The First Penal Settlement at Sydney Cove

10am- 2pm (4 hour)

10:00-10:25am: Arrival & Recess
Hop off the bus and meet our Rangers! We’ll stroll down to Circular Quay to enjoy morning tea with a world-class view.

10:25-10:45am: Explorer Kick-Off Show
A high-energy introduction to Australia’s famous explorers. Students step into history with dress-ups as Migrants, Soldiers, Captain Arthur Phillip, and Convicts.

10:45-11:25am: Red Walk
Explore the early colony, banks, hospitals, police stations, and more, while uncovering stories of survival, resilience, and quirky tales from the past.

11:25-12:05pm: Blue Walk
Discover how Sydney’s early residents lived by comparing the lives of the wealthy elite with those of the working class. (Ghost stories optional!)

12:05-12:40pm: Lunch and walk to Observatory Hill

12:40-1:15pm: Creative Arts: Then & Now Sketching
Students sketch the Sydney Harbour view as it looks today, then re-imagine what it may have looked like in 1788.

1:15-1:50pm: First Contacts Olympics
Game time! Students compete in our Ranger Jamie Olympics- fun, fast-paced challenges designed to reinforce NESA syllabus content.

1:50-2:00pm: Wrap-Up & Departure

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.

People have used navigation to connect with other places and people

• 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.

Sources provide evidence of how people lived in the first penal settlement at Sydney Cove

• 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.

• The Rocks, Sydney CBD

Pick-up and drop-off for this program will take place at Garrison Church.

The cost of this exciting adventure is $19.90 + GST per student.
(Minimum charge x35)

This price includes:

• A fully guided full day with our enthusiastic and knowledgeable Rangers
  (Think Steve Irwin meets the Ranger Jamie crew!);
• A pre-completed Risk Assessment, making your planning a whole lot easier;
• Assistance sourcing bus quotes, so you’re not chasing bus companies all afternoon;
• All equipment and materials provided;
• A syllabus-aligned program, thoughtfully designed to support real learning while keeping the day fun and engaging.