Aboriginal Women

Topic: First Contacts
Student activity
History: Year 4

This is the student activity 1 of 1 of the Aboriginal women of Sydney learning activity.

Task No. 1

Aboriginal Women

Collection of portraits, predominantly of Aborigines of New South Wales and Tasmania
Natives fishing in a bark canoe
Wambella
Aboriginal woman in a canoe fishing with a line
Twofold Bay Canoe
Twofold Bay native canoe [with description of sitting and construction materials]
View of Sydney Cove, New South Wales, from an original picture in the possession of Isaac Clementson Esqr.

What is a factual recount?

A factual recount

  • retells events which have already happened.
  • begins with background information about who, when and where.
  • describes the series of events in chronological order
  • may end with a personal comment or interpretation.

Questions

What information can you find out from the sources about the everyday activities of Aboriginal women?
What were the everyday activities of Aboriginal women in the early years of the colony? How do we know?

Use these words to help you:

  • who
  • what
  • where
  • when
  • how
  • why

Describe what each picture shows us about the everyday lives of Aboriginal women, then put the information and their sources in order of time. 

Examine the sketches and paintings of Aboriginal women.

  • look for details of the everday life activities of Aboriginal women, such as the tools and implements they used, body ornaments and decoration, food gathering and preparation and taking care of children.
  • use inquiry words such as 'who, what, where, how, when and why' to analyse the visual sources provided, e.g. Who are they? What are they doing? What tools are they using? How did they make the tools? Who else is in the painting? Who painted the pictures? Why did they paint the pictures?
  • write a factual recount on the everyday  activities of Aboriginal women in the Sydney area in the early years of contact with the British.
  • give their opinion on the accuracy and reliability of the information they have written in their report. Whose point of view do we see in the paintings?