Factors that shape places: Circular Quay

Acquiring and representing geographical information – Where is Circular Quay and how do you get there?                                 

Students use Sources 2 to 4 and Google Maps to locate Circular Quay, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and the nearest train stations and bus stops. 

Students plot the train stations and bus stops on the map in Source 4. They also write a description for tourists of the location of Circular Quay to accompany the map. Students include information on public transport services to Circular Quay.

Acquiring and representing geographical information – What is Circular Quay and how is it used?                                

On land originally known as Warrane by the traditional Aboriginal owners, the Eora people, Circular Quay was built by convicts between 1837 and 1844 on the site of the first colonial settlement at Sydney Cove. Sandstone blocks were used to construct an artificial shoreline on what were originally mudflats. It was first known as Semi-Circular Quay until the Tank Stream was piped and the constructed wall was extended around the western shore in the 1850s and 60s.

Circular Quay was originally built as a port for commercial shipping. When these operations became too large for the area in the 1880s they were moved to Darling Harbour. Circular Quay became a commuter hub for passenger ferries, trams and pedestrians. Located on the harbour front in close proximity to The Rocks area, Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Circular Quay has gained increasing popularity and significance as a Sydney tourist destination. In September 2015 the NSW State Government announced plans for a $200 million upgrade with construction expected to commence in 2019.

Virtual field study

Using Sources 5 to 8 and supplementary sources such as personal experiences, YouTube videos, images and tourist information, students undertake a virtual fieldwork study of Circular Quay. Students should view the site from the all directions and from the water, land and air. Students draw a photo sketch of Source 9 and record features and uses in Table 1.

Uses survey

Students design a questionnaire to survey class and family members on their personal experiences of visits to Circular Quay. Sample survey questions:

• Have you been to Circular Quay?
• How do you use Circular Quay? (eg catch a ferry, catch a train, for the views, entertainment, go for a walk, on the way to…)
• What do you like about Circular Quay?
• What challenges do you face when you go to Circular Quay?
• How could Circular Quay be improved?

Acquiring geographical information

• develop geographical questions to investigate and plan an inquiry (ACHGS033, ACHGS040)
• collect and record relevant geographical data and information, using ethical protocols, from primary data and secondary information sources, for example, by observing, by interviewing, conducting surveys, or using maps, visual representations, statistical sources and reports, the media or the internet (ACHGS034, ACHGS041)

Processing geographical information

• evaluate sources for their usefulness (ACHGS035, ACHGS042)
• represent data in different forms, for example plans, graphs, tables, sketches and diagrams (ACHGS035, ACHGS042)
• represent different types of geographical information by constructing maps that conform to cartographic conventions using spatial technologies as appropriate (ACHGS036, ACHGS043)
• interpret geographical data and information, using digital and spatial technologies as appropriate, and identify spatial distributions, patterns and trends, and infer relationships to draw conclusions (ACHGS037, ACHGS044)

Communicating geographical information

• present findings and ideas in a range of communication forms as appropriate (ACHGS038, ACHGS045)
• reflect on their learning to propose individual and collective action in response to a contemporary geographical challenge and describe the expected effects of their proposal on different groups of people (ACHGS039, ACHGS046)

• Place: the significance of places and what they are like(ie. characteristics of places on a global level).
• Space: the significance of location and spatial distribution, and ways people organise and manage spaces that we live in (ie. global patterns of spatial distribution; how people organise and manage spaces in their local environment).
• Environment: the significance of the environment in human life, and the important interrelationships between humans and the environment eg how the environment influences people and places; how people influence the environment; the effect of natural disasters on the environment.
• Interconnection: no object of geographical study can be viewed in isolation (ie. how environments influence where people live; ways people influence the characteristics of their environments; diversity of cultures and peoples around the world).
• Scale: the way that geographical phenomena and problems can be examined at different spatial levels (ie.environmental and human characteristics of places on local, regional and global scales; the effect of global events on people and places locally, regionally and globally).
• Sustainability: the capacity of the environment to continue to support our lives and the lives of other living creatures into the future (ie. extent of environmental change; environmental management practices; sustainability initiatives).
• Change: explaining geographical phenomena by investigating how they have developed over time (ie. changes to environmental and human characteristics of places).

Learning Across the Curriculum

• Sustainability
• Information and communication technology capability
• Critical and creative thinking
• Literacy
• Personal and social capability
• Civics and citizenship
• Work and enterprise