (c) 1801 

5. In which year was a penal colony established in the Hunter area? 

(a) 1804 (b) 1844 (c) 1904 


pages 46–49 

1. During which year was the first shearers strike in Queensland? 

(a) 1881 (b) 1891 (c) 1901 

2. At the time, where was wool shorn in Queensland time shipped to? 

(a) New South Wales (b) India (c) Britain 

3. About how many shearers gathered at the Barcaldine strikers’ camp? 

(a) 4000 (b) 40 000 (c) 400 000 

The shearers’ strike 



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4. The shearers went on strike: 

(a) because they wanted to live in town houses. 

(c) for a set wage per head of sheep shorn. 

(b) to get more shearing machines. 

5. A Queensland newspaper from the 1890s was titled: 

(a) The Shearer. (b) The Worker. (c) The Farmer. 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


1. How were carts powered before draught animals arrived in the colony? 

(a) wind power (b) water power (c) hauled by convicts 

2. Draught animals were brought to the country from: 

(a) India. (b) Iran. (c) Iraq. 

3. Bullocks were used on whose exploration of New South Wales rivers? 

(a) Augustus Gregory (b) Charles Sturt (c) Ludwig Leichhardt 

4. Between 1870 and 1872, camels carried equipment for the Overland Telegraph LIne 

between Adelaide and: 

(a) Brisbane. (b) Perth. (c) Darwin. 

5. When was the transcontinental railway line across the Nullarbor built? 

(a) 1912–1917 (b) 1871–1891 (c) 1891–1901 


pages 50––53 

pages 54–57 

1. Federation was proclaimed in: 

(a) Parramatta. (b) Centennial Park. (c) Canberra. 

2. During the federation ceremony, the weather was: 

(a) hot. (b) wet. (c) drizzling. 

3. Tax had to be paid to move stock: 

(a) out of NSW. (b) into NSW. (c) into Victoria. 

4. In which state was federation the most popular? 

(a) NSW (b) Western Australia (c) Victoria 

5. Edmund Barton was: 

(a) Prime Minister. (b) Governor-General. (c) Sarah’s uncle. 

Beasts of burden 

Federation 



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pages 58–61 

1. Which animal was printed on the Commonwealth of Australia’s first 

postage stamp? 

(a) kangaroo (b) kookaburra (c) koala 

Changes 

2. The Commonwealth’s first coins were made in: 

(a) Australia. (b) Spain. (c) Britain. 

3. Which postal service was established between Melbourne and Sydney in 1914? 

(a) Travelling Post Offi ce (b) airmail (c) telephone 

4. The first official Commonwealth money was the: 

(a) holey dollar. (b) Spanish silver. (c) silver coins. 

5. The Commonwealth of Australia’s first currency note was designed in: 

(a) Britain. (b) Australia. (c) Spain. 


pages 62–65 

1. World War I occurred between: 

(a) 1914–1918. (b) 1915–1918. (c) 1914–1915. 

2. Which word(s) best describe(s) the ‘Spirit of the Anzacs’? 

(a) courage (b) sticking together (c) trying hard 

3. Why was it hard to hide from the Turks? 

(a) they were higher (b) they knew all the hiding places (c) there were too many Anzacs 

4. How did Jack get to the observation post? 

(a) by the trenches (b) by ducking bullets (c) by a tunnel 

World War I: In Gallipoli 



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5. What is something Jack would not think was a hardship? 

(a) sleeping in a trench (b) the fi eld phone working (c) fl ies and fl eas 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


1. The government helped some people during the depression by: 

(a) paying them well. (b) providing jobs. (c) giving out houses. 

2. The Wall Street crash happened in: 

(a) Sydney. (b) London. (c) New York. 

3. There were few jobs because: 

(a) employees weren’t wanted. (b) everyone was working. 

4. The depression started in: 

(a) 1932. (b) 1929. (c) 1927. 


pages 66–69 

(c) businesses collapsed. 

5. The depression was worse in Australia because: 

(a) less goods were exported. (b) it is a dry country. (c) people were sad. 

pages 70–73 

1. In which year did the first Japanese air raid on Darwin occur? 

(a) 1939 (b) 1942 (c) 1945 

2. Which boat did the Japanese sink in Sydney Harbour in 1942? 

(a) HMAS Kuttabul (b) USS Chicago (c) HMAS Sydney 

3. What did the second wave of Japanese bombers attack during the first air raid on Darwin? 

(a) the wharf (b) the military airfi eld (c) the town itself 

4. What happened to the first Japanese submarine during the attack on Sydney 

Harbour? 

(a) It never made it into the harbour. (b) It was torpedoed. 

(c) It got tangled in an anti-torpedo net. 

