historical webstory assignment 2 debra bradley s0193111

8/13/2019 Historical Webstory Assignment 2 Debra Bradley s0193111

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Image retrieved from: Microsoft PowerPoint Clip Art

The bitter-sweet history of sugar in Bundaberg .By Debra Bradley.


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Imagine a place covered in tall treesThe shaded ground beneath is dense with tangled plant life. The large gum treesgive way to twisted mangroves which form a dark green border for a tidal river. Thewide river is clean and rich with life. Sea birds circle the air lazily as their eyesfollow the many swirls and splashes of fish and the only humans that breathe theclean air belong to the local Kabi Indigenous people.

.In the early 1870s timber ran short andfarmers began to grow a type of corn calledmaize.

Corn was grown until in the late 1870s when pests and disease destroyed the crops.

Image retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundaberg Image retrieved from: http://mbp.generationcp.org/confluence/display/MBP/Maize

Information retrieved from: http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/products/publications/triumph-tropics/triumph-tropics-1959-pt3-ch28.pdf

In 1867, this was how the first white settlers, the timber cutters couldhave described the area that we now call BUNDABERG.

For the next three years the timberindustry flourishedthen
http://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546303/5835214,3?FMT=IMG&IMGNUM=1http://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546303/5835214,3?FMT=IMG&IMGNUM=1


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In 1876 Bundaberg had large trees growing in Bourbong Street , farmers would tie theirhorses to these when they went to the shops.

The river was the only way the township could receive supplies and the Woongarradistrict was covered in dense scrub.

What could life have been like for a child living in Bundaberg in the 1870s?

Image retrieved from: http://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/OPAC/BIBENQ/448308/5609376,2?FMT=IMG

Early settlers at Fairymead
http://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546378/5609172,26?FMT=IMGhttp://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311962/children.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311962/children.htmlhttp://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546378/5609172,26?FMT=IMG


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Sugar cane replaced the timber and corn industries . The countryside was slowlybecoming a sea of swaying cane. More land needed to be cleared and ploughed . Then

the cane had to be planted, weeded and finally harvested. Harvesting was done byhand and in the humid sub-tropical conditions, this was hard work. Look at the cane

knife . Can you think of reasons why was this tool so suitable for cutting cane? .

The cane knifeSugar cane.

Image retrieved from: http://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/sugar-slaves

Images retrieved from: Clip art Microsoft power point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_knifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_knifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_knifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_knife


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Many land owners thought working in thisclimate was too hard for European people

with their pale complexions.They wanted workers who would work long

hours for low wages and who were used toliving in a hot climate.

In 1863 Governor Bowen and Robert Towns, aplantation owner, decided to look for a labour

force outside Australia. He and otherlandowners at first considered people from

India, but this country was too far away.

They looked nearer to Queensland and a shipwas sent to find suitable workers from the

South Sea Islands.

Exactly where are theSouth Sea Islands ?

Would Bundaberg have had the same climate

as these?

Robert Towns wanted the Islandersto be treated well. He told the

captain of his ship that theIslanders were to be invited to

come and not forced.

Image retrieved from: http://www.janeresture.com/kanakas/index.htm
http://www.pacificstories.com.au/map.htmlhttp://www.pacificstories.com.au/map.html


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Plantation owners paid 7 to 9 poundsfor each Islander to be brought to

Australia and soon many ships werebringing Islanders to Australia.

The farmers were happy withthis cheap source of labour andthe lucky Islanders were paid

1 pound a week in wages .

Can you think of other reasonswhy these people were

considered a good choice ofworker?

The shipMay withSouth SeaIslandersarrives in

Bundaberg

Image retrieved from:http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_kanakas/index1.htm

MAY Built 1869 operated in the recruiting trade fromBundaberg and Maryborough, Queensland.

Compare the environment and climateof these Islands.

