History Skills
What type of source is the video we have been watching in class?
Secondary resource
A disease that affected almost 90% of the Aboriginal people in the Sydney area when the First Fleet arrived in Australia.
Smallpox
Who was Captain Arthur Philip?
Arthur Phillip was the first Governor of New South Wales and leader of the First Fleet in 1788.
I was a Bidjigal man and warrior. I killed the Governor's gamekeeper, John McIntyre. Historians are unsure why I did this - they speculate that McIntyre was unjustly killing the local indigenous people, or perhaps it was because McIntyre was hunting animals and this impacted food supply. I was killed in 1802. My head was sent back to England in a pickle jar filled with alcohol. I became a martyr.
Pemulwuy
What do historians call an artefact that comes directly from the historical period being studied?
Primary resource
The name given to the conflicts between Aboriginal People and the colonisers during the colonisation period.
The Frontier Wars
Who was Bennelong?
Bennelong was a senior man of the Eora people, specifically the Wangal clan, and a key figure in early Aboriginal-European relations.
I came to Australia with the First Fleet in 1788 (18 years after James Cook) and set up the first colony.
Governor Arthur Phillip
Identify two types of evidence used in the video to describe the conflict between settlers and First Nations people.
Mr Clugston / Ms Mc to judge :)
List 1 cause and effect of the British settling in Australia
Teachers to judge
Characterise their early relationship, tell us a story.
Early Relationship – Curiosity and Captivity
In 1789, Phillip ordered the capture of an Aboriginal man to learn more about the local people. Bennelong was kidnapped and taken to the British settlement at Sydney.
Although this began as a forced relationship, over time, Bennelong and Phillip developed a kind of mutual respect. Bennelong learned English, wore European clothes, and dined with Phillip.
I was a significant Aboriginal leader from Eora people, specifically the Wangal clan. I was part of an attempt at cultural dialogue in Australia and visited England. A Point is named after me in Sydney.
Bennelong
How do the personal recollections of people like William Dawes and free settlers help historians understand this period differently from official government records?
Provide alternative individual perspectives to show diversity of views and provide a more complex image of history and prevailing values at the time.
List 3 tactics used by Aboriginal people to resist settler incursions.
How did their relationship evolve?
After escaping captivity, Bennelong later chose to return to the British settlement, which suggests he saw value in continuing contact. He acted as a cultural mediator, helping to bridge communication between the British and the Eora people. A famous story that illustrates their relationship is when Governor Phillip was speared by an Aboriginal man at Manly in 1790. Instead of retaliating, Phillip ordered no revenge. Some historians believe this event was part of a ceremonial protocol and Bennelong may have helped arrange it to restore balance and mutual understanding. Trip to England in 1792. Trust and cooperation.
I was a resistance leader of the Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri nation, in what is now central-western New South Wales, Australia. I was also known to the British settlers as Saturday. I led my people in the Bathurst War, a frontier war between my clan and British settlers.
In December of 1824, I travelled with my People travelled to Parramatta, to attend the Governor’s Feast. Flanked by my people, I addressed the Governor calling for an end to the killing and wearing a hat with “peace” written in English on my head. Martial law was repealed.
Windradyne
What do historians value? List a minimum of 5 key principles and practices historians value.
1. Evidence
Primary sources (e.g. letters, official documents, artifacts, oral testimonies) and secondary sources (e.g. scholarly interpretations).
They value accuracy, authenticity, and provenance of sources to construct reliable narratives.
Upkeep of records/historical artefacts
2. Context
Understanding people, events, and movements within their historical, cultural, political, and social contexts.
Avoiding presentism (judging the past by modern values).
3. Critical Thinking
Questioning assumptions, biases, and gaps in the historical record.
Historians often cross-check sources and challenge dominant narratives.
4. Interpretation
They recognize that history is not just a list of facts, but a field of interpretation.
Multiple perspectives and contested meanings are part of the discipline.
5. Change Over Time
A core historical concept: historians study how and why things change (or stay the same) across different periods.
6. Cause and Consequence
Identifying complex chains of causality, not just simple explanations.
Recognizing short-term and long-term effects of events.
7. Ethical Representation
Valuing truthfulness and fairness in representing past peoples, especially marginalized or silenced voices.
Acknowledging one's own position and limitations as a historian.
8. Historical Significance
Assessing what events, individuals, or ideas had major impact—and why they matter.
List 5 impacts of colonisation on the Aboriginal people and provide an example of each.
Dispossession, limited food resources, disease, soil degradation, conflict, massacres --> loss of culture and knowledge (bonus 500 points)
What's the legacy of their relationship?
Their relationship was marked by diplomacy, cultural exchange, and power imbalance.
It reveals the early efforts at cross-cultural understanding, but also the colonial dynamics that undermined genuine equality.
I was was Australia's first teacher of Aboriginal language. I taught a First Fleet Lieutenant my language, and I told him that my people were not happy about because the British did not visit, they settled here.
[If you can't answer: 1/2 points (250) if you can remember the last name of the First Fleet Lieutenant who documented our conversations.
Patyegarang
1/2 points: (William) Dawes