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Outback House: Travelling to the homestead

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Woman in period costume stands in front of horse and cart
Outback House: Travelling to the homestead

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  5–6


In 1861, people in rural areas of Australia travelled on foot or relied on horses and oxen for transport.

There were no roads or highways in the outback. Motor vehicles were decades away. All this meant that travelling from place to place took much longer than it does today.

The squatter and his male workers typically made the journey to the station in order to prepare the homestead and quarters. A lot of work was needed to make the buildings comfortable before the women and children arrived.

Join the women and children in Outback House as they arrive at the station homestead for their three month stay.


Things to think about

  1. 1.How would you travel if you had to move house? How would you cart all of your belongings and supplies? In the 1860s there were no motor vehicles and no paved roads outside the towns. How did people travel in those times?
  2. 2.Notice the clothing the women are wearing. How are the ladies' costumes similar to and different from each other? Why is this? How many bullocks are pulling the supply wagon? How else might these animals be used at the farm? How is the station homestead similar to and different from people's homes today?
  3. 3.How does the ladies' clothing differ from today's? Did their bonnets (hats) offer good sun protection? What would it be like to travel in full skirts with lots of petticoats? Why did the ladies wear clothes like this? Apart from the squatter's wife and three daughters, there are several other women. What jobs might they have on the station?
  4. 4.Imagine you are one of the people travelling to the homestead. Write or record a description of your day-long journey. What difficulties did you face? What sights, sounds and smells did you experience? How did you feel throughout the journey? What did you think about? What was the best thing about the day?



Production Date: 2005


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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