Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Question 1

Who are Australia’s first inhabitants?

Accepted Answer

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Australia’s first inhabitants are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who were here long before European exploration or settlement. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Migrants who arrived after the Second World War

Answer

Settlers who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788

Question 2

The term “Australia’s first inhabitants” covers which two groups of peoples?

Accepted Answer

Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It covers both Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Aboriginal peoples and Macassan traders from the north

Answer

Aboriginal peoples and early British settlers

Question 3

Which statement about Australia’s first inhabitants is correct?

Accepted Answer

They include both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. “Australia’s first inhabitants” means both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — not one group alone, and not later settlers. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

They were the first free settlers who arrived after 1788

Answer

They were only the Aboriginal peoples of the mainland

Question 4

What is often said about the cultures and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Accepted Answer

They are the oldest continuous cultures and traditions in the world. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the oldest continuous cultures and traditions in the world, and those traditions are still practised today. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

They are among the youngest cultures in the world

Answer

They are no longer practised in modern Australia

Question 5

Describing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as “the oldest continuous” cultures in the world means that they:

Accepted Answer

have been maintained without a break over an extremely long period. “Oldest continuous” means these cultures have been kept alive without interruption for longer than any others — not that they are unchanging or that they were interrupted. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

have all stayed exactly the same and never changed

Answer

stopped and were later revived in recent times

Question 6

What still guides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today?

Accepted Answer

Age-old beliefs and traditions. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have age-old beliefs and traditions that still guide them today. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Guidelines set by local councils

Answer

Rules introduced at Federation in 1901

Question 7

Which statement about the beliefs and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is correct?

Accepted Answer

Their age-old beliefs and traditions continue to guide them today. Age-old beliefs and traditions still guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the present day. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Their traditions have no bearing on daily life today

Answer

Their traditions stopped mattering after 1788

Question 8

That age-old beliefs and traditions “still guide” Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today is an example of:

Accepted Answer

cultural continuity — traditions carried unbroken from the past into the present. It shows cultural continuity: the same traditions run from the distant past into present-day life. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

beliefs that have been completely replaced by newer ones

Answer

traditions that survive only in museums and records

Question 9

What is central to the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

Accepted Answer

A deep connection with the land. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a deep connection with the land. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

A history that began in the 20th century

Answer

A connection only to Australia’s cities

Question 10

Which idea is most directly reflected by the phrase “deep connection with the land”?

Accepted Answer

Country is fundamental to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity and wellbeing. The phrase reflects that connection to Country is fundamental to who Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Their connection to place is a recent development

Answer

The groups are linked to each other only by trade

Question 11

How do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples express their connection with the land?

Accepted Answer

Through their stories, art and dance. The connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the land is expressed in their stories, art and dance. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Through written land contracts

Answer

Through international sporting events

Question 12

A dance performance communicates a people’s relationship with Country. Which idea does this illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Connection with the land can be expressed through dance. Stories, art and dance are all ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples express their connection with the land, so a dance about Country illustrates that. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

Connection with the land can only be recorded in writing

Answer

Connection with the land is shown only through maps

Question 13

What role do stories, art and dance play in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ connection with the land?

Accepted Answer

They are ways that connection is expressed and passed on. Stories, art and dance are means of expressing and passing on the connection to the land. (Our Common Bond, Part 1)

Answer

They have replaced the importance of land in these cultures

Answer

They show the connection is only a modern idea

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

What Our Common Bond says

Common mistakes

Test yourself

Who are Australia’s first inhabitants?