Topic 1b: Movement of PeopleStage 5 Syllabus Key Inquiry Questions:
|
Last lesson we learnt about the movement of people to America.
For today's lessons we will focus on the movement of convicts to Australia. We will look at what influenced their migration to Australia and examine their reactions on arrival. Using a variety of sources we will investigate the changes that occurred to their way of life. As you navigate through the lesson make sure you answer and submit the "Check your Learning" sections. These are mandatory and will be marked. Once you have finished this lesson you can complete Activity Three. In Activity Three you will take on the perspective of convict, William Buckley and create a Glogster diary entry that describes his experiences. Using Glogster, your diary entry can be completed in either written, audio or visual format. |
Convicts
One of the most significant migrations to Australia in the early years of European settlement was the result of convict transportation. Like the African slaves brought to North America, the convicts were unwilling immigrants. Unlike the African Americans, their sentences were for limited periods, usually between two and seven years. Even though they could be assigned to free settlers, they were never the property of anyone else and when their sentences had been served they were completely free. They also had the advantage of a shared language and culture with their masters. Although some received cruel treatment, few experieced the barbaric punishments that the slaves had to endure.
The journey
The First Fleet of 11 ships arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Finding the area unsuitable for settlement, the fleet moved on to Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) and landed at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. Of the 1400 passengers, more than half were convicts. They were the first of more than 160 000 convicts transported to the Australian colonies before the practice ceased in 1869.
Making a go of it
![Picture](/uploads/6/0/4/6/60469689/5587089.png?1442133690)
Once convicts arrived in Australia, their future was largely dependent on their attitude. Life was hard but if they served their time, there was plenty of opportunities in the colony. Any skills they had or learnt, such as building and food preparation, ensured a brighter future.
The experiences of convicts in Australia varied greatly. In the first decades in New South Wales, many convicts were housed in government barracks similar to prisons and were sent out daily, often in chain gangs, to build roads, bridges and houses. Others were assigned to free settlers to work on farms or to act as labourers in private businesses, brickworks, saddleries or smithies.
The treatment of assigned convicts depended on the nature of the master. Most were harsh and demanding, but some also showed compassion and fairness, teaching assigned convicts skills that would assist them once they had served their terms.
The majority of convicts played an important role in the development of this country. In most cases, their labour in the towns and on the farms went unnoticed or unacknowledged. However, some ex-convicts went on the take up significant positions in colonial society.
The experiences of convicts in Australia varied greatly. In the first decades in New South Wales, many convicts were housed in government barracks similar to prisons and were sent out daily, often in chain gangs, to build roads, bridges and houses. Others were assigned to free settlers to work on farms or to act as labourers in private businesses, brickworks, saddleries or smithies.
The treatment of assigned convicts depended on the nature of the master. Most were harsh and demanding, but some also showed compassion and fairness, teaching assigned convicts skills that would assist them once they had served their terms.
The majority of convicts played an important role in the development of this country. In most cases, their labour in the towns and on the farms went unnoticed or unacknowledged. However, some ex-convicts went on the take up significant positions in colonial society.
Hyde Park Barracks
Examining Evidence: Assigned Convicts
Step 1: Watch Slide Show
- Click on the above image of Hyde Park Barracks to be taken to the Sydney Museums website, listen to the five audio sources:
- Rules and Routines
- Clothes
- Entertainment
- Bad Behaviour and Punishment
- Reward
DEMONSTRATE YOUR LEARNING #1 *Required
Step 3: Examine
The following sources relate to attitudes of assigned convicts. Read the sources and think about the different attitudes they portray.
A range of sources and perspectives are presented, as you read check to see where the source comes from. This is called the origin of a source, and helps a historian make a decision about it's usefulness for historical enquiry. It may also help reveal potential bias.
A range of sources and perspectives are presented, as you read check to see where the source comes from. This is called the origin of a source, and helps a historian make a decision about it's usefulness for historical enquiry. It may also help reveal potential bias.
DEMONSTRATE YOUR LEARNING #2 *Required
Step 4: Watch: The Extraordinary Tale of William Buckley
|
William Buckley
A former soldier, William Buckley was transported to Australia for receiving a bolt of stolen cloth. But rather than face a life in shackles, he escaped from the first settlement of Port Phillip Bay. Months later and on the point of starvation, Buckley fatefully takes a spear from a recently dug grave to use as a crutch.
When a group of Wathaurong Aborigines discover him they believe he is the warrior Murrangurk, the owner of the spear, returned from the dead. He is taken in by the family of Murrangurk. Marrangurk’s brother Torrenauk becomes his ‘brother’.
Over the years, Buckley becomes a Wathaurong tribesman, learning to hunt and fish and speak their language. He witnesses many battles, cannibalism and various tribal customs. He endures hardship - tragically losing his family in a clan killing, and finds great happiness - falling in love with a young woman who stays with him for many years. He grows into middle age, part of a world utterly different to the one into which he was born.
But in 1835, Buckley’s world is turned upside down when John Batman’s advance party for settling Melbourne arrives. Unbeknownst to them, the local Wathaurong tribe is planning to attack and kill the intruders and steal their provisions. Imagine the new arrivals’ surprise when a six and a half foot giant of a wild white man emerges from the bush and it turns out, he can speak English! Buckley now stands between two worlds that are about to collide. Can he prevent bloodshed? Whose side is he on, white or black?
Near the end of his days, Buckley sat down to tell his story to John Morgan, a journalist with an eye for a good yarn. Buckley’s rich and detailed account offers a fascinating and often surprising portrait of life in an ancient culture before white colonisation. It is one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told.
When a group of Wathaurong Aborigines discover him they believe he is the warrior Murrangurk, the owner of the spear, returned from the dead. He is taken in by the family of Murrangurk. Marrangurk’s brother Torrenauk becomes his ‘brother’.
Over the years, Buckley becomes a Wathaurong tribesman, learning to hunt and fish and speak their language. He witnesses many battles, cannibalism and various tribal customs. He endures hardship - tragically losing his family in a clan killing, and finds great happiness - falling in love with a young woman who stays with him for many years. He grows into middle age, part of a world utterly different to the one into which he was born.
But in 1835, Buckley’s world is turned upside down when John Batman’s advance party for settling Melbourne arrives. Unbeknownst to them, the local Wathaurong tribe is planning to attack and kill the intruders and steal their provisions. Imagine the new arrivals’ surprise when a six and a half foot giant of a wild white man emerges from the bush and it turns out, he can speak English! Buckley now stands between two worlds that are about to collide. Can he prevent bloodshed? Whose side is he on, white or black?
Near the end of his days, Buckley sat down to tell his story to John Morgan, a journalist with an eye for a good yarn. Buckley’s rich and detailed account offers a fascinating and often surprising portrait of life in an ancient culture before white colonisation. It is one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told.
DEMONSTRATE YOUR LEARNING #3 Required*
ANALYSE: After watching the video, what evidence is there to suggest that this was a hard choice for William to make? What would you have done if you were in his situation? Explain and submit your answer in the box below: