Susannah and Henry Kable and the Lost Parcel

Write your own play

Learning Intention:

To create a play or narrative story that would help primary students understand the story of Henry and Susannah and their lost parcel.

Success Criteria:

We have written a script and can perform our interpretation of the story of the Kable’s using a play or narrative format.

Resources

Use your copy of The Lost Parcel, your completed worksheets and the Case Summary, Evidence and the Rule of Law information sheet to help you complete this activity.

Activity instructions

You are to write a short play or narrative (five minutes) targeted at primary school students that tells the story of the Kable family, their lost parcel and the outcome of their civil court case.

The purpose of this play is to educate primary school students about this story and why it is important. You will then perform this for your peers in class at a time allocated by your teacher.

All people in your group must appear in the play or narrative and all should contribute to the writing of the script. As an idea, you could all sit together and write your own lines in response to the others in the scene.

You should have at least 3-4 scenes that include the following times in the story:

• Time and events in England that led to transportation

• Arrival in Australia

• Help from Reverend Johnson (including being married!)

• The court case and outcome

Key components to include

Your play must include the people identified in the list below, evidence and important principles.  

People 

Susannah and Henry Kable 

The Ship’s Captain (Mr Duncan Sinclair)

The Reverend Richard Johnson  

Three independent persons to judge the merits (truths or facts) of the case

Two or three eyewitnesses 

Evidence 

Eyewitnesses accounts were provided during the trial.  

William Aston Long, First Mate of the Alexander transport testified that he saw the parcel loaded onto the ship and that it was stored in the gun-room. 

Thomas Trimmings, Steward of the Alexander transport remembered seeing the parcel when the ship stopped at Rio de Janeiro. 

John Hunter, Captain of the Sirius stated that, on request of Governor Phillip, he inquired to Captain Sinclair about the parcel at Cape of Good Hope. Sinclair told him the parcel would be delivered when they got to Botany Bay. 

Important Principles 

The play or narrative should highlight the different social standing of Henry and Susannah Kable in comparison to the Ship’s Captain, Duncan Sinclair. 

It should also demonstrate how the justice system in the new colony treated Henry and Susannah, particularly how the justice system and its administrators chose to treat all persons equally and how this equality protected Henry and Susannah Kable. 

Further ideas to include: What happened next? 

Following this case, Henry Kable became a Chief Constable and had many successful business ventures. This may not have been possible if he could not have used the Courts to receive justice.   Research some of the businesses that he had and how the Kable’s lives unfolded over time as the colony grew to create a more complete picture of the story of the Kable family.