CHALLENGES and CHANGES FOR PIONEER BEEF CATTLE PRODUCERS (1880s) IN THE KIMBERLEY WESTERN AUSTRALIA

This unit cuts across many themes. It contains some of the colonial history of Western Australia. It is about early European colonial settlement in a remote area. It is about environmental challenge. It touches on cultural conflict between Aboriginal presence (dated rock art). It is about changes that have happened (irrigation project, Ord River, Lake Argyle, Meat processing works, proposed new ports and the large Kimberley Land and Marine Park.
You can approach this unit by using it as a screen by screen observation/interpretation activity within the class room. You might choose to provide hard copies of the fill-in table + colour or black and white maps to cover the “spot the differences” activity. This unit can form part 2 of the Durack story. The 4 challenges introduce the major problems faced by the early pastoralist families - among them the Durack family. It also raises the issue of land rights.
The Kimberley region remains a challenging area. With added tourism it has become a major attraction area. This unit is part of the processes of change.