BOOK PUBLISHERS

Teachers’ Notes by Robyn Sheahan-Bright

Cedar, Seals and Ships Transport, Trade and Travel in Australia 1788-1830s by John Nicholson ISBN 9781741750034 Recommended for ages 9 yrs or older

These notes may be reproduced free of charge for use and study within schools but they may not be reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale.

Introduction...... 2 Themes & curriculum topics ...... 2 SOSE/HSIE ...... 2 Literacy & language ...... 6 Creative arts...... 7 Food & public health ...... 7 Maths ...... 8 Questions for reading and discussion ...... 8 Conclusion...... 8 Related texts and other sources...... 9 About the writers...... 10

83 Alexander Street PO Box 8500 Crows Nest, St Leonards NSW 2065 NSW 1590 ph: (61 2) 8425 0100 [email protected] Allen & Unwin PTY LTD Australia Australia fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 www.allenandunwin.com ABN 79 003 994 278

INTRODUCTION This story of Australia’s early European traders is a tale filled with intrigue. It details three of the most prosperous of industries – whaling, sealing and cedar-getting – and explains how and why they grew and declined. It shows how the early import and export of goods to and from Australia was influenced by its colonial ties with the United Kingdom and also by its interaction with many traders from a variety of cultures. Cedar, Seals and Whaling Ships is the second book in a five-book series ‘Transport Trade and Travel in Australia'. Book 1– Songlines and Stone Axes –details the trading practices already in place amongst Aboriginal people, and shows how the arrival of European settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people but destroyed their trading networks and altered the land dramatically. This book describes the way in which European settlement transformed the land and established a network of transport which continues to this day.

THEMES & CURRICULUM TOPICS Themes suggested by the book which might be explored with class groups include: • Trading and Trading Practices • Transport and Travel (including roads, waterways and shipping) • Secondary and Primary Industries • Land and Property Ownership (Competition and Rivalry) • Human Rights (eg. displacement of Aboriginal people; exploitation of convicts) • Animal Rights • Historical Accuracy

Topics which relate to these themes fall into Curriculum areas such as: • SOSE/HSIE – Studying Society and Societal Issues • Language and Literacy • Creative Arts • Food & Public Health • Maths * * *

SOSE/HSIE In this curriculum area there are several topics you might explore with your students:

1. TRADING AND TRADE PRACTICES The book traces the history of early trade, the effects of capitalism, and the exercise of practices driven by a profit motive. Outcomes of trade include: • Productivity

- 2 -

• Exploitation • Competition • Trade Practices and Legislation • Unsustainable Usage of Land and Resources

Question: What were the benefits of early trade?

Question: What were the ill-effects?

Activity: The East India Trading Company was founded in 1600, had a great deal of power over trade routes and practices in Australia’s early settlement days, and still exists today! [http://www.eastinditradingcompany.com] Read about the company and draw up a comparison between the good and bad aspects of their policies and the influence they have had on the countries they traded with.

2. THE WHALING INDUSTRY The whaling industry in Australia is a tale of rise and decline. This work shows how quickly the whale population was depleted due to whaling. Read about the history of whaling and the current world movement to halt the industry.

Question: What products were made from whales? This book mentions meat, oil, candles and stiffening ribs for garments (p 16). Make a list of 20 things which were made from whale bone, blubber, cartilage and oil.

Question: What were the three reasons for the decline of the whaling industry? (For answer: See p 16.)

Whaling Quiz 1. What was scrimshaw? 2. How is spermaceti used? 3. What is baleen? 4. Who was the ‘most famous Sperm Whale of all’? 5. What was another name for the Black Whale? 6. What locally produced timber did Tasmanian whalers use to make their whale boats? 7. Entrepreneur Benjamin Boyd is often described as a ‘blackbirder’. Where did he get his slaves from? 8. Where did Ben Boyd build his Boydtown? 9. What were the so-called ‘doughnuts’ eaten on early whaling ships actually made of? 10. Who has been called ‘the father of Australian whaling’?

