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Listed under:  History  >  World history  >  Australian history
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Magna Carta - Is it a part of your life today?

This unit of work consists of five classroom activities that introduce students to the Magna Carta, or Great Charter that describes the civil liberties granted by King John of England in 1215. The activities explore the key concepts established in the Magna Carta, including the rule of law and the parliamentary system of ...

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Eureka: Protest, riot, rebellion or revolution?

This unit of work consists of four activities that examine the causes and consequences of the 1854 Eureka Rebellion. The activities include a decision-making exercise through which students consider the rebellion from the point of view of the diggers and the realities of life on the goldfields. A short video provides background ...

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ABC Open: Veterans reflect on the meaning of Anzac Day

What does Anzac Day mean to you? For some older Australians, Anzac Day recognises loyalty to the British Empire. To others it is a time to remember sacrifice and to take pride in Australian character. Watch this clip to discover what Anzac Day means to a number of veterans in the 21st century.

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The convict voyages

What do you think it was like for convicts on their voyage from England to Australia? Would you be surprised to discover that their life expectancy on board a convict vessel was actually higher than that of free settlers? Watch this video to discover why this might be, and learn about the convicts themselves.

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Nexus: Eora: mapping Aboriginal Sydney, 1770-1850

Why are artworks viewed as important sources of historical information? In this clip, you will see a range of artworks created about and by the Eora people, the original inhabitants of Port Jackson (site of today's Sydney Harbour). These artworks were part of a State Library of NSW exhibition in 2006, which was designed ...

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ABC Open: Anzac Day and the unseen costs of war

Discover the unseen costs of war. Many people experience fear, anxiety, bereavement, shock and other forms of psychological trauma that do not end when they return home. Watch this clip as residents of Violet Town in Victoria reflect on the personal cost of war.

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Untold Stories, Ep 12: The submarine that ran amok at Gallipoli

Alec Nichols was a farm boy from the Sunshine Coast who joined the navy at the age of 18. During World War I, he was one of 35 men on the AE2 submarine that broke through enemy lines in the Dardanelles strait. After five days of sustained attacks from the Turkish navy, the submarine had to surface. The men were captured ...

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ABC Open: Australians recognise past sacrifices on Anzac Day

Share the memories of Australian war veterans and discover their thoughts about Anzac Day's significance. In this clip, veterans living on Queensland's Gold Coast express their ideas and feelings about what Anzac Day means to them.

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The British arrive in Tasmania

Learn why, in 1803, the British established a colony in Tasmania, at Hobart Town. Find out about the hardships faced by the convicts and early colonists and the early industries that helped some of them prosper. Find out about the effect that displacement had on the local palawa people.

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BTN: History of voting

Australia's first parliamentary election was in 1843. What was different about voting then? When and how did that change to resemble elections we have now? See if you can list the three significant dates in Australia’s history of voting and the changes that occurred on those dates.

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Gold rush

Walk through the streets of 1850s Ballarat at Sovereign Hill and learn about how the discovery of gold shaped the development of this region. What were the three distinct but overlapping eras of gold mining in Ballarat? How do staff at Sovereign Hill know what life was like for people during this time? Find out how the ...

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ABC Open: The changing roles of women on Anzac Day

How have the stories and observances of Anzac Day changed to include women alongside men? During World War I and the years that followed, women had little involvement in Anzac Day events. In some instances, they were deliberately excluded! This has changed dramatically in recent decades. In this clip, women and men from ...

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Untold Stories, Ep 14: Who was the first Anzac to step ashore the beaches of Gallipoli?

Since 1915, there has been debate over who was the first Australian soldier to step ashore at Gallipoli. The people of Maryborough, Queensland, claim it was Lieutenant Duncan Chapman. What evidence is there that Lieutenant Duncan Chapman was the first Anzac ashore? How has the community of Maryborough commemorated his life?

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Journey into Japan: Modernising Japan in the Meiji era

The restoration of Emperor Meiji in 1868 ushered in a period of rapid change in Japan. The country not only borrowed practices and technologies from Western countries, in less than forty years it too had become an imperialist power. This clip is fifth in a series of six.

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Meet the Fremantle Port Hostesses

In the 1960s, Marie Novak and Pauline Noble worked for the Fremantle Port Authority as hostesses, welcoming new migrants who arrived by ship. Why were hostesses needed? How do Marie and Pauline describe their time as hostesses? Compare the migration experiences of Marie's and Pauline's families. How did their backgrounds ...

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Journey into Japan: Tragic consequences of Japan's modernisation

Japan went through a remarkable transformation between 1868 and the death of the Emperor Meiji in 1912. But Japan's modernisation was accompanied by its rise as an imperialist power, with tragic results. Watch this clip to learn about the consequences of Japan's dream of empire. This clip is last in a series of six.

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BTN: The Australian constitution

A constitution is a set of rules that describe how a country should be run. What does the Australian Constitution contain rules about? When was it mostly written?

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Mabo: the native title revolution

This a multi-layered website about the life and times of Eddie Mabo and the part he played in Indigenous land rights, produced by the National Sound and Film Archive. There are section headings on: The Mabo film; Mer; The man; The case; Native title; Land rights; and Terra Nullius. Each heading has multiple subheadings ...

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BTN: Young drovers: reviving a proud tradition

Did you know that Aboriginal pastoral workers were the backbone of the wealthy Australian cattle industry, but that until 1968 they were never paid an equal wage? Find out what it took for these stockworkers with valuable work skills to achieve equal pay. Watch, too, how some Aboriginal students in the Roper Gulf country ...

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Indigenous Stories about War and Invasion

This is a website about Indigenous experiences of invasion and war during the British invasion, World War I and World War II. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are eight story objects that tell the stories of individuals, events and ...