History - Community and Remembrance, First Contacts
Students walk across Jibbon Beach to Jibbon Headland, where they explore historical evidence such as the magnificent rock engravings, shell middens and oral stories.
Key syllabus outcomes
- Students describe and explain how significant individuals, groups and events contributed to changes in the local community over time (HT2-2)
- Students describe and explain effects of British colonisation in Australia (HT2-4)
- Students apply skills of historical inquiry and communication (HT2-5)
Key inquiry questions
- Who lived here first and how do we know?
- What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
Content
History – community and remembrance
Students:
- identify the original Aboriginal languages spoken in the local or regional area
- identify the special relationship that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples have to Country and Place
- respond to Aboriginal stories told about Country presented in texts or by a guest speaker
History – first contacts
Students:
- identify the original inhabitants of Australia and create a timeline indicating their longevity in Australia of more than 50,000 years
- investigate, drawing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community representatives (where possible) and other sources, the traditional Aboriginal way of life, focusing on people, their beliefs, food, shelter, tools and weapons, customs and ceremonies, art works, dance, music, and relationship to Country
Learning activities
Students:
- match evidence of Aboriginal occupation to a timeline of 65,000+ years
- examine Aboriginal artefacts and infer their uses
- observe shell middens and learn about what they tell us about the past
- collect shells from the beach or observe shellfish on the rock platforms and match to sources of food
- listen to a Dharawal Dreaming Story about Whale and Starfish and discuss how stories are a type of historical evidence
- paint Aboriginal symbols with ochres to tell a story
- visit the Aboriginal engravings at Jibbon Headland and consider their significance and the evidence they provide of Dharawal occupation