08 Dec Brig Amity Excursion

Have you ever wondered what convict life was like on the Brig Amity in 1826?  Last week in HASS Mrs McLeod and our students enjoyed an interactive local history lesson at the Museum of the Great Southern. They walked up the gangplank and set sail on the replica Brig Amity discovering that life on board a convict ship heading for unknown lands was extremely challenging.

Students learnt about the Brig Amity’s 6 week journey from Sydney in 1826 carrying a party that was led by Major Edmund Lockyer, who was asked to settle at King George Sound. When they arrived in the Princess Royal Harbour on Christmas Day it marked the very first time European settlers had arrived in Western Australia. On board were the ship’s crew, 23 convicts (all with trades), 21 soldiers and enough domestic animals, food crops and building materials to start the small, remote outpost.

Students had lots of questions about early convict life, explored the different trades held by convicts and even tasted hard tack and dried meats that convicts would have eaten in 1826.  Thank you to Mrs McLeod, the team at the Museum of the Great Southern and our fantastic parent/grandparent volunteers for giving our students a great local history experience. Click here to see the excursion photos.