Duyfken online education resources available to schools

The Duyfken education program is now available to students and teachers on the Australian National Maritime Museum website.

These online resources can be used in the classroom, while an interactive program provides insight into the first known European contact with Australia.

Directly linked to the Year 4 History content in the Australian Curriculum and the First Contacts unit in the NSW History Syllabus, the resources tell the story of Willem Janszoon’s (Jansz) historic journey to Australia and Dutch repulsion by First Nations people at Cape Keerweer in 1606. They provide young students with important context of the contact with Australia by multiple European powers preceding the invasion of Captain Cook on the HMB Endeavour.

“What transpired in 1606 in the Cape York Peninsula between the Wik people and the crew of the Duyfken is a largely unknown moment in this continent’s history. The creation of this curriculum resource will enable future generations of Australian children to learn more about our shared history. The 25th anniversary of the launch of the Duyfken replica seemed a fitting opportunity to announce this next phase of the history of that 1606 meeting,” said Daryl Karp, Director and CEO of the museum.

The online resource offers a variety of learning and education tools including four audio and visual storytelling resources designed by Tasmanian-based film company Roar Film. Each video approaches the story from both the ship and the shore perspective, ensuring that a balanced view of the contact, and eventual repulsion of the Dutch, is available in every Australian classroom.

Also available as part of the online resource are a virtual walkthrough of the Duyfken replica and an interactive map that provides insight into the crew aboard the ship as well as the Dutch East India Company at large. Additional information and guiding questions are also available alongside activities on the website.

The traditions and culture of the Wik people of Northern Australia are also highlighted as part of the online resource, with activities available for students to further their understanding of the ways in which the Indigenous communities interacted with each other and with Asian and European travellers who visited Australia.

With points for classroom discussion, interactive games, maps and activities, and classroom and individual writing and research activities linked to the curriculum content, this online resource is all-inclusive and available for free on the museum website.

Image: Supplied.