To some degree the unfamiliar country of Australia was a ‘Fatal Shore’, a land of suffering and hardship for the British, however after its early years, the colony began to flourish and Australia was established as being a land of opportunity. Events in Britain, such as The Industrial Revolution, encouraged people to consider migrating to Australia for a better life as many of the working class were profoundly affected. Furthermore, the increase in crime due to unemployment lead to overcrowded prisons and no destination to transport the convicts, especially after the American War of Independence in the eighteenth century. And so, the British embarked on a new settlement project, leading to long struggles for some and great opportunity for others.
In its early years the colony was at risk of starvation; disease and malnutrition flourished, especially as the British settlers were unfamiliar with the colony’s different environment. The British, especially those who came in the First Fleet in 1788, were catastrophically unprepared and chances of building a sustainable colony seemed bleak as crops failed due to tools, seeds and methods unsuitable for the Australian environment. Their unfamiliarity with the country resulted in a struggle to survive and members of the scrambling colony were placed under the strict rationing of food. Arthur Bowes Smyth, who sailed with the First Fleet, recorded in his journal that “ the wood itself fit for no purposes of buildg. or anything but the fire -- The Soil to a great depth is nothing but a black sand…the surrounding trees, is not fit for the vegitation of anything even the grass itself…”, showing that upon arrival the British were faced with many problems including for example the lack of resou...
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..., the colony finally began to flourish and prosper, proving that Australia was not just a ‘Fatal Shore’.
Works Cited
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Sl.nsw.gov.au, (2014). Arthur Bowes Smyth | State Library of New South Wales. [online] Available at: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/journals/bowes_smyth/index.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2014].
Sl.nsw.gov.au, (2014). James Campbell | State Library of New South Wales. [online] Available at: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/terra_australis/letters/campbell_james/index.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2014].
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The novel “Nanberry” written by Jackie French, tells the story of early European settlement in Australia. Nanberry, Surgeon White and Rachel Turner are all main characters in the novel but three minor characters who could have been examined in more detail were Maria, Colbee and Mr. Trench. Each of these characters either performs something or states something that is vital to the story line and plot. This essay will also suggest ways that these three characters could have been developed to make “Nanberry” a little bit more thought – provoking.
Australia was imperialized by England for land, and for space for their conflicts. The conflicts were there to farm food for the English people. At the same time England had already had other countries under their control at this time. Australian people were not very happy with the English
Why Australia? What is Australia anyway1? The continent itself is clear enough, burned into my mind on long hot afternoons in the Third Grade when I learned to sketch in its irregular coastline: the half-circle of the Great Australian Bight, the little booted foot of Eyre's Peninsula. Spencer's Gulf down to Port Philip … … I know the outline; I know the names (learned painfully for homework) of several
Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language is known universally, the naming of certain places in, but not really known to, Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Reverie of a Swimmer’ convoluted with the overall message of the poems. The story of ‘Drifters’ looks at a family that moves around so much, that they feel as though they don’t belong. By utilising metaphors of planting in a ‘“vegetable-patch”, Dawe is referring to the family making roots, or settling down somewhere, which the audience assumes doesn’t occur, as the “green tomatoes are picked by off the vine”. The idea of feeling secure and settling down can be applied to any country and isn’t a stereotypical Australian behaviour - unless it is, in fact, referring to the continental
In Reading Tim Wintons hopeful saga, Cloudstreet, you are immersed in Australia; it is an important story in showing the change in values that urbanisation brought to Perth in the late 1950’s such as confidence and pride. But it was also a very anxious and fearful time period in terms of the Nedlands Monster and his impact in changing the current comfortable, breezy system Perth lived in. The role of women changed significantly with more women adopting more ambitious ideologies and engaging in the workforce something never seen before. But most of all it was important because it changed Australia’s priorities as a nation, it shaped the identity of individuals that we now see today, and it created a very unique Australian identity.
Reynolds, H. (1990). With The White People: The crucial role of Aborigines in the exploration and development of Australia. Australia: Penguin Books
Good morning members of the Mt Gravatt show society. Did you know that World War Two is known as the most destructive war in history? It killed over 60 million people and had a lot more far-reaching impacts than any other wars. Published in 1988 in Inside Black Australia, an anthology of Aboriginal poetry, “The Black Rat” by a famous author and researcher, Iris Clayton, was a poem inspired by her father, Cecil, who fought in the war. The poem describes the depressing life of an Aboriginal soldier who helped off the German army at Tobruk at the time. The message in the poem is that the Aboriginal soldiers did not receive the benefits that European soldiers received, like farming lands after the war ended. This tells how unjust the European society was in Australia’s history.
This means looking back at the arrival of Europeans, particularly the legal and political system that were used in the apparent legitimisation of the invasion. Colonisation occurred in 1700’s when Australian soil first became ‘occupied’, not by the indigenous Australians who had lived with and upon the land for centuries before but rather by European colonial fleets who had been in search of undiscovered land. The act of occupation occurred through compliance with international law and the legal doctrine of discovery of uninhabited land; terra nullius. The Australian land was declared void not of inhabitants but rather of ‘organised society united permanently for political action.’ It was declared that those who inhabited the land when it was discovered had no local laws, and as such no
...atures that make Australia what it is today. He uses the words “sunlit plain”, “vision splendid” and “wondrous glory” to provide the reader with an image that represents Australia’s reminiscent landscape. This is done to capture the reader’s thoughts in an attempt to persuade them. Paterson silences the negative aspects of rural life and the positive aspects of city life.
The novel was written at a time where Australia was embracing different cultures and the Australian government were recognizing migrants for their contribution to society.
Veron, J. E. N. A Reef in Time: The Great Barrier Reef from Beginning to End. Cambridge, MA:
This poem expresses Mackellar’s deep passion and love for “her” country without touching on racial issues, rights or custodianship of the land. Australian born and resisting the identification of her British heritage, Mackellar patriotically declares Australia her own by rejecting the beauty of the British landscape through contrasting it with the romantic ideal of her "sunburnt" country. Mackellar presents to the readers the values and attitudes of a newly federated white Australia with her romanticisation of the Australian landscape.
- What/how does it tell us about living in Australia during times past? (100 - 150 words)
The indigenous people of Australia, called the Aborigines, are the oldest culture found on Earth. Studies show that the Aboriginal genome can be traced back seventy-five thousand years to when this community first migrated from Africa to Australia. As the oldest known continuous culture, their traditions and rituals have thrived even though the world around them has changed so drastically. In this paper I’d like to talk about the history of Aboriginal cultures in Australia, their cultural rituals and how their culture has been so heavily influenced and changed over the last few decades.
This is an incredible paragraph extracted from Bora Ring. This poem depicts perfectly of the European invasion of Australia. It shows how the traditions and stories are gone, how the hunting and rituals are gone and ‘lost in an alien tale’, the Europeans being the aliens. This poem also describes that it seemed as if the tradition of Aborigines was ‘breathed sleeping and forgot’. These are powerful words Judith Wright used to show how they Aborigines were quickly invaded and ‘forgotten’. This poem is an excellent example of why Australian students should study her poetry.