Milking time

• Damper, a simple bread made from flour and water and cooked on a heated hearthstone or in hot ashes, became a daily staple in the diet of the colonists. Damper (or 'Australian bush bread') has come to be an emblem of the Australian bush heritage.
• Indigenous peoples have ground seeds and grains over many centuries to produce breads and what we now know as damper. When new foods such as wheat flour were introduced, these were also adapted into Indigenous diets and lifestyles. Talk to local Indigenous families about stories and traditions about food that have been passed down through family and how these have changed over time.
• The following website may be useful. Consider a range of units on the website and talk to local Indigenous people about whether damper was in fact used (or is still used) in your local area and the different ways it is prepared (eg fried as johnny cakes, baked on coals or in camp ovens).

1. NSW Board of Studies, 'Aboriginal technology: Bushfood', http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/linkages/IntegratedUnits/aboriginal/tech_learn02.html

• Yeast was not available in the early days of colonisation and so, for the first half-century of colonisation, most rural workers survived on a diet based on the ration which earned the name 'Ten, ten, two and a quarter', being 10 pounds of flour, 10 pounds of meat, 2 pounds of sugar and a quarter-pound of tea. In My Place Episode 22 | 1798: Sam, the convict boy Sam, who has been left by Mr Owen to survive on the farm with only milk from the goat and some flour, makes himself damper to fill his belly.
• Ask students to research the history of damper. As a class, discuss the problems of securing food supplies which faced the early colonists. List these problems on the board and prioritise them from most important to least important for survival.

• Ask students to find a traditional recipe that has been passed down within their own family or another family. If necessary, get them to do some research and talk to family members. This could be a tradition for a particular time of the year (eg Christmas, Eid or birthdays) or another cultural tradition. They should write the recipe out so that someone unfamiliar with the food could prepare it, and illustrate the ingredients and/or process. 
• If possible, have students make the recipe and bring it in to share with the class group. Create a class recipe book with the recipes and include the stories about them: where they come from, who passes them on, why they are used, when they are made and eaten and so on.
• Have students identify a list of other Australian foods, including Indigenous bushfoods.

Student Activity Sheet H22.3: Damper

• In My Place Episode 22 | 1798: Sam, young Sam is left to repair the bark roof of Mr Owen's hut. While Indigenous Australians designed a wide variety of shelters to suit the seasons and the organisation of their families and the lifestyles of different groups, and which were made with many different materials and technologies, the colonists relied on the abundant supply of timber to construct simple homes in their own style. These homes ranged from simple bough shelters with only a roof and no walls, to single-room bark huts and wattle-and-daub huts made by plastering clay over walls made of woven twigs. 
• Ask students to research the construction techniques used to build the homes of the early colonists, for example, wattle-and-daub construction. A good starting point is Romsey Australia, 'Early settlers' homes and bush huts in Australia', home.iprimus.com.au/foo7/houses.html#4. 
• Discuss the building materials available to the early colonists. 
• Ask students to find images of early bush huts and to look closely at the building materials that were used. Label the images for the materials and construction techniques used.

• As a class, view My Place Episode 22 | 1798: Sam. Ask students to draw the facade of Mr Owen's hut and a plan of the interior. Ask them to note the building materials used to construct Mr Owen's hut and label these on their drawing and plan.
• Ask students to consider what materials they could use to create a model of Mr Owen's hut. Think about what naturally occurring materials might be available within the school grounds. Ask students to gather these materials. In small groups, students are to make a model of Mr Owen's hut.

Student Activity Sheet H22.4: Home sweet home

• As a class view the clip Milking time and ask students to discuss Sam's living conditions. Point out that his 'bed' is a pile of straw on a dirt floor, his 'room' is an open barn and that he only has one set of clothes.
• When Sam climbs through the hole in the roof, he gets to see inside Mr Owen's house for the first time, which is very different from the barn that Sam sleeps in. Ask students to focus their attention on the far superior living conditions that Mr Owen has in his house. Students could answer the following questions:

1. How do Sam's bedding and living conditions compare with Mr Owen's?
2. What did Sam say that shows he is impressed with Mr Owen's bedding?
3. What is Mr Owen's bedding made from?
4. Describe the contents of Mr Owen's house. (Look at the view when the camera pans around the interior of the house.)
5. Explain Sam's reaction to seeing himself in the mirror. Why would he react like this?

• Refer students to Student Activity Sheet E22.3 Living conditions.
• Have students write a paragraph describing Sam's living conditions and comparing them with those of Mr Owen. The description should be from Sam's point of view.

• Ask students to imagine their dream house. Have them create a real estate flyer which outlines all the features that their dream house contains. The flyer should contain two or three drawings or images of the rooms of the house, as well as a floor plan. The flyer should use descriptive and persuasive language to encourage someone to buy the house. Students can consult real estate websites to obtain a template for the flyer.

Student Activity Sheet E22.3: Living conditions

• In the clip Milking time, Mr Owen says Sam's diet for the week will consist of 'goat's milk and flour'. Ask students to discuss if this diet would be considered healthy and balanced eating today. Ask them to identify what food groups are missing from Sam's diet.
• The following websites may be useful:

1. Better Health Channel, 'Healthy Eating for Kids', www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Healthy_eating_for_kids?open
2. Healthy Eating Club, 'The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating' http://healthyeatingclub.com/info/articles/food-guides/aust-guide-he.htm

• Have students compare Sam's diet to their own. Use a Venn diagram to compare the similarities and differences.
• Ask students what they think Sam should be eating and what his limited diet may do to his health. Students can research the effects of Sam's diet and write a short article in which they either promote healthy eating, or show the links between a vitamin-poor diet and such conditions as scurvy.

• As a class, look at recipe books and draw the students' attention to the particular style of writing used for the listing of ingredients and measurements. The instructions are always in the imperative tense. Explain that recipes are a specific text type that uses a particular kind of technical writing.
• Ask students to find a recipe for damper. They are to write instructions for making it, keeping in mind the limited technology and availability of ingredients in 1798. Use the correct recipe-writing style. A fun idea would be for students to create, prepare and cook their own damper so that they can develop their own set of measurements and instructions.

Student Activity Sheet E22.4: Food for thought