GETTING IT TOGETHER from Colonies to Federation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GETTING IT TOGETHER From Colonies to Federation tasmania People and Places INVeSTIGATIoNS oF AUSTRAlIA’S JoURNeYInvestigations of Australia’s journey To NATIoNHOOD FoR THe MIDDLE to nationhood for the middle years classroom YeARS CLASSROOM GETTING IT TOGETHER TASMANIA – people and plAceS © COMMoNWeAlTH oF AUSTRAlIA i Getting It Together: From Colonies to Federation has been funded by the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Getting It Together: From Colonies to Federation – Tasmania ISBN: 978 1 74200 100 5 SCIS order number: 1427631 Full bibliographic details are available from Curriculum Corporation. PO Box 177 Carlton South Vic 3053 Australia Tel: (03) 9207 9600 Fax: (03) 9910 9800 Email: [email protected] Website: www.curriculum.edu.au Published by the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House PO Box 7088 Canberra BC ACT 2610 Tel: (02) 6270 8222 Fax: (02) 6270 8111 www.moadoph.gov.au September 2009 © Commonwealth of Australia 2009 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney General’s Department, National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 or posted at www.ag.gov.au/cca This work is available for download from the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House: http://moadoph.gov.au/learning/resources-and-outreach Edited by Katharine Sturak and Zoe Naughten Designed by Deanna Vener GETTING IT TOGETHER TASMANIA – people and plAceS © COMMoNWeAlTH oF AUSTRAlIA People and Places Tasmania was the smallest of the six colonies. At the time of Federation, its population was about 172,000 – less than 5 per cent of the new Commonwealth’s total. Its size and physical isolation played an important part in shaping Tasmanians’ attitudes towards Federation. Tasmania had to be confident that its interests would be protected under a federal system just as much as those of the other colonies. When the campaign for Federation began in the 1890s, Tasmania had been a self-governing colony for more than 30 years. It was the second-oldest Australian colony and was proud of the progress that it had made since its founding in 1803. Towns and industries had developed, and the mainland colonies bought many Tasmanian products. Colonial pride was clear in the work of politicians, leading citizens and groups such as the Tasmanian Natives Association. This was an organisation of Australian-born settlers, who promoted the idea of ‘Tasmania for Tasmanians’. At the same time, Tasmania was also proud of its continuing links to Britain. It was part of the British Empire, just as the Australian nation would remain after Federation. Many people still thought of England as their ‘mother country’. Some aspects of Tasmania’s environment and society also seemed particularly ‘English’. One writer described it in this way: Its towns and villages, its country mansions and farmhouses, its highroads and green lanes, its orchards and its hop gardens, are all redolent of the mother country … All the elements of the picturesque are there—the lofty hedgerows, white with blossom in the spring, and crimson with berries in the autumn; the luxuriant foliage, the winding lane, the sweet breath of the new-mown hay … and the rustic bridge spanning a brawling brook. A Glance at Australia in 1880 by HM Franklyn. Despite this connection to Britain, many people in Tasmania and the other colonies believed that social and political changes were needed to better suit Australia’s distinct culture. Many also believed that Federation could achieve this. An economic depression in the 1890s made the need for change even more urgent. The challenge was to campaign for a federal system that could ensure the best possible future for Tasmania and the other Australian colonies. Investigations 1. What were Tasmania’s towns and rural areas like in the late 1800s? 2. What were Tasmanians like in the late 1800s? 3. Who were some Tasmanians working for change in the 1890s? 4. Who were some other prominent people in Tasmania in the late 1800s? GETTING IT TOGETHER TASMANIA – people and plAceS © COMMoNWeAlTH oF AUSTRAlIA 1 InvestIgatIon 1 What were Tasmania’s activities towns and rural areas 1. As a class, read the newspaper extracts about Tasmanian towns. Discuss or use like in the late 1800s? a dictionary for words you don’t know. By the time of Federation, there were numerous 2. In a small group, use an atlas to locate the towns across Tasmania. None of these were towns listed. Record the location of the towns large in size or population compared to cities on the map of Tasmania. Classify the towns in the other colonies. Some were very small according to the industries and land use. rural