Backbencher

Lecture 4 was entitled "Settlement: Convicts & Pilgrims". It began with pictures of the Sydney opera house, which is a marvelous structure. Coathanger Bridge was also shown along with The Rocks, which is an upscale shopping district. The Rocks was the original site of the convict jail. Pictures of sheep stations were also shown from the South Island. It was discussed how the upperclassmen were sheep ranchers and the lower classmen were miners. William McNeill is discussed as the author of Mythistory. He viewed historians as myth makers and wrote about the founding myths of Australia and New Zealand. Austin Fife believed that historians were disciplinarians of myths and saw historians as "party poopers". The background of transportation was discussed. Georgian England was becoming crime ridden, mostly with street crimes. The crowding of the hulks were becoming a problem due to the suspension of transportation to America. There was a known potential of Botany Bay according to Cook's endeavors. This is the part in the lecture where Professor Isern sang a great song about Botany Bay! Convict colonies in Australia began in 1788 with New South Wales, then moved to Van Dieman's Land in 1812, and followed with Western Australia in 1829. The first fleet arrived to New South Wales, and became overcome with negative reactions to the land. Starvation was a major issue that was dealt with for all of the fleets that arrived in Australia. The convicts consisted of political dissidents and petty criminals. The convicts worked 10 hour days, Monday through Friday, and 6 hour days on Saturday. The outposts for the incorrigible convicts were located at New Castle, Port Macquarie, Morton Bay, and Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island was known as "Botany Bay of Botany Bay". It now has the most peaceful and law abiding citizens in Australia. The end of transportation was accomplished with the Molesworth Committee, with the end in New South Wales in 1852, Van Dieman's Land in 1853, and finally Western Australia in 1868. As a contrast, Wakefield proposed that New Zealand be developed with planned colonization. Only small parcels of land were sold at sufficient prices. This was believed to provide a class of cultured landowners and land sales would help to fund more acceptable immigrants. Pastoralism became the way of life as a frontier phenomenon. After that, the gold rush overwhelmed the ideal. It brought in many undesirables looking to get rich quick. Miles Fairburn was discussed along with his research of New Zealand and the planned society. Problems with Fairburn included that fact that he didn't credit those who assisted him with his research, had an anti-social personality, and had a poor presentation style. A.H. Clark was discussed as writing of the focus of biology for the colonization of New Zealand. A new mythistory of New Zealand is developing related to the revision and extension of the national story. Generational differences have been noted in New Zealanders. The middle-age generation thinks that the younger generation is "going to hell in a handbasket".

I found this lecutre very interesting. As with all lectures, I love the use of pictures to give the class a feel of the environment. I think that the generational differences in New Zealand are much like those here in the United States. A couple from my hometown just had quadruplets after using fertility treatments to have a baby. The mom's grandma thinks that it is just rediculous to have that many babies at one time and is just disgusted with her granddaughter's choice to have quadruplets. On the other hand, our generation thinks that it is a miracle and that they deserve all the help that they need to raise these kids.