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Lesson

Lesson focus question: Why did the British select New South Wales, Australia, as a place to establish a colony?

In the first part of this unit, you learned about explorers from Europe who made journeys of exploration to find new lands, and how European countries colonised some of the new lands they found. You also learned that British explorer and navigator, Captain James Cook, claimed the east coast of what we now know as Australia for England in 1770.

ResourcesDigitalSlideshow — Life in England leading up to the British colonisation of Australia

Video — Reasons to settle in Australia (3:30)

Find and prepareSheet 1 — History glossary Year 4 Unit 1 (from Lesson 1)

Key termsIndustrial Revolution

For definitions and explanations of terms, please see the Glossary.

�opic:� Making connections

British settlement of Australia

Today you will:

► understand the reasons why the British settled in New South Wales, Australia.

Lesson 12HISTORYYear 4 Unit 1

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

In the second part of this unit, you will learn about the people of the First Fleet who travelled from Britain to Australia to establish a colony. You will also learn about how the experiences of these people changed before, during and after their arrival in Australia.

In this lesson, you will investigate why the British chose New South Wales as a suitable place to colonise.

Examine provided sources to locate information about life in England leading up to the colonisation of Australia

We are going to start by examining sources to learn about what was happening in England in the times leading up to the colonisation of Australia by the British.

1. Use Sheet 1 — History glossary Year 4 Unit 1 to locate the definition for the term ‘Industrial Revolution’. You will need to be familiar with this term during the lesson.

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

2. View the Slideshow — Life in England leading up to the British colonisation of Australia and answer the questions that follow.

This slideshow describes what life was like in England leading up to the British colonisation of Australia. Sources showing what living and working conditions were like in England at this time are examined.

a. What can you tell from the pictures and information on Slide 2 about the type of work a lot of people did? Tick the correct answer/s.

Most people did farm work.

Most people worked as labourers.

A lot of the work was done by hand (machinery wasn’t used).

All of the above.

b. What can you tell from the pictures and information on Slides 4, 5 and 6 about what working conditions were like in England during the Industrial Revolution? Tick the boxes beside the words that you think best describe the working conditions.

i) Working conditions

pleasant cramped uncomfortable safe dangerous enjoyable

ii) Record any other words you would use to describe the working conditions you observed in the space below.

c. What can you tell from the pictures and information on Slide 7 about what the living conditions were like in England during the Industrial Revolution?

iii) Living conditions

over-crowded spacious clean dirty polluted relaxing

Slideshow

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

iv) Record any other words you would use to describe the living conditions you observed in the sources in the space below.

3. What problems do you think resulted from overcrowding in towns and cities in England during the Industrial Revolution? Write your ideas in the space provided.

We now know that the Industrial Revolution in Europe brought about many changes in the ways people in England lived and worked.

Why did the English government decide to set up a colony at this time?

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

Locate relevant information in sources about reasons why New South Wales was chosen as a place to establish a British colony

As towns and cities in England became overcrowded during the Industrial Revolution, there was a rise in petty (minor) crime like theft (stealing). The government set harsh punishments to stop the crime, but many people were living in poverty and needed to steal to survive. Prisons became overcrowded, so hulks (old, unused ships) were used as floating gaols.

Life for prisoners on hulks was hard. They were punished for poor behaviours, such as laziness and stealing. Prisoners were whipped and chained to their bunks. There were outbreaks of disease in the overcrowded prisons and hulks.Cooke, E. W., ca. 1829, Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, convicts going aboard, National Library of Australia. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an9058453

England … Industrial Revolution … lots of crime … overcrowded prisons … floating gaols … It seems to me like the British government was running out of places to keep its criminals. Why did this happen?

In the past, Britain had sent more than 40 000 convicts to American colonies. The American Revolution in 1776 meant that the British could no longer send their convicts to America.

The British government needed to find another place to send their prisoners.

Note

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

Can you think where the British government decided to send their convicts? If you said New South Wales (Australia), you’d be correct!

Why do you think New South Wales was chosen as the best place to set up a British colony?

4. View the Video — Reasons to settle in Australia to identify reasons why the British wanted to set up a colony in New South Wales.

This video explores the reasons the British had for establishing a colony in Australia by looking at a range of sources.

Identify the reasons why the British government chose New South Wales, Australia, as a suitable place to colonise. Record true or false beside each statement.

The British government wanted to set up a colony in New South Wales, Australia, because …

a. they wanted to have a place to go for holidays.

b. they wanted a place to send their prisoners because their gaols were overcrowded.

c. they thought a colony in New South Wales would impress the King of France.

d. they wanted to beat the French and secure the British claim of Norfolk Island.

e. they knew that the soil would be good for growing crops for food.

3:30Video

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

f. they knew that a colony in New South Wales would be a good opportunity to trade with South America.

g. they needed a place to send their prisoners because they could no longer send convicts to the American colonies.

So, you have been examining the reasons why the decision was made by the British Government to establish a British colony in New South Wales, Australia.

Let’s examine how events in England leading up to the British colonisation of Australia are connected by completing cause and effect flowcharts.

Cause and effect is about how an action results in another action or outcome. It is often seen in a chain of events.

Note

5. Identify the causes and effects to complete the flowcharts. Place the number for statements from the box below in the correct spaces in the cause-and-effect flowcharts.

Statements

1. The populations of towns and cities increased.

2. Prisons and hulks became over-crowded as crime increased.

3. Crime increased because many people had to steal to survive.

4.The decision was made to send convicts to New South Wales to establish a British colony.

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

a.

During the Industrial

Revolution, there was a demand for workers in mills and factories.

Many working-class people left farms to work in towns and cities.

EFFEC� EFFEC�

CAUSE CAUSE

b.

The populations of

towns and cities in places like London increased during the mid-1700s.

People were put in prisons and hulks, which

were floating gaols.

EFFEC� EFFEC�

CAUSECAUSE

c.

The First Fleet departed

Portsmouth, England on the

13 May 1787 with approximately 1000

convicts, bound for New South

Wales.

EFFEC� EFFEC�

CAUSE CAUSE

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Year 4 History Unit 1 Lesson 12

You also learned about why the decision was made to send British people to colonise New South Wales, Australia.

In the next lesson, you will learn about what happened as a result of this decision, namely, the journey of the First Fleet. You will learn about who came to colonise Australia, when they came, how they came and what happened to them once they arrived in New South Wales.

Isn’t it interesting to see how events are connected?

In this lesson, you learned about why England needed to establish a British colony by looking at what was happening in the lives of many people as a result of the Industrial Revolution in Europe.