Consider the natural resources, whatlooks the same?
http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Museum/History/Content/sugar2.aspxhttp://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/south-sea-islanders-arriving-bundaberg-ship-c1893http://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Museum/History/Content/sugar2.aspx


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In 1863, the ship Don Juan under the command of Captain Geurber arrived inQueensland with the first South Sea Islanders.These Islanders were sometimes called Kanakas .

The Islanders had supposedly willingly signed agreements to work and had

known what these agreements meant.However many people believed that the Islanders had been lied to by being

promised easy work, good food and comfortable homes.

An Islander family in front of their home.

Imagine being one of these Islanders.The day is hot, the cane has not beenburnt. It is sharp and full of weeds,snakes and spiders. Would this have

been easy work ?Image retrieved from: http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_kanakas/index1.htm

Many Islanders were treated like slaves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanakashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanakas


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The South Sea Islanders had to adapt to acompletely new way of life in Australia

with different food and resources.

Some were sent to places where they neversaw the ocean they loved and many were so

sad that they become sick.

A large part of their island diet had beenseafood, now they were given flour and

rice. A few were allowed to plantpumpkins and sweet potatoes and thesewere a welcome addition to their simple

meals.The Islanders were from different Islands and

so they spoke many languages. Some wereeven from warring tribes and now they were

expected to live and work together.

They had to develop a whole newlanguage just so they could understand

each other. Image retrieved from:http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_kanakas/index1.ht m

Some were treated well but theystill had problems.

Imagine how it would feel to leaveyour home and family?
http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/229/http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/229/


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Many years ago Britain had made it against the law to own a human being and slaveryhad been banned in August 1834. While some Islanders had chosen freely to come to

Australia looking for land and a better life as farmers,many others were tricked into boarding ships and then kidnapped.

Kidnapping the Islanders was called blackbirding.

Because Australia was underBritish law in the late 1880sBritish Ships began to patrolthe coast to stop boats that

were practicing blackbirding.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=photo+of+HMS+Rosario&sugexp=chrome,mod=12&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seizure_of_blackbirder_Daphne.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seizure_of_blackbirder_Daphne.jpg


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Between 1863 and 1904,62,000 South Sea Islanders were brought

to Australia to work on plantations.

Then in 1901 the Australian Government decided thatnon-British immigrants should not be allowed to come

to Australia and that Australia should be a whitesociety. They were scared that immigrants like the

Chinese and the Islanders would take the land and the jobs.

By the year 1904 Islanders would no longer beable to come to Australia and the Islandersalready living in Australia would be sent backto the islands .Some were allowed to stay like those who hadarrived in Queensland prior to September 1,1879.

But some did not want to leave .

Why would they have wanted to stay?

In 1901 the WhiteAustralia Policy and thePacific Island LabourersAct was introduced.

http://museumvictoria.com.au/coins/1900/white_australia_medal.html
http://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/australian-south-sea-islandershttp://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/australian-south-sea-islanders


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The Islanders who did stay, wereoften treated differently to the

white population.

They were not allowed to go tothe same places as white people

in the hospitals and schools.

They wanted to own land andgrow their own crops but it wasalmost impossible for them to

get a loan from a bank andfinding work with fair pay was

very hard.

Image retrieved from:

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=photos+of+different+coloured+people&sugexp=chrome,mod=12&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

What does the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights say about how all peopleshould be treated?
http://kidcyber.com.au/topics/humanrights.htmhttp://kidcyber.com.au/topics/humanrights.htm


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By 1906, most of the Islanders had been returned to the South Sea Islands.

Images retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/07/23/2634021.htm?site=widebay

Remember how the land had looked before white settlers came?

It was covered with trees and scruband amongst this foliage were thousands of

volcanic rocks. Until these were removed the ground was impossible to plough.

Imagine how many of these rocks the Islanders had to move?

Brian Courtice, alocal cane farmer,believes that manySouth Sea Islandersare buried next tothe rock walls that

they made.

