Australia: The Story of Us - trailer 0:30
- Play video
The people. The events. The story of how our ancient land became a modern nation. Courtesy: Channel Seven
- News Corp Australia
- 13 Feb 2015
- Entertainment/TV
DID you know how alcohol was used in the early 1800s? Or what our first export was? Or that we had the world’s deadliest mammal? Check out some random Down Under facts from Seven’s docodrama Australia: The Story of Us.
Australia’s marsupial lion Source: Supplied
IN 45000BC WE HAD THE WORLD’S DEADLIEST MAMMAL
Australia’s marsupial lion had jaws like a set of bolt cutters. If that’s not enough, we had goannas the size of buses, and two tonne wombats. The marsupial lion became known as the world’s deadliest mammalian carnivore.
45,000 years ago, the continent was drying out. Half of all living species disappeared from our lands. People were relative newcomers, they relied on clubs, digging sticks and wooden spears - part of a clever, easily transportable tool kit that helped the First Australians thrive in every corner of the continent. They also shared the land with giant animals. For this is the age of Australia’s megafauna, including the world’s deadliest carnivorous mammal.
Australia’s marsupial lion Source: Supplied
ALCOHOL WAS HOW WE COULD PAY OUR BILLS
In 1807 we had no actual money to buy or trade - we ‘lacked’ a currency.
Alcohol was used as one form of currency instead, but it was not the only form. Rum was the favoured form of payment for the majority of us. It was the most widespread way to buy and sell, and was often used as payment for labour/work.
Then in 1808, New Governor William Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty infamy) has strict orders – restore NSW to a colonial backwater for farmers and convicts.
Bligh declares war on the merchants of Sydney and anyone else who tries to make a quid. His coup de grâce - he makes it illegal for soldiers and their families to trade in rum. The result is a very Australian rebellion and the first of many challenges to London’s authority.
Rum Rebellion – William Bligh and the red suits Source: Supplied
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST EXPORT WAS NOT IRON, GOLD OR EVEN WOOL - IT WAS SEALS
We didn’t “ride on the back of sheep” to start Australia’s export. It was seals – not sheep!
Dick Smith says exporting seal skins was bigger in its day for Australia than our mining industry is today.
In 1805, convicts established outposts on the remote fringes of Bass Strait to begin what will become Australia’s first global export industry. Seal pelts will clothe Britain’s finest and seal oil will light the lamps of London. The industry is worth millions, but the convicts must fight hard to protect their livelihood. American sealers muscle in on the action, triggering fierce territorial disputes.
Americans fight with Australians over seal hunting territories in Australia Source: Supplied
CAPTAIN COOK WAS NOT THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO LAND ON AUSTRALIA
There really was Aboriginal exploration — palaeontologist Tim Flannery says: “There really was a first person to put their footprints on Australian soil.”
It happened around 50,000 years ago and included an unprecedented voyage across 50 miles of open water sea to get to Australia.
Captain Cook was not the first European to land on Australia. But he did claim it with the purpose of settling it.
The docudrama series AUSTRALIA: THE STORY OF US, narrated by Richard Roxburgh, debuts on Channel Seven on Sunday February, 15, at 8.30pm
Originally published as 4 things you never knew about Australia