The Depression 

WW II: Australia under attack 



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5. Which of these Australian towns were attacked by Japanese bombers during World 

War II? 

(a) Broome and Townsville (b) Newcastle and Broome (c) Townsville and Newcastle 


ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


pages 74–77 

1. Sir Henry Parkes was a supporter of: 

(a) transportation. (b) Federation. (c) celebration. 

The $5 faces 

2. The legacy left by Sir Henry Parkes to the people of Sydney was: 

(a) Celebration Park. (b) Hyde Park. (c) Centennial Park. 

3. Catherine Helen Spence was a: 

(a) journalist. (b) doctor. (c) dentist. 

4. In which year did Spence stand for a seat in federal parliament? 

(a) 1879 (b) 189 (c) 1789 

5. What was the name given to Sir Henry Parkes’ federation speech? 

(a) Transportation Oration (b) Federation Oration (c) Tenterfi eld Oration 


pages 78–81 

1. John Winston Howard was the Australian Prime Minister. 

(a) 18th (b) 25th (c) 21st 

2. Which political party does he belong to? 

(a) Labor (b) National (c) Liberal 

3. Who was Prime Minister for longer than John Howard? 

(a) Kim Beazley (b) Robert Menzies (c) Paul Keating 

4. In which year did Howard first become Prime Minister? 

(a) 1996 (b) 1974 (c) 1995 

5. How many elections was John Howard involved in when Prime Minister? 

(a) fi ve (b) one (c) three 

John Howard 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


1. Emu Field, Maralinga and which other Australian location were used for British 

nuclear tests? 

(a) northern WA (b) Adelaide (c) Montebello Islands 

2. In which year did Britain detonate its first nuclear bomb in Australia? 

(a) 1960 (b) 1952 (c) 1957 

3. Approximately how many people were affected by radioactivity from the nuclear tests 

conducted in Australia? 

(a) dozens (b) hundreds (c) thousands 

4. Who was Prime Minister of Australia at the time of the British nuclear tests? 

(a) John Howard (b) Robert Menzies (c) Bob Hawke 

5. In which state is Emu Field found? 

(a) South Australia (b) Western Australia (c) Victoria 


pages 82–85 

pages 86–89 

1. In which city can Australia’s famous bridge and opera house be found? 

(a) Canberra (b) Melbourne (c) Sydney 

2. In which year was the Harbour Bridge opened? 

(a) 1923 (b) 1932 (c) 1933 

3. Which New South Wales Premier officially opened the Harbour Bridge? 

(a) Henry Parkes (b) Morris Iemma (c) Jack Lang 

4. What was the nationality of the architect who designed the Opera House? 

(a) Danish (b) British (c) Australian 

5. In which year was the Opera House opened? 

(a) 1873 (b) 1973 (c) 1978 

Nuclear testing 

Sydney’s icons 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0


1. NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance . 

(a) Celebration (b) Cooperation (c) Committee 

2. NAIDOC Week is held every year in which months? 

(a) June or July (b) July or August (c) August or September 

3. 26 January 1938 was chosen by Aboriginal activists as the Day of: 

(a) NAIDOC. (b) Mourning. (c) Happiness. 

4. In 1940, the Sunday before the Australia Day weekend was known as: 

(a) Aboriginal Sunday. (b) Islander Sunday. (c) Super Sunday. 

5. During NAIDOC Week, people learn about Aboriginal culture, achievements and: 

(a) painting. (b) history. (c) dancing. 


pages 90–93 

pages 94–97 

1. One reason sport is popular in Australia is because it has: 

(a) lots of champions. (b) a sunny climate. (c) only a few people competing. 

2. Which is not an individual sport? 

(a) golf (b) surfi ng (c) hockey 

3. Which is not a team sport? 

(a) horse racing (b) softball (c) water polo 

4. In which sport has Australia won the most Olympic and Commonwealth Games medals? 

(a) netball (b) cycling (c) swimming 

5. The sport which is one of Australia’s longest played is: 

(a) tennis. (b) cricket. (c) netball. 

NAIDOC Week 

Australian sporting greats 



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1. Earth Hour was held in: 

pages 98–101 

(a) Sydney. (b) Melbourne. (c) Adelaide. 

Earth Hour 

2. Earth Hour began on the 31 March 2007 at: 

(a) 7.30 am. (b) Midday. (c) 7.30 pm. 

3. During Earth Hour, people turned off their: 

(a) television. (b) lights. (c) fridge. 

4. Earth Hour hoped to raise awareness about: 

(a) global warming. (b) saving water. (c) endangered species. 

