AUH - Australia's History Module Overview

Australia's History

Introduction

Approximately 40,000 to 45,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, temperatures were cooler and ocean levels were much lower. Parts of Australia were connected to Southeast Asia. It was during this time that people began to migrate by boat and by foot to Australia from the New Guinea land bridge. Over the next several thousand years as temperatures and sea levels began to rise, the people who settled these regions became trapped. These people became known as Australia's Aborigines or native Australians.

Aborigines traveled around in small groups in search of food and water. They hunted small animals by using a boomerang, or a flat tool that you throw. If the boomerang missed its target, it came back to the original location. Other food sources included birds, kangaroos, emus, possums, lizards, and snakes. The Aborigines also gathered fruits, berries, seeds, vegetables and insects.

The Aborigines were a religious group of people who valued family life. They believed that people had a direct relationship with nature and the land. They believed that spirits created people, animals, and the land, and that it was their role to protect it.

At one time there were approximately 300,000-1.25 million Aborigines living in Australia. Heavy populations of Aborigines once lived in the temperate coastal regions of the country. However, they were eventually placed on reservations in the outback by European settlers.

As Europeans began to colonize Australia during the late 19th century, they brought diseases and violence which killed many Aborigines. By the 1920s, the Aborigines’ population declined to between 50,000 to 90,000.

 

Questions to consider as you study this module:

• What are the origins and culture of the Aborigines?
• Why did the British want to colonize Australia?
• How did European colonization directly affect the indigenous peoples of Australia?

 

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

The Aborigines and Early Colonization of Australia: Learn about the Aborgines and the European explorers and how they interacted over time.

Colonial Australia: Discover how and why settlers came to Australia. What types of governments were set up and how was Australia colonized?

 

Key Terms

Download a copy of this module's key terms by clicking here. Links to an external site.

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