communities. However, they all provided 3. Have each member of your group choose examples of the colony’s growth and progress a town. Find out what your town looked like by during the 1800s in building, establishing browsing the index of photographs on the Archive industries, using the land and natural resources Office of Tasmania websitehttp://portal.archives. in a variety of ways, and developing transport tas.gov.au/menu.aspx?search=7. To search for and technology. photographs, type the town’s name in ‘Locality’, Today, we can use descriptions from the time and then type in a date range, such as 1890 and other information to ‘picture’ what Tasmania to 1901. was like more than 100 years ago. 4. Using a different coloured pencil for each town, show the route you would travel to visit Your all of your group members and return home. task Use ‘Distances between towns’ to calculate the Investigate Tasmanian towns distance you would need to travel to visit each and their industries, transport of your group members. and technology. A horse could comfortably travel a distance of 50 miles in a day. How many days would it take to visit each of your group members? 5. Write a letter, diary entry or postcard about visiting the towns around Tasmania. Think about the following questions as you write. You Will need . What did you see? Resource sheet 1 . How was the land being used? . extracts: newspaper . Were the towns busy and bustling or quiet table: distances between . and peaceful? Tasmanian towns . map: Tasmania Display the letters, diary entries and postcards around your classroom. You might like to internet access volunteer to read your piece of writing to atlas the rest of the class. dictionary 2 GETTING IT TOGETHER TASMANIA – people and plAceS © COMMoNWeAlTH oF AUSTRAlIA GETTING IT TOGETHER TASMANIA – people and plAceS © COMMoNWeAlTH oF AUSTRAlIA InvestIgatIon 2 You Will need Resource sheet 2 . extracts: newspaper . census data: birthplaces What were Tasmanians and religions like in the late 1800s? Each colony had its own unique identity, which was shaped by its past. The backgrounds of its settlers and the developments that had occurred over the years influenced people’s values and beliefs. Common interests and concerns made people of the colony feel connected to one another. Tasmania’s history included its beginnings as a British penal settlement, which many wanted to forget, as well as its achievements since transportation of convicts to the island ended. It also included all the work of establishing towns, farms and businesses in an isolated land, and becoming a self-governing British colony. How do you think this would have influenced Tasmanian identity at the time of Federation? Explore Tasmania’s convict history and the values and beliefs Your of Tasmanians in the early days of the colony. task activities 1. As a class, read the newspaper extracts from . How did the people of Ulverstone show their Launceston’s Daily Telegraph and Hobart’s respect for British royalty? Do you think this Tasmanian Mail. Discuss or use a dictionary is an isolated example or common practice? to find out the meaning of words you don’t know. Provide reasons for your thinking. What evidence still exists today of Tasmanians 2. Divide the class into two groups and complete the following activities. being proud of their British heritage? Share your responses with the rest of your Group 1 3. group. Combine your group’s responses and share With a partner, discuss the following questions them with the other half of the class. and record your answers regarding Tasmania’s convict history. 4. As a class, examine the birthplace and religion census data. Make a list of the most striking or . Where did the convicts come from? surprising things that you notice when you What evidence is there in the extracts that . look at the graphs. Discuss the following questions. Tasmania had a convict past? . Would communication among people living in . Make a list of the contributions made by Tasmania have been easy? Consider the language Tasmania’s convicts. spoken by people born in the different places. Which words suggest that the writer believes . Would the people of Tasmania have shared Tasmania’s convict past is important? similar values and beliefs? . What evidence still exists today of Tasmania’s convict history? 5. With a partner, design an ‘I am Tasmanian’ poster. On one side of the poster write or draw the things Group 2 that were important and valued by the people of With a partner, discuss the following questions Tasmania in the past. On the other side of the poster, and record your answers. record the things that you think are important . What evidence is there that Tasmanians and valued by the people of Tasmania today.