Beautiful waterways...and stinky sewers!

With more than 430 rivers and thousands of creeks, streams and wetlands, the state of NSW is connected by water. Today we know that we must keep our beautiful waterways clean: we need them to survive, for recreation and for their cultural significance.

However, this hasn’t always been so widely understood.

Soon after the First Fleet landed in 1788 at what became known as Sydney Cove, the freshwater stream they relied on, and called the Tank Stream, became polluted. As the colony expanded, explorers and settlers used rivers to navigate the environment; often unaware of the ancient creation stories that these rivers held. Starting with the Tank Stream (so vital for the First Fleet), we flow out across the state, combining history, geography and science to develop your students’ knowledge and understanding of the history of NSW through water.

By watching this recorded session, students will:

• investigate the First Fleet’s freshwater source – by going into the Tank Stream under the City of Sydney!
• visit the Murrumbidgee River to learn about its ancient creation story
• use art, archaeology and maps to investigate how the expanding colony impacted the environment
• meet the team at the Museum of the Riverina and learn some tips and tricks to keep waterways beautiful
• access a new learning resource to help conduct their own waterway investigation

Curriculum links:

• History
• Geography
• Science