Investigating National Treasures with Warren Brown

Endeavour Journal

Taking in Further

History : Art

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Who 'discovered' Australia? What does it mean to 'discover' a country? Look at the conversation below and consider what 'discovery' actually means

Zac
Hey — guess what. I’ve just discovered a great new place where we can go in-line skating. It's called James Cook Park.

Bailey
Great! Where is it?

Tran
At the back of the old quarry site.

Ahmed
There’s no park there — there's just an old building.

Tran
No, it's behind the old building, out of sight from the road.

Cassie
Wow, I didn't realise there was anything there. I know there's a skateboard area nearby, among the trees. I knew about that two years ago. But I didn't know about this other part.

Jordan
Well you're all behind the times. My grandma says it's always been a place for kids to play. She used to play there as a little girl. And she says that they used to find Aboriginal things there — bits of stone that the Aborigines had used for axes and that sort of thing.

Jandemar
Look, my family have known about it for years and years. I've just sketched it out on this map. When we show this at school everybody will know where it is and how to get there. And that's the important thing, isn't it?

Discovery means...

1. There are four different meanings of the word in the table below.

Decide which person in the conversation about James Cook Park in the text box is closest to each of the meanings.

One example has been done to help you. You may not all agree on the person or persons to put in the list — so be sure you can explain why you think the person you choose is the best answer.

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To 'discover'a place has different meanings, including:	In the case of James Cook Park...
a. Being the first person to know that there is a place there.	This applies to ____________ because
b. Being the first person to tell others about something.	This applies to ____________ because
c. Being the first person to make a map of a place in a way that all others can find it.	This applies to Jandemar because he has drawn the map and is going to show it to everybody, so people can find the place even if they have never heard of it before.
d. Finding out something new for yourself.	This applies to ____________ because
2. Who would you now say 'discovered' James Cook Park? _____________________ 3. Does this also apply to the ‘discovery' of Australia? Consider this evidence and decide on your own conclusion: Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for at least 40,000 years. The west, north and south coasts of Australia start to appear on western maps in the 1600s. James Cook did not have a map of the east coast of Australia during his voyage in 1770. The first person to sail around the whole of Australia and produce a complete map of all the parts was Matthew Flinders in 1817. 4. Who would you now say 'discovered' Australia? _____________________

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