Recognising Connection to Country (Grade 6)
Free printable HASS worksheet for Grade 6 on how Australia came to recognise First Nations peoples' continuing connection to Country: sequence the documented events from the Yirrkala Bark Petitions to the Native Title Act, with fixed fact questions.
Grade 6 · Social Studies worksheet
Name
Date
Social Studies
Recognising Connection to Country
Number the events in time order (1 = first) using the dates printed on the sheet, then circle the best answers. Discussion (not marked): why do you think the Mabo case took ten years to decide?
- 1.The Yolngu people of Yirrkala send bark petitions to Parliament about their land (1963)
- 2.The Native Title Act becomes law (1993)
- 3.The High Court's Mabo decision rejects terra nullius (3 June 1992)
- 4.Australians vote Yes in the referendum on counting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the population (27 May 1967)
- 5.Gurindji workers and families begin the Wave Hill walk-off (1966)
- 6.Why is the Mabo decision connected to the idea of connection to Country?
- a) It created the first European map of Australia
- b) It renamed every Australian state
- c) It recognised that peoples had rights to their lands under their own laws and customs
- 7.The Mabo case was brought by Eddie Koiki Mabo and other plaintiffs from which islands?
- a) The islands of Sydney Harbour
- b) The Torres Strait Islands (the Meriam people of Mer)
- c) The Whitsunday Islands
- 8.What does the Latin phrase terra nullius mean?
- a) Land of many nations
- b) Land belonging to no-one
- c) New land across the sea
- 9.Which law followed the Mabo decision?
- a) The Native Title Act 1993
- b) The Metric Conversion Act
- c) The Constitution of 1901
- 10.True or False: The Yirrkala Bark Petitions were written by the British Parliament in London.
- a) True
- b) False
- 11.True or False: The Native Title Act 1993 followed the Mabo decision.
- a) True
- b) False
- 12.True or False: The Mabo decision was made by the High Court of Australia in 1992.
- a) True
- b) False
- 13.True or False: The Wave Hill walk-off, which began in 1966, became a landmark in the land rights movement.
- a) True
- b) False
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Accuracy and sources
These references support the historical wording and answer key on this worksheet.
- AIATSIS - The Mabo Case — dates the High Court's Mabo decision to 3 June 1992, explains its rejection of terra nullius ('land belonging to no-one'), and records that the Native Title Act 1993 followed
- AIATSIS - The 1967 Referendum — dates the referendum to 27 May 1967 and the earlier Yirrkala Bark Petitions (1963) and Wave Hill walk-off (began 1966)
- ACARA - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority — the curriculum priority these worksheets serve; the paired term Country/Place and the phrase First Nations Australians follow ACARA's own usage