Terra Nullius

What is Terra Nullius? Terra Nullius is the belief that the land is unowned, so if you got to the place first you could just take the land. When the first Europeans arrived in Australia, they said that the land was owned by no one (Terra Nullius) and therefore they claimed it for their own country. This site is very useful for understanding this concept. http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/mabo/tn_01.shtml In Australia, Terra Nullius, has been judged not to be legally valid.

Lets look at how long the indigenous people have been living in Australia. Draw a chalk line on the board or floor that is four metres long. This is a timeline representing the 40 000 years of Aboriginal peoples living in Australia. Put marks on the line showing how long Australia has been settled by white people. Explain to students that this is a timeline representing 40 000 years of Aboriginal peoples living in Australia. Explain that the last half a centimetre represents the 200 or so years since British colonisation. Discuss this representation of the colonisation of Australia compared to students’ perception of the length of time.

This map shows the Indigenous Language Groups before European settlement. If no-one owned Australia then why were there so many different languages? Both Matthew Flinders and Captain Cook recorded their meetings with the Aboriginal people. When Captain Cooks Diaries were published all content that talked about his meetings with the Aboriginal people were left out of the published book.

Captain Cook Play the video to hear about Captain Cook’s relationship with the indigenous Australians. http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1319/

Our Island. Have large sheets of paper about 1 meter square divide the students into groups of 4 – 6. Get each group to draw their own island, have them include everything that they will need to live and play on their own island. Have the students name their island. (allow enough time for the students to take ownership of their island) When they have finished have each group report back to the class and tell about their special features of their island.

Our Island. Discuss how did you feel when your islands were taken from you and what you wanted was thrown away?? How do you think they felt when they were told they did not exist and all their land was taken away and they were only left with a tiny piece. The teacher now tears off large strips of each island and leaves each group with only a tiny amount. The rest is thrown out. Make comparisons with the indigenous people in Australia.

Australia Further research. What was Mabo? When were Aboriginal people counted in the census? When were Aboriginal people able to vote in Australia? useful sites - http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/mabo/tn_01.shtml http://www.nsdc.org.au/stolen-generations/history-of-the-stolen-generations/the-history-of-the-stolen-generations http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/selfdetermination/voting-rights-for-aboriginal-people If students have access to their own computer have them explore this site and then they should be able to answer most of these questions. What is the stolen generation?

References http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/1319/ http://www.abc.net.au/navigators/captains/journeymaps/default.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Flinders http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/selfdetermination/voting-rights-for-aboriginal-people http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/mabo/tn_01.shtml http://www.nsdc.org.au/stolen-generations/history-of-the-stolen-generations/the-history-of-the-stolen-generations

Matthew Flinders Flinders made three voyages to the southern ocean (August 1791 – August 1793, February 1795 – August 1800 and July 1801 – October 1810). This hyperlink lets you see his recorded sightings and encounters with the indigenous people of Australia. It would be good for the teacher to familiarise themselves with which section discusses the contact with the aboriginal people. You could get the students to record the different examples that the aboriginal people lived here in Australia. E.g. Flinders, vol 2, p.20 Sunday August 8th 1802, Port Curtis "Traces of inhabitants were found upon all the shores where we landed, but the natives kept out of sight after the little skirmish on the first day of our arrival; they subsist partly on turtle, and possess bark canoes and scoop nets. We saw three turtle lying on the water, but were not so fortunate as to procure any.” Excerpts from Flinders A Voyage to Terra Australis, Vol II. Sightings and Encounters with indigenous peoples. http://www.abc.net.au/navigators/captains/indigenous/map.htm