Students determine the fate of the animals that were brought to New South Wales and their place in the diet of the colonists.
Student activities
Task no.1
The Animals They Brought With Them
The farm livestock that arrived with the First Fleet did not provide the food they were hoping for either. The cattle escaped, and many of the animals died. The weather was often another cause of setbacks!
Read Judge David Collins’ description of 6 February 1788:
In the night of the 6th February, six sheep, two lambs and one pig, belonging chiefly to the lieutenant-governor, having been placed at the foot of a large tree, were destroyed by the lightning.
Fortunately, other animals survived. Read Judge David Collins' list created in May 1788 of the total amount of stock in the whole colony:
Image 2: Detail from Item 02: [Maned or Wood] Duck [&] Drake, ca 1792 / Sydney Bird Painter
Image 3: Detail from G.H. Hammersley - Australia Illustrated, ca. 1777-1855
Image 4: Detail from Journal of a voyage to New South Wales : with sixty-five plates of non descript animals, birds, lizards, serpents, curious cones of trees and other natural productions / by John White. [Album view]
Image 5: Detail from H.E.I.Cos Depot. Bungarrabbee [i.e. Bungarribee] N.S.W., ca. 1847-1852 / T. Rider
Answer these questions about the marketplace list and the animal images:
Which two products would you have thought everyone would be tired of eating by now?
Which vegetable appears to be growing well?
Which product now has a choice of a local variety and an imported one?
Which product now has a choice of three different types?
Which product on the list was not available to eat in England?
What items are missing from the lists that you might buy today?
From the set of images, which animals are introduced animals to Australia?
What consequences might there be to the land with the introduction of these non-native animals?
Research which animals in our country are introduced species and which ones are native. Investigate the impact on our environment and native species by the introduced non-native species of animals. Discover the original (non-European) names of our native animals. That might vary across regions as we know there are over 250 known Aboriginal languages.
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