Answers: 1. The art of intricate etching on whale teeth, baleen and jaw bones. (It’s also used to refer to a similar craft with ivory and other substitutes.) Sailors often carved pictures of sailing ships, or scenes of their times. 2. Spermaceti is a waxy substance, collected from Sperm whales and is used to make lamp oil and also as a lubricant in cosmetic, textile, leather and other industries. 3. Baleen plates (or bones) in the whale’s mouth are used by the whale to filter tiny animals from sea water. It’s been used to provide ribs in

- 3 -

garments. 4. Moby Dick the creature invented by author Herman Melville. 5. Southern Right Whale 6. Huon pine 7. 8. on the NSW coast. 9. Ship’s biscuits fried in whale oil. 10. Eber Bunker

3. THE SEALING INDUSTRY The sealing industry was equally vigorous in the early days. This book describes the way in which seals were killed and how quickly their populations were depleted. It also details the brutal lifestyle lived by sealers, many of whom were pirates and often kept Aboriginal women captive, meting out extremely violent treatment to them. In 1798 Captain Charles Bishop established a sealing station in Bass Strait on Cape Barren Island and his men killed 9000 seals. The Australian Fur Seal is now the world’s fourth-rarest seal species and is wholly protected.

Activity: Try to find out statistics on current Australian Fur Seal populations in that area.

Question: What other types of seals have been found in ?

This book covers issues such as unsustainable hunting, animal cruelty, exploitation of workers, and sexual and physical enslaving of Aboriginal Women.

Activity: Discuss these and other issues raised in this coverage of the sealing industry.

4. THE AUSTRALIAN CEDAR INDUSTRY The Australian cedar industry is another key topic. Australian red cedar Toona ciliata was discovered by Europeans early in the settlement period, although the Aboriginal people had been very aware of the tree, and had given it many different names according to their language groups and areas. By 1798 it was the colony’s third largest export. Cedar is a beautiful timber, which European settlers found was easy to cut and cure. Question: What uses did Europeans make of the tree apart from furniture making?

This book contains implicit criticism of the practices adopted by early settlers who used the rich resources of this country with no thought for their preservation, for the needs of the Aboriginal people who inhabited the land, or for re-population of fauna or re-growth of flora.

Question: What were the effects of the widespread felling of cedar?

Question: How much cedar is left in Australia and where is it most readily available?

Collecting cedar was hazardous.

Question: What were the hazards faced by timber-getters in cutting and transporting the huge trees to market?

5. HISTORICAL FIGURES This book mentions several historical figures who had a significant effect on Australia’s development, and whom students might choose to research. Eg. Governor Phillip; Eber Bunker; Robert Campbell; Benjamin Boyd; Elizabeth and John Macarthur; William Cox; ; John Batman; John Pascoe Faulkner.

- 4 -

Question: How might you find out their dates of birth and death? Eg. Most can be found by searching the NLA catalogue under their names.

Activity: Find a statement which encapsulates the nature of the person’s achievement. Eg. Nicholson calls Ben Boyd a ‘dodgy entrepreneur’ (p 16) and Lachlan Macquarie ‘that great builder of things’ (p 23). Try to find out why they gained such reputations. Your research may cause you to challenge these assertions as well.

Activity: Debate the positive and negative effects of the role of one of these people in Australia’s development.

6. THE INTRODUCTION OF SPECIES OF FAUNA AND FLORA The introduction of species of fauna and flora has worked enormous changes on the Australian landscape. For example, the arrival of cows and horses (p 17) required the clearing of vast tracts of land, and the need to feed these animals had environmental impacts too. Other issues include the displacement of Aboriginal people and the destruction of many varieties of flora and fauna.

Question: What other effect did the introduction of new species have?

7. SHIPS AND SHIPPING Ships and shipping are fascinating subjects in this book. See pictures of types of ships (p 26).

Research the various types of craft such as a packet; a ketch; a barge.

Question: What was a mosquito fleet?

8. ROAD BUILDING Road building has had great impacts too (see map p 21). Many roads followed particular courses due to expediency. Eg. William Cox’s Road over the Blue Mountains ‘followed the ridges (to avoid labour-intensive cutting and filling)’ (p 22).

Activity: Research the building of the main roads and river crossings in the area in which you live. Try to find out why and how they were built.

