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 Activity
A - photo interpretation / research
Study the photos
opposite, of Port Arthur and area (Tasman Peninsula). Port
Arthur is the well known former convict prison of the east coast. (Macquarie Harbour, on the west coast, also served as a base for
imprisonment and punishment.)
A.1 What were the dates of operation of prison facilities at
Port Arthur and Macquarie Harbour? What were the advantages and
disadvantages of each location?
A.2 How did the nature of the surrounding
areas make it difficult for escaped convicts to survive or to reach
settled areas?
[ Clue: look at the map of the Port Arthur area (right).]
[ Consider reading a books about the convict era in Tasmania for
additional information.]
Activity
B - map and photo interpretation / research
B.1 See
map right.
Identify main peninsulas (Tasman and Forestier) and
isthmus features. An isthmus is at each of points 'B' (Eaglehawk Neck
connects the main peninsulas). What is an isthmus?
B.2 Bay 'A' is named after Flinders' sloop of the Van Diemen's Land
voyage - therefore its name is what?
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Photo 1: Part
of the Port Arthur ruins (main cell block)
Photo 2: (lower left): Map of Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas
Photo 3 (lower right): Tasman Peninsula Isthmus
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B.3 The Tasman Peninsula map (right) shows a network of wooden
towers based around Port Arthur. They were for sending messages. How were
messages sent then and what types of messages might they have been?
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Challenge Questions: Activity C - discussion (oral or written)
C.1 What were the key factors in the European settlement of
Tasmania? What role did convicts and the need for their imprisonment
play? To what extent was Tasmania's isolation and rugged nature both an
advantage and a disadvantage to early settlement, as well as present day
development?
C.2 'The convict ruins in Tasmania (and elsewhere in
Australia) are reminders of a harsh and painful part of our nation's
history. As such, it would be better to demolish these ruins, so that
nationally we do not have to be constantly reminded of the often violent
and unpleasant events they represent.'
Critically evaluate this statement, commenting upon
present-day uses of ruins and express your view on the role of
preservation (or restoration or destruction) of such features.
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Activity
D - photo interpretation / research
Study the photos
right, of Tasman Peninsula and Bicheno (east coastal Tasmania).
D.1 What is the name of the rock of the area of Photos
3A and 3B (right), given that it forms horizontal beds, is
vertically jointed and is made up of visible particles?
D.2 As far as possible, list the sequence of landform events that formed the
type of landform shown - a blowhole (Photo 4, right).
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Landforms in
horizontal strata, Tasman Peninsula
Photo 3A (left):
Rock platform, jointing and cliff undercutting
Photo 3B (right): Tasman Arch
Photo 4: Bicheno blowhole
(Bicheno is on the east coast, north of the Tasman Peninsula) |
Activity
E - research / oral or written report
E.1
Around Tasmania's coastline there are names given to various locations and
features by British explorers (eg. by Matthew Flinders). List several names
given by Flinders. Why were the British interested in Tasmania in the late
1700s and early 1800s? Can you name any other British explorers of
Tasmania?
E.2 The names of some coastal features are recognisably
Dutch. List several Dutch place names in Tasmania. When was the main Dutch
interest in exploration of Tasmania, and what prompted their interest? Can
you name any Dutch explorers of Tasmania?
E.3 The French, too, were interested in Tasmania for a
period. List several French place names of coastal Tasmania. When was
this, and what were their main interests? Can you name any French
explorers of Tasmania?
E.4 The indigenous people were of interest to at least two
European expeditions of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Are you able to
identify these expeditions (i.e. name the captains)?
[ Clue: a British one was in 1798-1799, and a French
one was in 1802. Interestingly, one of the explorers from the British
expedition of 1798-1799 met up with the French expedition later in 1802,
in a place called Encounter Bay!]
What descriptions did these expeditions give of
their encounters with the Tasmanian aborigines?
Activity
F - research / oral or written report
F.1 In Question E (above) you considered the roles of European
explorers in Tasmania. However, British, Dutch and French explorers also
made landings on the Australian mainland. Did these first contacts with
the Australian mainland happen before or after the first Tasmanian visits
by their countrymen? Give dates if you can, and name the first captain
from each nation to land in Australia.
F.2 Spain was a strong maritime nation even before the
British. Did the Spanish have any pre-British contacts with Australia? If
so, when and by whom was the first such contact?
F.3 Matthew Flinders described a group of people who
regularly visited northern Australia prior to the Investigator's arrival
off Arnhem Land in 1803. Who were these people, and what was the purpose
of their visit according to Flinders?
Note: Apparently their visits had begun before the
First Fleet's arrival in Sydney, but they did not permanently settle in
Australia.
F.4 The colours red, white and blue (see below) are found on
the present-day flags of some European nations which were maritime powers
in Matthew Flinders' time. Which nations? When did they adopt their flags
and their colours? Could these colours have any possible maritime
significance?
F.5 Under what flag did the Investigator, and Royal
Navy ships of the time, sail? What is the relationship between naval
flags, the Union Jack, and the Cross of St George?
[ Clue: A
well known Flag
And
this one ]
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Activity
G - map research / Internet research / interpretation of painting
This Program
concentrates on the landforms and Flinders' history of South-East
Australia. Flinders, of course, explored much more than this area. A
painting of the Investigator's discovery of Cape Wilberforce
captures some of the atmosphere of that location.
See:
Tas
Library - Print in Oil of 'Investigator': Cape Wilberforce
G.1
Where is Cape Wilberforce, the main subject of this work? When did
Flinders reach this location?
G.2 The view is not unlike that of the sandstone coastline of
Tasman Peninsula (near Port Arthur). Are there any clues to suggest that
the view is unlikely to be in Tasmania?
G.3 The work is a print in oil, of a painting produced by
William Westall. Who was Westall, and what was his relationship to the Investigator
expedition? |
