SUBJECTS: History
YEARS: 3–4
Have you ever opened an exciting gift box to find nothing that you hoped for inside?
French explorer Nicolas Baudin voyages to 'New Holland' to investigate the continent. This clip explains what he was expecting to see and why he was so disappointed with what he finds in Western Australia.
Things to think about
- 1.Baudin had hoped to find somewhere in New Holland to start a French settlement. Can you imagine what he might have considered the ideal place for a successful European settlement? What might the land look like? What natural resources are needed to safely land boats and set up camp? Draw a quick sketch or a map to show the kind of place Baudin might have hoped to find.
- 2.What do the clouds of smoke tell Baudin? How is the land that Baudin finds different to what he expected? Why does he believe the area is not suitable for settlement? What other problems does Baudin have at this time? How does he plan to solve them?
- 3.Baudin knew that people were living in the area from the smoke from fires. Why might the Aboriginal people have lit these fires? If Baudin had found a place to land and tried to set up camp how might the local Aboriginal people have reacted? How might he have established a respectful relationship with them? Talk with someone about this.
- 4.Baudin saw the coast of North West Australia as a desert that could not sustain a settlement, however Aboriginal people were living there successfully at the time. Find out about the ways that Aboriginal people live in desert places. How do they survive when food and water are hard to find? Some of Baudin's men had scurvy. Find out what you can about this disease.
Date of broadcast: 23 Feb 2010
Copyright
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