Question: What industries were influential in deciding where roads were built?

9. HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES Human Rights Issues are raised by the discussion of the treatment of Aboriginal peoples, Islanders, convicts and poor employees. Slavery is not generally recognised as an Australian issue, and yet it has been a fact in our history. Ben Boyd employed indentured people from the Solomon Islands as virtual slaves. The convicts were not allowed freedom before completing years of arduous work under extremely brutal conditions. Sealers enslaved Aboriginal women and treated them with extreme brutality.

Activity: Discuss slavery as a factor in Australian history and read other books about it. Eg. Sweet Tea by Brian Ridden (Lothian, 2002) or Iron in the Blood by Alan Tucker (Omnibus Books 2002).

- 5 -

Early industries and services would not have been developed without the availability of Aboriginal labour.

Activity: Research the contribution of Aboriginal people to the development of Australia in the pastoral or another industry.

10. HISTORICAL ACCURACY This book refers several times to the difficulty of corroborating some facts and to the existence of conflicting information (p 27). It challenges received views of the early colony’s history by including several curious facts which you may not find in other history books, and which are worth exploring further: The book suggests that Elizabeth, not John Macarthur was the real founder of the Australian wool industry.

Activity: Research this claim and write an essay discussing your findings

The arrival of the US ship Philadelphia in 1792 led to ‘American traders supplying most of ’s needs over the next 20 years. European Australia was soon awash with American technology and manufactured goods.’ (p 30)

Activity: Research this influence on the colony’s imports. Then read the list of imports (p 30).

Activity: Research trade with any of these countries: India, China, Europe, Mauritius. Then read the list of exports (p 30).

Activity: Research any one of the export products listed there.

LITERACY & LANGUAGE This book is a rich source of language and narrative which might be explored in a range of activities. Words can convey conflicting meanings about historical and social events. At the end of Songlines and Stone Axes, John Nicholson writes: ‘We should be careful not to confuse change with progress.’ (p 31)

Activity: Consider the words which might be used to describe European arrival in Australia. Eg. Settlement /Invasion; Hunt/Plunder; Agricultural Development/Exploitation of the Land; Exchange/Trade; Slave/Indentured Worker. Make a list of alternative words like this which are suggested by this book.

Words used commonly in past times are often lost or forgotten.

Activity: Conduct a quiz using the glossary of 28 words and phrases at the back of the book. After they’ve read this book, ask students to define any of the words in that list. Who got the highest score?

Telling individuals’ stories is a vital part of the creation of national history and local history.

Activity: Choose a story which you found interesting in this book and tell it in a ‘first person’ voice. How does this change the story and the way in which the reader might view the information?

- 6 -

Visual Literacy is another aspect of this text which could be explored. Nicholson‘s images are not only vivid representations of the history, but excellent examples of how the artist has studied the actual features of architecture, artefacts and landscape to give students both an accurate and an imaginative view of history. Activity: Study the use of perspective, and the creation of texture in the various surfaces of the wall in the image (p 12) of Robert Campbell’s store. Draw a building using this technique. The artists’ brushstrokes make his maritime scenes more authentic via both an impression of the turbulence of water (pp 4-5) and via reflection on water (p 25). Students may wish to study and create maritime scenes like this. The sketches (p 26) of various small craft have subtle differences in their sails and rigging. Students may wish to study and draw some of the these crafts themselves. Examine the image of the men clubbing seals (p 10) and discuss the impressions which this dynamic image gives you of the men and of the seals. How are their bodies depicted? What does the composition of the picture imply about their relationship?

CREATIVE ARTS The exciting stories contained in this non-fiction text could offer stimulus for several creative arts activities. Visual Arts activities might include creating a diorama of scenes described in the text; painting a picture or creating a collage suggestive of any one of the many themes it contains. A nearby art gallery or museum might house artworks depicting the labour of early European settlers, or artefacts relating to that labour. Multimedia Performances could be based on some of the rollicking tales told by Nicholson in this book and series. Eg. Ben Boyd and his ‘Boydtown’ might form the basis for a school musical.

