Early European Influences
The ships of the first fleet, sent from England with convicts to found a penal colony in NSW, landed at Sydney Cove on 26th January 1788. This date is celebrated now as Australia Day.
The first settlers came ashore to a country different from England Their immediate needs were exactly the same as those of the Indigenous Australians- food and shelter- but they went about providing these in a very different manner.
Food brought on or with the First Fleet voyage consisted of flour, rice, salted meat, dried peas, sugar, alcohol, vinegar, seeds and vine cuttings. Livestock were brought as a source of fresh meat. The food supply was rationed and consumed within two years. During this time, the seeds and vine cuttings were used to grow crops that seamed to fail early on, as the new settlers knew little about the Australian land and climate. They expected to be able to live off the land using the same techniques they and used in England.
Early settlers succeeded in growing corn, wheat and barley. These crops did not significantly alter the variety of the food eaten.
The first settlers came ashore to a country different from England Their immediate needs were exactly the same as those of the Indigenous Australians- food and shelter- but they went about providing these in a very different manner.
Food brought on or with the First Fleet voyage consisted of flour, rice, salted meat, dried peas, sugar, alcohol, vinegar, seeds and vine cuttings. Livestock were brought as a source of fresh meat. The food supply was rationed and consumed within two years. During this time, the seeds and vine cuttings were used to grow crops that seamed to fail early on, as the new settlers knew little about the Australian land and climate. They expected to be able to live off the land using the same techniques they and used in England.
Early settlers succeeded in growing corn, wheat and barley. These crops did not significantly alter the variety of the food eaten.
Diet of Early Europeans
Women received two thirds of the rations that men received, and children were eligible for one third. As you can imagine, people on those rations were often very hungry and the meals were rather uninteresting due tot he limited ingredients and quantities.
Meat rations were usually made into stews and pies and the dried peas were boiled to a thick type of porridge. The flour was used to make damper or sometimes added to the cooking of any available green leaves or vegetables. This made a meal very similar to vegetable porridge. These rations were generally served hot and were high in fat, protein, and refined carbohydrate, and particularly low in dietary fibre. These rations remained the basic diet for most Australians for the first 50 years of settlement. Eventually this diet was supplemented with fruits and vegetables as the crops began to grow successfully.
Some peole were able to catch fish to supplement their restricted diet and a few ate some of the wild plants and fruits, such as wild currants and native spinach. However, for the general population, a regular lack of vitamin C meant that scurvy was a constant problem.
The convicts had little or no knowledge of Australian native foods. Some proved to be poisonous or had terrible taste, which did not encourage experimentation. The main beverages were water, tea (which was brewed black and strong), and rum, which was the most common alcoholic drink. Both tea and rum had to be imported to Australia from England.
Meat rations were usually made into stews and pies and the dried peas were boiled to a thick type of porridge. The flour was used to make damper or sometimes added to the cooking of any available green leaves or vegetables. This made a meal very similar to vegetable porridge. These rations were generally served hot and were high in fat, protein, and refined carbohydrate, and particularly low in dietary fibre. These rations remained the basic diet for most Australians for the first 50 years of settlement. Eventually this diet was supplemented with fruits and vegetables as the crops began to grow successfully.
Some peole were able to catch fish to supplement their restricted diet and a few ate some of the wild plants and fruits, such as wild currants and native spinach. However, for the general population, a regular lack of vitamin C meant that scurvy was a constant problem.
The convicts had little or no knowledge of Australian native foods. Some proved to be poisonous or had terrible taste, which did not encourage experimentation. The main beverages were water, tea (which was brewed black and strong), and rum, which was the most common alcoholic drink. Both tea and rum had to be imported to Australia from England.
Traditional Damper versus the contemporary Aussie Alternative
The word 'damper' was first used in England- meaning to damper the appetite- and describes hard, unleavened, crusted bread. Damper was very important to the first settlers in Australia when flour, salt and water were the only available ingredients for making bread. Originally the bread was cooked in the ashes of a bush fire for about ten minutes. Then the damper was covered with ashes and cooked for another period of about twenty to thirty minutes until it sounded hollow when it was lightly tapped. Today it is usually cooked in a camp oven (iron pot) that is buried in the hot coals.
Introduction of New Foods to Australia
During this time, Aboriginal people started to gravitate towards the settlements and helped with the cleaning, maintenance of crops and day to day chores. In return for their services they were paid with rations of foods. Over time, they became dependent on the rations for their food supply, and their traditional diet of bush tucker changed to one of white flour, sugar, tea, meat, salt and alcohol. This diet lacked the fresh foods of the bush, sea and rivers and contributed to nutritional disasters such as weight gain, diabetes and alcoholism, which are evident in some Aboriginal communities to this day.
Early Australian food habits were linked to those in England. Even today, many of the well established eating patterns from earlier times have remained dominant in Australians' food habits. Vegetables other than potatoes and peas were not popular. Sugar and sweet foods became popular and the habit of eating large quantities of meat has persisted. This has contributed to our current high intake of protein and fat. The high consumption of alcohol goes back to the time of the first settlement of the colony; Australians today consume more alcohol than any other English-speaking nation.
Early Australian food habits were linked to those in England. Even today, many of the well established eating patterns from earlier times have remained dominant in Australians' food habits. Vegetables other than potatoes and peas were not popular. Sugar and sweet foods became popular and the habit of eating large quantities of meat has persisted. This has contributed to our current high intake of protein and fat. The high consumption of alcohol goes back to the time of the first settlement of the colony; Australians today consume more alcohol than any other English-speaking nation.
Task
1. List the different ways that European settlement influenced the food habits of many Aboriginal people.
2. Outline how the early settlers' diet compared with that of Aboriginal people.
3. Explain why the early settlers didn't include much bush tucker in their diets.
4. Why was rationing of foods necessary during Australia's early settlement?
5. Why do you think the meat was salted, instead of left fresh?
6. Explain how European settlement has influenced the food supply in Australia today. Use a s many examples as possible.
7. a). Convert the rations shown below into metric measurements (grams, millilitres)
7 lb Flour (lb=pounds)
7 lb Beef
4 lb Pork
3 oz Dried Peas
6 oz Butter
1/2 pint Vinegar
8 oz Rice
b). Divide these rations by two thirds to calculate the women's rations and one third to calculate the children's rations.
8. Research the causes and symptoms of scurvy
9. Explain some of the problems early settlers experienced in ensuring an adequate food supply for their families.
2. Outline how the early settlers' diet compared with that of Aboriginal people.
3. Explain why the early settlers didn't include much bush tucker in their diets.
4. Why was rationing of foods necessary during Australia's early settlement?
5. Why do you think the meat was salted, instead of left fresh?
6. Explain how European settlement has influenced the food supply in Australia today. Use a s many examples as possible.
7. a). Convert the rations shown below into metric measurements (grams, millilitres)
7 lb Flour (lb=pounds)
7 lb Beef
4 lb Pork
3 oz Dried Peas
6 oz Butter
1/2 pint Vinegar
8 oz Rice
b). Divide these rations by two thirds to calculate the women's rations and one third to calculate the children's rations.
8. Research the causes and symptoms of scurvy
9. Explain some of the problems early settlers experienced in ensuring an adequate food supply for their families.