You can see the evidence of their work in the Bundaberg districts .
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/07/27/2637559.htmhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/07/23/2634021.htm?site=widebayhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/07/23/2634021.htm?site=widebayhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/07/27/2637559.htmhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/07/27/2637559.htmhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/07/27/2637559.htm


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EUROPEAN MIGRANTS, like the Italians,replaced the South Sea Islanders in the

early 1900s . Not all Australians welcomedthese migrants but the cane cutters whoworked with them respected these new

Australians.Why do you think they felt this way?

Today acres of cane and other crops such as tomatoes ,capsicum, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, rockmelons, watermelons,

sweet corn, zucchini, bananas, macadamia nuts and avocadohave replaced the tall gums and scrub .

While the river still flows, the fish are fewer and the once thickmangroves have become a thin delicate thread along its banks.

Bundabergs sugar Industry is now run by people whoseancestors came from many nationalities. These have brought new

crops, foods, customs and traditions.Bundaberg celebrates these at the

Bundaberg Multicultural Festival.Image retrieved from: http://www.news-mail.com.au/photos/galleries/bundaberg-multicultural-festival/#/7
http://www.news-mail.com.au/photos/galleries/bundaberg-multicultural-festival/http://www.news-mail.com.au/photos/galleries/bundaberg-multicultural-festival/


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Can examining and understanding the mistakes of history help us tomake the right decisions in the future?

Children from all over the world are just like you, except they may have differentcustoms and beliefs .

If we share our land and resources do you think Bundaberg will continue to grow ?Just like the cane in our fields

Compare these photos.

Many immigrants, like the Islanders and the Europeans, stillexperience problems when they come to live in Australia.

Image retrieved from: http://www.vietspring.org/boatpeople/viet2.gifImage retrieved from: http://www.janeresture.com/kanakas/index.htm

What is the same? What is different?
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212302/http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212302/


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Year 5 : The reasons people migrated to Australia from Europe and Asia, andthe experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group withina colony. The following websites were used in the creation of this Web Story:http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/module/229/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundaberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_knifehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seizure_of_blackbirder_Daphne.jpghttp://kidcyber.com.au/topics/humanrights.htmhttp://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311962/children.htmlhttp://mbp.generationcp.org/confluence/display/MBP/Maizehttp://museumvictoria.com.au/coins/1900/white_australia_medal.htmlhttp://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bihttp://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546303/5835214,3?FMT=IMG&IMGNUM=1http://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/PIC/BIBENQ/546378/5609172,26?FMT=IMGhttp://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/OPAC/BIBENQ/448240/5609172,127?FMT=IMGhttp://spydus.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/OPAC/BIBENQ/448308/5609376,2?FMT=IMGhttp://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2009/07/23/2634021.htm?site=widebay

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/07/27/2637559.htmhttp://www.google.com.au/search?q=photo+of+HMS+Rosario&sugexp=chrome,mod=12&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8http://www.google.com.au/search?q=photos+of+different+coloured+people&sugexp=chrome,mod=12&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8http://www.janeresture.com/kanakas/index.htmhttp://www.janesoceania.com/australia_kanakas/index1.htmahttp://www.myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/1878_-_before_time/1878/4/the_chinese_dragon.html?idSubtheme=3381http://www.myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/1998/1/ramadan.html?idSubtheme=3381http://www.news-mail.com.au/photos/galleries/bundaberg-multicultural-festival/#/7http://www.news-mail.com.au/photos/galleries/bundaberg-multicultural-festival/http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/products/publications/triumph-tropics/triumph-tropics-1959-pt3-ch28.pdfhttp://www.pacificstories.com.au/map.htmlhttp://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/australian-south-sea-islandershttp://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/sugar-slaveshttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/kanakahttp://www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Museum/History/Content/sugar2.aspxhttp://www.vietspring.org/boatpeople/viet2.gifhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=7FivvOb8JFMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2D3ioAH6_4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHJKbyTpB4Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXht__iE_Ko&feature=relatedMicrosoft PowerPoint Clip Art

historical webstory assignment 2 debra bradley s0193111

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