FOOD AND PUBLIC HEALTH Lack of basic food necessities was often acute on both the sea and the land in early settlement years due to the lack of fresh food; delays in the arrival of supply ships; the scarcity of livestock and seeds to grow and harvest; and the unfamiliar climatic conditions. For example, from 1789 ‘…the colony went without milk until 1791.’ (p 17) The book mentions the disgusting food sailors often had to survive on and the prevalence of scurvy amongst them. Recipes were often created in order to make some of the less palatable foodstuffs available into a meal which was at least enriching, even if it wasn’t a feast. Eg. Whale Rissoles (p 14).

Activity: Research other recipes of that time, which we wouldn’t eat today.

Question: What causes scurvy?

However, early settlers often missed the fact that natural food (although of types they were not used to) was bountiful. Eg. fish, oysters and bush plants and herbs.

Activity: Research the foods which early settlers might have eaten. Eg. Kangaroo Tail Soup, Chicken with Quandong, Crocodile Fillet or Lemon Myrtle Dressing on salad. (In Songlines and Stone Axes, the previous book in this series, John Nicholson records the food which Aboriginal people collected and farmed. Eg. eels and even Bogong moth rissoles!)

- 7 -

Early farmers tried to produce livestock in conditions which were not suitable to the purpose.

Question: Why did the Van Diemen’s Land Company find it so difficult to farm merino sheep on the north-west of the island? (See p 19.)

Diseases and illness hampered the growth of early settlement and decimated the Indigenous populations. The transport of these illnesses was enabled by new forms of transport and by the urgency with which European settlers sought to ‘explore’ the land.

Activity: Research any one of these introduced illnesses and their effects.

MATHS Several maths activities might be generated by this book related to concepts of selling, buying, bartering and transporting. See Table (p 16). Work out the percentage by which Hobart whaling declined, using these figures. See Table (p 17).What is the ratio between the number of horses and cows in 1788 and then again in 1820? Create a table showing the population of any of the animals mentioned in this book, between the beginning of settlement and today.

QUESTIONS FOR READING AND DISCUSSION 1. Read Songlines and Stone Axes, Book 1 in this series. What differences did you notice between Aboriginal trading practices and European trading practices? 2. In Songlines and Stone Axes we are told that: ‘settlers used Aboriginal tracks as stock routes because they led to sources of water, convenient river crossings, sheltered campsites and good sources of food for people and animals’ (p 10). Discuss this in relation to the usual presumption that early explorers ‘discovered’ the way through this land. How many other early European settlers’ practices were influenced by Aboriginal people’s traditions and skills? 3. Nicholson writes: ‘Sending eleven ships crammed with convicts to a wilderness on the other side of the world doesn’t make a great deal of sense unless there are some other good reasons for the expedition. And there were.’ (p 9) Continue this discussion by examining the reasons for the UK decision to establish a colony. 4. ‘Sealing, whaling and timber were early successes, but they were not sustainable.’ (p 30) Why not? 5. The next and third book in this series deals with wool and ‘the wagons and clippers that carried it’ (p 30). What facts did you glean about the founding of the wool industry in this second book?

CONCLUSION Drawing conclusions can be a dead-end for writers and researchers. This book instead leaves the reader with a number of tantalising questions to pursue further.

- 8 -

IN-DEPTH RESEARCH TOPICS TO PURSUE: • Trace the development of ports and harbours. First discuss the statement: ‘Sydney and Hobart were both built at places chosen by sailors… Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane were not chosen by sailors.’ (p 28) • Research ports in Australia and the successful/unsuccessful location of them. • Choose sealing, whaling or cedar-getting and research the effects of that industry. • Trade is a subject which could be tackled in a range of ways. Conduct a debate about the positive and negative effects of trade practices. • Ironically the cessation of sealing and whaling has led to the development of another industry – eco-tourism – which might be seen to have had just as many side-effects. Research and discuss.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RELATED TEXTS AND OTHER SOURCES

