Adapted from Bateman's Bay Country Area Program - Web Quest - Australian Overland Explorers

What must it have been like to be an Australian Overland Explorer early in the 19th Century? Many became famous and were rewarded by the Government; many others perished in the harsh outback of Australia.

How would you like to be part of an expedition similar to that of our famous explorers?

Your Task

You and two friends have entered a contest in which you have to follow the route of an early Australian Overland Explorer. Your task is to plan the trip so that you will be prepared for everything that could possibly happen. You will be travelling in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, not by horse, camel or walking, as the original explorers did.

Here is what you have to do:

1.Choose and study an Australian Overland Explorer. Make sure you know exactly where he started and finished.

2. Sketch a map of his journey as you will be going on the same track with two of your friends by 4 wheel drive vehicle.  (Don't forget to check the modern roadmaps.)

3. Construct and label your own map carefully. Show where you propose to camp each night. (Many travel maps show campgrounds)

4. Carefully choose the time of year you propose to do this trek. (Think about storms, flooding of creeks and rivers, extreme heat or cold etc)

5. Make a check list of what the three of you will need to take with you. Think of all the possible bad things that could happen. Are you prepared for these? (Food and clothing are not the only things you will need eg. safety, 1st aide, communication.)

6. (Optional) How long is the trip and how much fuel will you need. You will need to estimate your fuel consumption (km per litre) for your car  (Remember that a car will use more fuel when off-road than on the highway).  Please make sure you show your fuel pick-up points along the way as sometimes there may not be a Fuel Station for hundreds of kilometres.  How are you going to carry spare fuel?

7. Estimate how many days it will take to make this trip.

8. How much it will cost to complete the expedition? (eg. fuel, food, incidental expenses etc)

Present your findings using either a desktop publishing program (eg Publisher, Word, Creative Writer) or create a slide show (eg Kid Pix or Power Point).  You must present it orally to the class, as well as submitting your written project.

It Must Include:

Choose an Explorer

Explorers of Australia - EnchantedLearning.com,

Nineteenth Century Exploration of Australia (Heaps of Info.), Early Queensland History, Australian Explorers - list of links,

SSTA - The Discovery of Australia, ZOOM SCHOOL Australia

What Information Do You Need?

The list below shows some of the information you may need to access.  Much of this information may be found online, but may also be found in books or from specialist agencies.  People are often a great source of information when planning a huge task like this.

Other Resources: