On Tuesday 30th May, Stage 2 went on an excursion to Botany Bay to support students’ learning in History. The purpose was twofold. The first was to understand the Aboriginal way of life including their food, shelter, tools, weapons and relationship to Country. The second was to learn about stories of the First Fleet including reasons for their journey, who travelled to Australia and their experiences following arrival.
One of the highlights of the excursion was the opportunity to experience the first steps and happenings of the early explorers. This helped students in following lessons to visualise the European’s arrival and settling in Australia. Furthermore, as a result of seeing modern day Botany Bay, students were also able to better understand the differences between Australia then and now and some of the changes that have taken place, and compared this to Aboriginal ownership and management of the land.
We learned so much about Captain Cook and his ship, the ‘Endeavour’. Captain Cook arrived at Botany Bay on 29th April 1770. Isaac Smith was instructed to set foot on Australian soil first. Botany Bay used to be called ‘Sting Ray Harbour’. We also learnt that the Endeavour was 30 metres long, which isn’t long for a ship, and was made out of timber. When we got to school we were so tired from the long drive back and all the learning. On the whole, it was a very eventful day.
– Jemuel Simion, Year 3 student