5. The girl put the three documents: 

(a) in her school bag. (b) in a time capsule. (c) in the letterbox. 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

Quiz answers 

Primary Australian history – Book D 

Aboriginal Australians ..................... 102 

1. (b) adapted to their environment 

2. (b) clubs 

3. (a) older women 

4. (c) the depth of the track 

5. (a) wallaby 

William Dampier: Hero or villain? ... 102 

1. (c) three 

2. (a) Bismarck Islands 

3. (c) Charles Darwin 

4. (b) George Fisher 

5. (a) Spain 

The First Fleet ................................. 103 

1. (b) 9 months 

2. (c) Botany Bay 

3. (a) poor 

4. (c) Arthur Phillip 

5. (b) Justinian 

Convicts at work ............................. 103 

1. (a) Industrial Revolution 

2. (b) America 

3. (c) chain gangs 

4. (b) assigned 

5. (c) conditional 

Yagan and his people ...................... 104 

1. (c) 1829 

2. (c) they didn’t fence off land and use it 

for farming 

3. (a) raiding a potato patch 

4. (a) 1833 

5. (b) more than 150 years 

Life in the new colony .................... 104 

1. (b) harshly 

2. (a) escaped convicts 

3. (b) gold was discovered 

4. (c) used land they didn’t own 

5. (b) information passed on by people 

The Macarthurs’ merino wool ......... 105 

1. (b) Second Fleet 

2. (a) their fi rst farm 

3. (c) he didn’t support Bligh 

4. (b) arrested by the army 

5. (b) was blamed by Bligh 

Bounty migrants ............................. 105 

1. (c) shipowners 

2. (a) 40 years 

3. (b) £19 

4. (c) France 

5. (a) 1 000 000 

The mighty Blue Mountains ............ 106 

1. (b) 1813 

2. (c) west 

3. (b) Lawson and Wentworth 

4. (a) Macquarie 

5. (c) caterpillar 

Edward Hargraves 

discovers gold ................................ 106 

1. (b) 1851 

2. (c) £10 000 

3. (a) California 

4. (a) west 

5. (b) Ophir 

Coal River, NSW .............................. 107 

1. (b) 160 km 

2. (c) William Bryant 

3. (c) Hunter River 

4. (b) 1799 

5. (a) 1804 

The shearers’ strike ........................ 107 

1. (b) 1891 

2. (c) Britain 

3. (a) 4000 

4. (c) for a set wage per head of sheep 

shorn 

5. (c) The Worker 

Beasts of burden ............................ 108 

1. (c) hauled by convicts 

2. (a) India 

3. (b) Charles Sturt 

4. (c) Darwin 

5. (a) 1912–1917 

Federation ....................................... 108 

1. (b) Centennial Park 

2. (a) hot 

3. (c) into Victoria 

4. (c) Victoria 

5. (a) Prime Minister 

Changes .......................................... 109 

1. (a) kangaroo 

2. (c) Britain 

3. (b) airmail 

4. (c) silver coins 

5. (a) Britain 

WW I: In Gallipoli ............................. 109 

1. (a) 1914–1918 

2. (b) sticking together 

3. (a) they were higher 

4. (c) by a tunnel 

5. (b) the fi eld phone working 

The Depression ............................... 110 

1. (b) providing jobs 

2. (c) New York 

3. (c) business collapsed 

4. (b) 1929 

5. (a) less goods were exported 

WW II: Australia under attack .......... 110 

1. (b) 1942 

2. (a) HMAS Kuttabul 

3. (b) the military airfi eld 

4. (c) It got tangled in an anti-torpedo net 

5. (a) Broome and Townsville 

The $5 faces ................................... 111 

1. (b) federation 

2. (c) Centennial Park 

3. (a) journalist 

4. (b) 1897 

5. (c) Tenterfi eld Oration 

John Howard ................................... 111 

1. (b) 25th 

2. (c) Liberal 

3. (b) Robert Menzies 

4. (a) 1996 

5. (a) fi ve 

Nuclear testing .............................. 112 

1. (c) Montebello Islands 

2. (b) 1952 

3. (c) thousands 

4. (b) Robert Menzies 

5. (a) South Australia 

Sydney’s icons ................................ 112 

1. (c) Sydney 

2. (b) 1932 

3. (c.) Jack Lang 

4. (a) Danish 

5. (b) 1973 

NAIDOC Week .................................. 113 

1. (c) Committee 

2. (a) June or July 

3. (b) Mourning 

4. (a) Aboriginal Sunday 

5. (b) history 

Australian sporting greats .............. 113 

1. (b) a sunny climate 

2. (c) hockey 

3. (a) horse racing 

4. (c) swimming 

5. (b) cricket 

Earth Hour ....................................... 114 

1. (a) Sydney 

2. (c) 7.30 pm 

3. (b) lights 

4. (a) global warming 

5. (b) in a time capsule 



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ISBN 978-1-74126-687-0

RIC-6430 Primary history (Bk D)

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