VELS 5
VCEThe impact of colonisation
The impact of colonisation
Use these materials with the worksheets on the right, to help students evaluate sources, compare images and study a single image in detail. Below the worksheets are printable versions of all materials, which you can use in the classroom.
For more information on evaluating images see:
See curriculum links
Relevant VCE areas of study include:
VCE Australian History – Unit 3 Imagining Australia
Area of study 1 – A new land: Port
Phillip District
1830–1860 – Outcome 1
– Key knowledge
- the impact of European settlement on the Aboriginal communities of Port Phillip and their response to it.
– Key skills
- analyse and evaluate written and visual historical evidence
- synthesise material and evidence to draw conclusions.
For more information see Curriculum Links VCE [pdf 27KB]
See background information
These cartoons and illustrations look at the
impact of settlement on Indigenous people, and the way Indigenous people were
viewed by European society. Three were published in Victorian illustrated
newspapers in the 1850s, while the final illustration is by S.T Gill.
For additional information, see:
Coranderrk Mission
Frescoes for the new houses of parliament. no. 2 ; the conversion of the Aborigines
Creator
Melbourne Punch
Date created
1856
Important to note
This cartoon depicts the
introduction of alcohol and other European influences into Aboriginal cultures,
and how this affected the Indigenous community. A settler holds a book in one
hand and a bottle in the other: at his feet Aboriginal men are fighting over
alcohol, smoking, and bartering – all decidedly non-traditional Aboriginal
practices.
Australian Aborigines i.e. Aboriginal Australians ...
Creator
Frederick Grosse
Date created
1855
Important to note
Here Grosse comments on the changes
to Indigenous culture as a result of European ‘civilising'. On the left, an Indigenous man stands in the bush in traditional attire, surrounded by native
animals. On the right, Indigenous men sit in an urban street in European
clothing, drinking alcohol and playing cards.
Early depiction of Aboriginal Australians in European dress
Creator
S.T. Gill
Date create
1866
Important to note
The original title of this work was
‘Native Dignity'. Wearing European clothes and walking barefoot along a street,
the Indigenous couple parody the European couple in the background.
The Aborigines holiday at Badger Creek, near Coranderrk hop grounds
Creator
Illustrated Australian News
Based
on a photograph by Fred Kruger
Date created
1878
Important to note
In
the 19th century, a 'successful' Indigenous community was one that
adopted 'civilised' habits – European clothes, housing, religion – as depicted
in this image. Little value was placed on
traditional Aboriginal practices, which were often forbidden in missions.
