❓ Premier Carpenter criticises the Howard government's history guide for overlooking WA's early Dutch exploration while including the irrelevant Pedro Fernandez de Quiros.
AnsweredQoN 593Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOWARD GOVERNMENT - SNUB TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Can the Premier advise of the latest Howard government snub to Western Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
Can the Premier advise of the latest Howard government snub to Western Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question. Yes, I can. Today in our office we received a copy of the Prime Minister’s much vaunted “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10”, from which he has sought to make much political capital. We in Western Australia do a very good job of teaching history in our schools and have done for a long time. History is taught through primary school and into years 8, 9 and 10. It becomes optional after year 10 and that has always been the case. However, there are always ways to improve. Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question. Yes, I can. Today in our office we received a copy of the Prime Minister’s much vaunted “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10”, from which he has sought to make much political capital. We in Western Australia do a very good job of teaching history in our schools and have done for a long time. History is taught through primary school and into years 8, 9 and 10. It becomes optional after year 10 and that has always been the case. However, there are always ways to improve. Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question. Yes, I can. Today in our office we received a copy of the Prime Minister’s much vaunted “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10”, from which he has sought to make much political capital. We in Western Australia do a very good job of teaching history in our schools and have done for a long time. History is taught through primary school and into years 8, 9 and 10. It becomes optional after year 10 and that has always been the case. However, there are always ways to improve. Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question. Yes, I can. Today in our office we received a copy of the Prime Minister’s much vaunted “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10”, from which he has sought to make much political capital. We in Western Australia do a very good job of teaching history in our schools and have done for a long time. History is taught through primary school and into years 8, 9 and 10. It becomes optional after year 10 and that has always been the case. However, there are always ways to improve. Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
I thank the member for Swan Hills for the question. Yes, I can. Today in our office we received a copy of the Prime Minister’s much vaunted “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10”, from which he has sought to make much political capital. We in Western Australia do a very good job of teaching history in our schools and have done for a long time. History is taught through primary school and into years 8, 9 and 10. It becomes optional after year 10 and that has always been the case. However, there are always ways to improve. Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Looking at this, though, the Prime Minister’s “Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10” - John Howard’s history of Australia - I cannot help noting that Western Australia seems to be overlooked in large part. Almost the entire history of Dutch navigation and contact with Western Australia seems to have been overlooked, although there is a passing reference to Dirk Hartog. However, there is no reference in the section “Early encounters” to the placement of a plate in his honour on Dirk Hartog Island. He discovered the western half of Australia. If that is not a milestone event, what is? Again, under the section “Early encounters” no reference is made to Willem de Vlamingh, who charted most of the coast into the Swan River. There is reference to James Cook on the east coast. One of the entries that I find particularly interesting is that under the “Early encounters” section there is reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He was a navigator. I know something about Pedro Fernandez de Quiros because a writer friend of mine, who lives in Madrid, has written what I understand to be a still unpublished novel based on the travels of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, who was a Portuguese navigator who sailed under the Spanish flag in the first decade of the seventeenth century; that is, 1600. Along with numerous other Spanish or Portuguese navigators, he explored in the Pacific. He set out on a quest to find the great southern land. He did not, although he thought he did. He actually made landfall in Vanuatu and declared it the continent that had been searched for for so long and that all lands and peoples south thereof, under God, were recognised as being subjects of Philip III of Spain. He had no encounter with Australia. It became interesting in Australia in the nineteenth century when, for religious reasons, the then Bishop of Sydney - I think it was Archbishop Moran - determined that the Protestant James Cook did not discover the east coast of Australia; it was in fact the Catholic Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He had that “fact” taught in schools. During the latter part of the nineteenth century and the earlier part of the twentieth century the Catholic schools taught that Australia was discovered by Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr P.D. Omodei : This is amazing! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is. It is amazing to me that the reference to this heroic navigator and Christian crusader finds its way, when so many others are excluded, into the Prime Minister’s guide to the teaching of history in Australia under the entry “Early encounters”. He never came anywhere near Australia. He never landed in Australia; he got as close as Vanuatu. He made no landfall on Australian soil. Remnants of some fundamentalist Christian groups still assert that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros played a significant role in Australia’s development and Christian heritage. I wonder why it is that in the Prime Minister’s guide to teaching history this particular reference to Pedro Fernandez de Quiros is made. It is amazing that the Prime Minister of this country would be complaining about the quality of the teaching of history in our schools - Australian, not Melanesian or Polynesian history - when his own guide to teaching Australian history includes Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr C.J. Barnett : Who discovered Australia? Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It certainly was not Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. I am afraid that the member demonstrates a mindset that was probably shaped in the 1950s and 1960s when he asks, “Who discovered Australia?” Australia was already occupied when the first Europeans attended. I can provide the member for Cottesloe with a detailed list of all the European contacts with Australia dating back to 1606. I wonder why Pedro Fernandez de Quiros’ mistaken view and that view propagated by religious groups thereafter is included in this. It makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s assertion that we have to get the teaching of history right. I think it is his version of history.
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