1770: Cook’s Endeavour
HASS (History) Year 4
Discover why navigator James Cook and the crew of HMB Endeavour embarked on a momentous voyage around the world and consider the impacts of this voyage on First Nations people.
In this interactive session, students will explore primary sources from the Endeavour’s journey to learn who was onboard, where they stopped and what scientific discoveries they made along the way. By investigating the secret orders for the voyage, we’ll uncover Britain’s motivations for this journey of exploration.
We’ll also discuss the nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, consider the impact of Endeavour’s voyage on First Nations people and think about how it changed Australian history.
Cost: $100 per group of maximum 30 students to arrange a private Zoom meeting for your school at a time and date of your choosing.
This session is periodically offered as a free webinar – please check the Maritime Museum’s profile on DART Learning for upcoming sessions.
Program duration: 1 hour.
Technology: This session will be run as a Zoom meeting. If you would prefer to use another videoconferencing service (e.g. Teams) please let us know at the time of booking.
Accessibility: This is an online lesson delivered through zoom. If you or your students have any access or support requirements, please let us know when booking so we can ensure everyone has access to this learning opportunity.
Curriculum Links
Inquiry Questions
- Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
- What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
- Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
- What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?
The diversity of Australia's first peoples and the long and continuous connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Country/Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) (ACHASSK083)
- mapping the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups in Australia and recognising the groups of their local area and state/territory (or considering why there may not be specific local records)
- investigating pre-contact ways of life of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples; their knowledge of their environment including land management practices; and their fundamental beliefs about the interconnectedness of Country/Place, People, Culture and Identity
- exploring how Aboriginal Peoples exchanged ideas, technology and goods with each other and with Torres Strait Islander Peoples across vast distances
The journey(s) of AT LEAST ONE world navigator, explorer or trader up to the late eighteenth century, including their contacts with other societies and any impacts (ACHASSK084)
- investigating what motivated countries to explore and colonise
- examining the journey of one or more explorers (for example, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan), using navigation maps to reconstruct their journeys
- examining the journey of one or more explorers of the Australian coastline (for example, the Macassans, Dirk Hartog, Abel Tasman, James Cook, Comte de la Perouse) using navigation maps to reconstruct their journeys
- examining the impact of European exploration or colonisation on ONE society
- investigating networks of exchange and what was exchanged between different groups of people (for example, ideas, spices, food, slaves)
- recognising that people from many continents have explored parts of the world (for example, Zheng He, Ibn Battuta)
The nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, for example, the Macassans and the Europeans, and the effects of these interactions on, for example, people and environments (ACHASSK086)
- investigating contact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples before 1788 (for example, the repulsion of the Dutch at Cape Keerweer in 1606 and the trade between the Macassans and the Yolngu people)
- comparing the European concept of land ownership, including terra nullius, with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' relationship with the land, sea, waterways and sky, and how this affected relations between the groups
- exploring early contact of Aboriginal people with the British including people (for example, Pemulwuy, Bennelong) and events of conciliation and resistance (such as the Black War)
- exploring the impact that British colonisation had on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (dispossession; dislocation; and the loss of lives through conflict, disease, loss of food sources and medicines)
- considering whether the interactions between Europeans and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples had positive or negative effects
HT2-3 describes people, events and actions related to world exploration and its effects
HT2-4 describes and explains effects of British colonisation in Australia
HT2-5 applies skills of historical inquiry and communication
The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples and the significant ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected to Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and the effects on their daily lives (VCHHK078)
The journey(s) of a significant world navigator, explorer or trader up to the late eighteenth century, including their contacts with and effects on other societies (VCHHK079)
The nature of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and others, for example, the Macassans and the Europeans, and the effects of these interactions (VCHHK081)
AC9HS4K01 the diversity of First Nations Australians, their social organisation and their continuous connection to Country/Place
AC9HS4K02 the causes of the establishment of the first British colony in Australia in 1788
AC9HS4K04 the effects of contact with other people on First Nations Australians and their Countries/Places following the arrival of the First Fleet and how this was viewed by First Nations Australians as an invasion
The diversity and longevity of Australia's first peoples and the ways they are connected to Country/Place (e.g. land, sea, waterways, skies) and their pre-contact ways of life (ACHASSK083)
The journey(s) of at least one world navigator, explorer or trader up to the late 18th century (e.g. Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan), including their contacts and exchanges with societies in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and the impact on one society (ACHASSK084)
The nature of contact between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others (e.g. the Macassans, Europeans) and the impact that these interactions and colonisation had on the environment and people's lives (e.g. dispossession, dislocation, the loss of lives through conflict, disease, loss of food sources and medicines) (ACHASSK086)
Additional resources