First Contact
What year did the First Fleet arrive in Australia?
→ 1788
Who were the first people living in Australia?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Why did Britain send convicts to Australia?
Overcrowded prisons / punishment / labour
What does “terra nullius” mean?
→ Land belonging to no one
Which group benefited most from colonisation in Australia?
European settlers
Give one reason Britain wanted to colonise Australia.
→ To send convicts, gain land, increase power, or control trade routes
Give one way colonisation impacted Indigenous Australians.
Loss of land / disease / conflict / disruption to culture
What type of work did most convicts do?
Manual labour (farming, building roads, construction)
What does colonisation mean?
The process by which a foreign power or state takes political, economic, and physical control over a foreign territory and its people.
What was the name of the place where the First Fleet first landed?
Botany Bay
Why did conflict often occur between Indigenous Australians and European settlers?
Competition over land and resources / misunderstanding of land ownership
How did disease affect Aboriginal people?
→ Many became sick or died because they had no immunity
What was a ticket of leave?
Permission for a well-behaved convict to work and live with some freedom before their sentence ended
What does expedition mean?
A purposeful journey undertaken by a group of people for a specific objective
Who was the first governor of New South Wales?
Arthur Phillip
Why was Australia useful to Britain as a colony?
→ It was far away, had land and resources, and could hold convicts
Name one way missions, stations, or reserves affected Indigenous Australians’ lives.
Loss of freedom, separation from family, loss of culture and language
Explain how convicts contributed to the development of the colony.
Built infrastructure, farms, roads, towns
What is an absolute pardon?
A pardon that completely freed a convict, including return to Britain
What is the name given to violent conflict between settlers and Indigenous Australians?
Frontier Wars
Explain why the idea of terra nullius was used by the British.
They claimed the land belonged to no one so Britain could legally take control
Explain why colonisation had long-term impacts on Indigenous Australians that are still felt today.
Intergenerational trauma, inequality, loss of land and culture
Describe two punishments convicts could receive for breaking the rules.
Cat-o-nine-tails / hard labour / chain gangs / solitary confinement / restricted diets
Explain how colonisation changed Australia
Dispossession of Indigenous Australians, immigration, population growth, infrastructure, law and governance, environment and land use
What was the name of Captain James Cook's ship for his first voyage (1768-1771)?
HMS Endeavour