History / Year 10 / Historical Knowledge and Understanding

Curriculum content descriptions

The significance of the following for the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: 1962 right to vote federally; 1967 Referendum; Reconciliation; Mabo decision; Bringing Them Home Report (the Stolen Generations), the Apology (ACDSEH106)

Elaborations
  • describing the aims, tactics and outcomes of a particular event in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' struggle for rights and freedoms
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
  • Ethical understanding Ethical understanding
Cross-curriculum priorities
ScOT terms

Aboriginal history,  Stolen Generations,  Legal equality,  Torres Strait Islander history,  Native title,  Referenda

Video

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.

Video

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 ...

Video

1967 and a new activism

How did the yes vote in 1967 change the way laws were made for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? The struggle for land rights became the focus of the next wave of Aboriginal activists, who gained domestic and world attention by erecting a tent embassy on the lawns of  Parliament House in Canberra. Why was the ...

Video

Pocket Compass, Ep 4: History of Indigenous rights in Australia

You may have heard of the 1967 referendum that granted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders some rights in Australia, but how did Indigenous rights evolve from there? Many, like the Black Power activists, believed the referendum didn't go far enough, especially in relation to land rights, and their causes gained prominence ...

Video

Examining Australia's Constitution

In this clip, reporter Stan Grant visits the National Archives of Australia to revisit the moment when Australia became a federation, on 1 January 1901. Stan examines the original Australian Constitution and reads out Section 127. What does it say? To try to understand why Indigenous people were so excluded, Stan considers ...

Video

Counted: Faith Bandler on voting yes in the 1967 referendum

In 1967, after 10 years of campaigning, Australia voted yes in the referendum on changing the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were referred to in the Constitution. Faith Bandler played an important role in campaigning for the yes vote. Do some research and find out more about this remarkable activist.

Interactive

Sites2See: Reconciliation

This resource is a one-page guide to the people, processes, information and events around reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians, with links to music, video and digital resources and activities.

Interactive

Sites2See: The Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples

This resource links to video coverage and key websites related to the apology to Indigenous Australians by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 13 February 2008. Selected sites provide background information to the apology and personal stories about what happened to members of the Stolen Generations, with a focus on reconciliation.

Interactive

Resistance

This resource is a virtual tour of the Resistance exhibition at The National Museum of Australia showing different responses by Aboriginal people to British colonisation. See videos and enlarged views of objects and texts in the exhibition.

Video

BTN: Australia and Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a war fought between North and South Vietnam in the 1960s and the 70s. How did Australia become involved in this war and how did it ultimately change Australia? Find out about the attitudes of the public to the war in the 1960s and 1970s, and how it shaped the Australian Government's decision to be involved ...

Text

Bombs Away: The Tuggeranong Bombing Range

This site provides a collection of primary source documents, guides and information to support research on the local history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. 'Bombs Away' provides a brief history of the establishment of a live bombing range within the Territory in 1940 and local opposition to its creation. ...

Video

Rogue nation, 2009: NSW in 1819, convict gulag or place of opportunity?

This clip is an excerpt from the 2009 documentary 'Rites of passage', the second of a two-part series entitled 'Rogue nation'. The clip begins with historian Michael Cathcart providing contextual information about England in the early 1800s. He says that in the midst of the industrial revolution, millions of people were ...

Text

Defining moments in Australian History

This extensive web-based resource examines events, people and places of profound significance to the Australian people and their personal, community and national histories. The resource includes a list of 100 'defining moments' identified by historians supported by background information, images, video and links to the ...

Video

Trees and connection

Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe explains his connection to Country and introduces us to a family of trees. In what ways does Bruce’s relationship with the Earth differ from yours?

Interactive

What house is that?

This is an interactive streetscape of nine houses, each from a different era and of different styles. They represent the nine main housing styles in Victoria. Information about each of the houses includes: features and style; the Architect; designers; historical observations; house owners; and general social history of ...

Video

The history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the lawns of the Old Parliament House in 1972 only to be forcibly removed a few months later. Why do you think the reporter compares the protest in Canberra to events in Louisiana and Mississippi in USA? What are the protesters chanting? See if you can find out what happened ...

Video

Rogue nation, 2009: Democracy and the colony of NSW

This clip is an excerpt from the 2009 documentary 'Honour among thieves', the first of a two-part television series entitled 'Rogue nation'. In a dramatised re-enactment, British Commissioner John Thomas Bigge investigates the colony of NSW in 1819. He is advised by John Macarthur, a member of the 'exclusives' class of ...

Video

Ben Chifley: the aftermath of the miners' strike, 2008

This clip is an excerpt from the documentary 'Infamous victory: Ben Chifley's battle for coal', produced in 2008. This documentary about coal, communism and the Australian Labor prime minister who went to war against his own during the national miners' strike is a Screen Australia Making History production, made in association ...

Online

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 ...

Text

Victorian Heritage Database

This is a rich, interactive resource that lists Victoria’s most significant heritage: places, objects, shipwrecks and archaeological sites. It has four main sections: Introduction; Explore heritage map; Recommended tours; and Timeline browser. The Explore heritage map searches for sites and provides information and images ...