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Migrants Enriching Australia

This is a rich collection of stories that focuses on the life experiences of two individuals, one of Greek heritage and one of Polish heritage, who immigrated and settled in Victoria post World War II. The resource explores how these people shared their cultural heritage and how this enriched Australian life at this time. ...

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BTN: First Fleet

Did you know that when the British colonised Australia, they established a penal colony? Captain Arthur Phillip brought the first group of prisoners to Sydney in 1787 on the First Fleet. Watch this clip to find out the stories of some of these convicts.

Interactive

A soldier's war: Gallipoli

This Stage 5 resource looks at the Gallipoli campaign through the eyes of soldiers, nurses and the media. Students examine their diaries and letters as well as considering the nature of the warfare and the tactics involved before producing a documentary of the campaign. The resource will support the introduction of the ...

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BTN: Federation of Australia

Did you know that Australia as a federated nation is only about 115 years old? Before federation, Australia's states and territories each had its own laws and even its own army! Watch this clip to find out how, why and when Australia became a federation.

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BTN: Federation explained

On 1 January 1901 New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria officially joined together to make one country: the Commonwealth of Australia. Before this, they had each been separate British colonies and operated like individual countries. Watch this clip and find out why the colonies ...

Online

Commemorating Anzac through engaging learning

This resource supports quality teaching and learning through specific curriculum learning opportunities to engage students, as well as enhancing whole school and community interactions and events commemorating Anzac. Part of the Bringing communities together series in response to the NSW State Anzac Centenary.

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The Australian Dream: History and truths

Explore the history of Australia and the effects that past government policies and actions have had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The clip highlights how, as a country, we find it difficult to talk about the uncomfortable truths of our history. It also explores the responses to Adam Goodes’s leadership ...

Interactive

WeCommemorate

WeCommemorate is a series of challenges for teachers to use with students to commemorate Australia's involvement in the First World War. These project-based challenges have been designed to engage students from Early Stage 1 to Stage 5 in the production of creative multimedia works and to develop 21st century learning skills. ...

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NSW Governor Marie Bashir – 2010 speech to students

This resource is a YouTube playlist containing a series of videos from a speech the NSW Governor Marie Bashir gave to senior high school students at Government House in 2010. She speaks on a range of topics, including the Australian system of government, the history of Australia and NSW, and her life. She also answers ...

Interactive

Gold rush: level 2

Dig for gold on the Ballarat goldfields in 1865. Try your luck at alluvial or shaft mining. Buy a miner's permit, tools and enough supplies to last a month. Discover how hard life was on the goldfields. Explore a map showing the countries migrants left to join the gold rush in Australia. Find out which towns developed due ...

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Australian gold diggings, c1855

This is an oil painting measuring 70.5 cm x 90.3 cm, painted about 1855 by Edwin Stocqueler (1829-1895), showing men working on the Bendigo gold field in Victoria. The men are panning, puddling and cradling for gold on both sides of a stream in a tent-dotted valley. The valley is stark, with only a few trees remaining. ...

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Pacific Islander labourers in the Mackay District, late 1800s

This posed black-and-white photograph shows indentured Pacific Islanders by their grass hut homes, probably on a Mackay sugar plantation in Queensland. Some are seated on logs or rough timber benches and one woman can also be seen. They are dressed in Western-style clothes. More huts can be seen on the cleared rise in the ...

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Former Pacific Island indentured labourers waiting for deportation, 1906

This black-and-white photograph shows Pacific Islanders mustered at the Cairns Court House in Queensland awaiting a medical examination prior to their deportation under the Australian Government's 1901 Pacific Island Labourers Act. The group, including a woman, some children and an Islander holding a bicycle, would probably ...

Interactive

Gold rush: level 1

Dig for gold on the Ballarat goldfields in 1865. Try your luck at alluvial or shaft mining. Buy a miner's permit, tools and enough supplies to last a month. Discover how hard life was on the goldfields. Explore a map showing the countries migrants left to join the gold rush in Australia. Find out which towns developed due ...

Image

'Arrival of the mail, Myers Flat diggings', probably 1850s

This is a black-and-white print, measuring 17.7 cm x 21.6 cm, created from a wood engraving. It shows two men seated on a horse-drawn, two-wheeled buggy. Nine miners are gathered by the buggy, awaiting the delivery of letters, reading letters or newspapers and exchanging news. Although not visible on this image, the title ...

Interactive

Discovering democracy: the law rules

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the development of law and citizens' rights in the early years of British settlement in Australia. Look in particular at the role of Governor Macquarie, and compare the judicial system in his time with the Australian judicial system of today. Complete a related task.

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Rainforest shield, c1890s

This is a wooden shield from the Aboriginal people of the rainforest region of north-eastern Queensland. Known as a 'rainforest shield', it is painted yellow, red, white and black using natural pigments. Collected in the 1890s, it is 96 cm long x 37 cm wide.

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Ceremonial headdress, c1921

This is a ceremonial headdress of the Wangkanguru (Wonkonguru) people, made at an Aboriginal settlement in the north-east of South Australia in about 1921. Its main features are three thick tassels made of rabbit-tail fur attached to string made of kangaroo fur and hair. It is 56 cm long and up to about 34 cm wide.

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Pandanus baskets, 1912-13

These are four conical pandanus baskets from western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. All are painted with natural pigments and date from 1912-13. They are between 43 cm and 76 cm high and their diameters range from 14 cm to 24 cm.

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Sedge hunting baskets, 1936, 1980s

These are four hunting baskets from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. All are made from sedge grass. The top bag on the left and the two at the bottom were made in the late 1980s, while the bag on the top right-hand side was collected in 1936. The oldest bag is 113.5 cm high, 51 cm wide and 28 cm in diameter. The other ...