The first Australians
The beginning
Indicators
• Reads text and answers questions to demonstrate an understanding of its content.
Time line
About 70 000 BCE
First people travelled to Torres Strait Islands.
About 40 000 years BCE
The last ice age allows people from South-East Asia to
walk across land bridges and migrate to Australia.
About 10 000 years BCE
Temperature and sea levels rise causing flooding—
land bridges disappear.
About 2000 years BCE
• Researches to find information about important archaeological discoveries which have
contributed knowledge about the very first Australians.
Worksheet information
• Prior to this activity, discuss with the students the difference between history and
prehistory. The time before European settlement in Australia is referred to as prehistory (as
opposed to history) because there are no written records of human events.
• It would be beneficial for students to have access to a world map or globe during the
activity to follow migration routes.
• The text used on page 3 is a report. A report is a secondary source. As there were no
written records of the migration of the first Australians, information from other secondary
sources has been used to create this report.
• Quiz questions relating to this section can be found on page 102.
Dingoes are brought to Australia by the Macassan
people.
Answers
800s
1.(a)40 000; 100
Arab and Chinese visit north of Australia and Torres
Strait Islands for trade and fishing.
(b)70 000; 6000
1700s
Macassans trade canoes, spears and other goods for
trepang (sea cucumbers) with Aboriginal Australians in
Arnhem Land.
Page 4
(c)43 000; 62 000
2.Storytelling, songs, dance, archaeological discoveries
3.Because during the last ice age, 40 000 years ago, the sea level was 100 metres lower
than today, exposing islands and creating land bridges.
4.Strong winds and monsoons took them off course.
1879
Queensland officially annexes the Torres Strait Islands.
1940
Stone tools are discovered to have been used by
Aborigines in Keilor, Victoria, which date back 40 000
years.
It is discovered that Aboriginal people had been living
in Upper Swan River region 33 000 years ago.
1974
43 000-62 000-year-old skeleton of Aboriginal man is
discovered at Lake Mungo, NSW.
5.• Mainland Aboriginal Australians arrived 40 000 years ago whereas Torres Strait
Islands may have arrived 70 000 years ago.
• Torres Strait Islands grew crops, unlike mainland Aboriginal Australians.
6.Because there are no written records from this time.
7.Answers will vary.
Page 5
1.• Devon Downs (SA) Stone and bone tools 4000 years old.
• Lake Mungo (NSW) 43 000-62 000-year-old skeleton found.
• Kow Swamp (Vic.) Human skull showing Aboriginal people lived there from
15 000 to 9000 years ago.
1967
Torres Strait islanders become citizens of Queensland.
• Birrigai Rock Shelter (ACT) People used area from 21 000 years ago.
• Koonalda Cave (SA) Engravings found 24 000 years old.
• Devil’s Lair (WA) Aboriginal people lived in area 33 000 years ago.
2.(a)A spear thrower helped hunters to throw a spear harder and to be more accurate.
(b)Used to carry water.
Further exploration
• Discuss the importance of conserving Aboriginal historical sites. Develop a ‘top five’ list of
reasons and present it to the class.
• Paint a story to show Aboriginal people travelling on various watercraft and walking
across land bridges.
• Construct a time line to show the history of migrations to Australia (1 cm – 200 years).
Record major events on the time line.
• Create an information poster about the Torres Strait Islands. Include information about
their history and a present day ‘fact file’.
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The first Australians – 1
T he b e
ginni
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g
Read the report about the first migration to Australia.
During the last ice age, about 40 000 years ago, a lot
of ocean water was held in large polar icecaps. With
less water in the oceans, the sea level was possibly
100 metres lower than it is today, creating natural
land bridges from one continent to another.
In the past, the world’s continents were
shaped differently and some historians
and scientists agree that Australia was
once joined to Papua New Guinea.
About 70 000 years ago, when New
Guinea was still attached to the
Australian continent, the first people began arriving
at the Islands. Chinese, Malay and Indonesian people
travelled there looking for items to trade, such as
pearl shell, canoes and tools. Unlike the Indigenous
peoples of mainland Australia, the Torres Strait
Islanders grew crops to survive.
Prehistorians believe Australia’s first Indigenous
population travelled here from South-East Asia during
this ice age by ‘island-hopping’ across Indonesia’s
islands. They may have walked from as far as India
until they were forced to make rafts or canoes to
travel the last leg of their journey to the north of
Australia. Their watercraft were most probably made
of bamboo as it is water-resistant, light material in
It is believed that rising sea levels flooded the land
good supply in Asia.
bridges to the islands about 6000 years ago.
This migration would have
occurred over a long time
and in waves, meaning
that there wasn’t just one
migration, but many. The
Aboriginal people moved
in bands, stopping for long
periods in different places
to fish, hunt and gather
other foods. Some may not
have actually wished to
travel to Australia but their
watercraft may have been
caught by strong winds
or monsoons, most likely
arriving at Arnhem Land
(Northern Territory), the Kimberley Region (northern History
Western Australia) or Cape York Peninsula (Northern Unlike many other cultures, there are no written
Queensland).
records of Aboriginal Australian history. Instead,
history has been passed on through storytelling,
songs and dance. Some history can be determined
The 100 or more islands known as the Torres Strait by archaeological finds, such as the skeleton of an
Islands are part of the Australian state of Queensland, Aboriginal man found in Lake Mungo, New South
and are located in the sea between mainland Australia Wales. It is believed to be between 43 000 and
and Papua New Guinea.
62 000 years old!
Torres Strait Islanders
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The be
The first Australians – 2
ginni
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Use the text on page 3 to answer the questions.
1. Add numbers from the text to complete the sentences.
(a) Indigenous people may have arrived in Australia about
years ago because the sea level was
possibly
metres lower than it is today.
(b) People may have migrated to the Torres Strait Islands about
years ago, and could continue to do so until sea levels rose about years ago.
(c) The skeleton discovered at Lake Mungo, NSW, could be between and
years old!
2. List four ways we have learnt about Aboriginal Australian history.
3. Why could Indigenous people ‘island-hop’ from Asia to Australia in the past?
4. What caused some Indigenous Australians to arrive in Australia ‘accidentally’?
5. List one difference between Indigenous Australians from the mainland and those from the Torres Strait
Islands.
6. Prehistorians have found evidence to predict that the watercraft Indigenous people travelled in or on were
made of bamboo. Explain why they can’t say that it is fact.
7. With a partner, discuss some of the obstacles that Indigenous Australians may have faced during their
migration to Australia. Describe one.
About 13 000 years ago, the sea levels began to rise and the land bridges between mainland
Australia and Tasmania flooded leaving the Tasmanian Aboriginal people isolated.
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T he b e
Archaeological discoveries
ginni
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g
The study of human societies of the past using remains such as bones,
artefacts and charcoal, is called archaeology. Archaeological discoveries
provide evidence and clues about the very first Australians.
1. Use the Internet and other resources to make notes about the archaeological
artefacts and discoveries made at these sites across Australia.
Devil’s Lair (WA)
Lake Mungo (NSW)
Kow Swamp (Vic.)
Birrigai Rock Shelter (ACT)
Koonalda Cave, Nullarbor Plain (SA)
Devon Downs (SA)
2. Find pictures and sketch these two Indigenous Australian artefacts. Explain what they were used for.
Woomera
Coolamon (or pitchi)
An Aboriginal painting has been discovered in a cave near Kakadu, Northern Territory, that is possibly
60 000 years old!
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