A New Colony Begins

Tour Details

OUTCOMES:

  • HS2-ACH-01 describes Aboriginal Peoples’ obligations to Country, Culture and Community;
  • HS2-GEO-01 explains how people care for Australia’s environments and participate in Australian society, using geographical information;
  • HS2-ACH-01 describes Aboriginal Peoples’ obligations to Country, Culture and Community;
  • HS2-HIS-01 explains how people lived in the past, how navigation connected the world, and what life was like in the Sydney Cove penal settlement, using sources as evidence.
  • Compare journeys and reasons for significant voyages of global navigation;
  • Describe how Willem Janszoon, Dirk Hartog, Abel Tasman, Macassan traders and Lieutenant James Cook connected the Great Southern Land or Terra Australis to the world using maps and images as sources of evidence;
  • Represent the journey of Bungaree and Matthew Flinders to circumnavigate Australia using maps and images as sources of evidence;
  • Explain how the development of navigational instruments influenced global navigation using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary.
  • Identify reasons for the establishment of a British penal colony at New South Wales;
  • Describe the role that transportation of convicts played in the establishment of a colony at New South Wales;
  • Describe the experiences of men, women and children on the First Fleet voyage using sources as evidence;
  • Research and draw conclusions about resources transported with the First Fleet, using sources as evidence;
  • Represent life in the penal settlement at Sydney Cove using images, maps, personal accounts and sites;
  • Research and recount the life of an Aboriginal person, a convict, a marine and a settler who lived in the penal settlement at Sydney Cove;
  • Explain how stories, images, objects and sites are used as sources of evidence for the first penal settlement in New South Wales.

Additional details about the tour

Through storytelling and visits to historic sites, students explore the arrival of the British fleet in 1788 and the global events that led to the establishment of the colony at Sydney Cove. They investigate why great journeys occurred around the world, why the British came to Australia, and what was happening in Britain at the time.

Standing where these events unfolded, students learn about the convicts, soldiers, sailors and governors who built the early settlement.

The tour also examines the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal peoples of the Sydney region and the natural environment, acknowledging their deep connection to Country.

By exploring historic buildings and archaeological sites as evidence, students investigate how early Sydney developed and bring history to life by dressing as significant figures from the early colony.

Tour Reviews

Our Stage 2 students thoroughly enjoyed the Rocks Walking Tour as part of their history studies. The excursion was both engaging and informative, giving students the chance to explore the story of British colonisation and its impact on the Eora people in a meaningful and age-appropriate way.
The use of A3 images, storytelling, and relevant historic sites helped bring early Sydney to life, while the opportunity for students to dress up as governors, soldiers, convicts, or free settlers made the experience interactive and fun. The guides were highly knowledgeable, kept the students engaged throughout, and skillfully connected significant people and events to the development of Sydney.
This tour supported our curriculum beautifully and provided our students with a deeper understanding of first contact, Aboriginal ways of life before and after colonisation, and the realities of the penal colony. We would highly recommend this experience to other schools looking for an interactive and well-structured excursion.

Nicole Stojanovski
Corpus Christi Primary School

A perfect excursion for our Stage 2 classes as they investigate Australian history and British colonisation. I highly recommend The Rocks Walking Tours; they are professional, flexible and organised; making planning an excursion easy. The tour guides were friendly and kept our students engaged. They also sent through helpful resources to look at prior to coming. Our students loved the costumes and character cards – it really helped them to connect to the content. Will definitely be booking with them again. Thank you so much!

Holly Caddy
Leppington Anglican College

Enquire Now

Educational program FAQs here.

Step 1 of 2

1st preferred time(Required)
:
2nd preferred time(Required)
:

Video Highlights

Related Tours

Scroll to Top