BOOKS: Barlow, Alex, Trade (Aboriginal Technology series), Macmillan Education, South Yarra, 1994, 1999. Barwick, John & Jennifer, Trade in Australia (Database of Australia series), Heinemann Library, Port Melbourne, 2000. Diamond, Marion, Ben Boyd of Boydtown, MUP, Melbourne, 1995. Dickson, Rod, The History of the Whalers on the South Coast of New Holland from 1800- 1888, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, WA, 2007. Red Cedar in Australia, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, Sydney, 2004. Holden, Robert, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: the Life of the Australian Whaling Captain, William Chamberlain: a tale of abduction, adventure and Murder, HarperCollins, Pymble, 2004. Hodgkinson, R., Eber Bunker, Roebuck Society Publication No.5, Canberra, 1975. Kerr, Margaret and Colin, Australia’s Early Whalemen, Rigby, Adelaide, 1980. McClish, Bruce, Sheep and Wool Macmillan Education, South Yarra, 1999. Spence, Bill, Harpooned: The Story of Whaling, Crescent Books, NY, 1980. Wild, Anthony, The East India Company: Trade and Conquest from 1600, HarperCollins Illustrated, , 2000. Woldendorp, Richard, Wool: the Australian Story, Photographs by Richard Woldendorp, with Roger McDonald and Amanda Burdon. Fremantle Arts Centre Press in association with Richard Woldendorp, Fremantle, 2003

WEBSITES: Australian Museum Online http://www.amonline.net.au./factSheets Useful information on many aspects of Australia’s fauna and flora. ‘Benjamin Boyd (1801-1851)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A0101.29b.htm The East India Company http://www.theeastindiacompany.com This is the contemporary company’s website.

- 9 -

British East India Company Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/british-east- india-company This site brings together entries on the BEIC from a variety of sources. Whales on the Net http://www.whales.org/au/faq This very useful site answers students’ questions about whales and whaling. WL Crowther Library, State Library of Tasmania http://www.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/whatdo/researchandref/tasref/Crowther The library of pre-eminent whaling historian and collector WL Crowther includes numerous images of scrimshaw and other artefacts and memorabilia. The Ships of the East India Company http://www.eicsships.info This site contains useful information on the voyages of the EIC ships (1600-1834). Tasmania Parks and Wildlife http://www.parks.tas.gov.au This site lists information on whaling and sealing.

ABOUT THE WRITERS

JOHN NICHOLSON John Nicholson is an award-winning author and illustrator, who has produced a number of children’s books for Allen and Unwin. Three of John's books, A Home among the Gum Trees, The First Fleet and Fishing for Islands, have been awarded the Children’s Council of Australia’s Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. He was trained as an architect but now writes and illustrates full-time. His books are mostly non-fiction, and he believes that 'information books' can be as exciting and adventurous as fiction. John Nicholson’s other publications for children and teenagers include: Paper Chase 1993 Homemade Houses 1993 Gold! 1994 The Cruellest Place on Earth 1994 The First Fleet 1995 Australian Explorers 1996 Kimberley Warrior 1997 A Home Among the Gum Trees 1997 Who’s Running This Country? 1998 Fishing for Islands 1999 The State of the Planet 2000 Building the Sydney Harbour Bridge 2000 The Mighty Murray 2002 Animal Architects 2003 Australia Locked Up 2006 Songlines and Stone Axes 2007 Within NSW, school visits by John Nicholson can be organised through Lateral Learning. Visit http://www.laterallearning.com or email [email protected].

- 10 -

Within Victoria, school visits can be organised through Booked Out. Visit http://www.bookedout.com.au/ or email [email protected]

DR ROBYN SHEAHAN-BRIGHT Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright operates justified text writing and publishing consultancy services, and publishes regularly on children’s literature, Australian fiction, and publishing history. She was inaugural director of and is a Life Member of the Writers Centre, and was co-founder of Jam Roll Press. Her latest publications include Paper Empires: A History of the Book in Australia (1946-2005) (2006) co-edited with Craig Munro, Kookaburra Shells Port Curtis Literature (2006), and Hot Iron Corrugated Sky: 100 Years of Queensland Writing (2002) co-edited with Stuart Glover. She has chapters in several textbooks including Crossing the Boundaries edited by Michelle Anstey and Geoff Bull (Pearson Education, 2002). Her PhD thesis traced the development of the Australian children’s publishing industry, and she teaches for Griffith University (Gold Coast) and USQ.

- 11 -