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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

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 ...

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Landmarks: people and places across Australia

This resource features the Landmarks gallery, which traces a broad history of Australia since British colonisation in the late 18th century. The exhibition explores ten big themes in the country's past through the stories of Australian places and the people who have lived there. It examines how people have engaged with ...

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Wool sorting at Gilgandra, 1936

This is a black-and-white photograph, measuring 21.3 cm x 16.2 cm, of four men skirting fleeces and classing wool at Berida Station near Gilgandra in New South Wales. They are using two long tables in a large shearing shed. The station manager's daughter, a shearing contractor and two shed hands are looking on. In the background ...

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'Discussing the site at Tumut', 1902

This is a black-and-white photograph, measuring 18.4 cm x 24.0 cm, taken in 1902 during a tour of inspection by senators from the Federal Parliament of possible sites for the proposed federal capital. Senators and local dignitaries are posing in groups on a hillside, ostensibly discussing the merits of a site at Tumut in ...

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Convicts from hulks, Woolwich, England, 1779

This is a hand-coloured engraving of convicts from the hulks at Woolwich labouring in the docks area. Two hulks are anchored offshore with rowboats shuttling to and fro. Beneath the image is inscribed 'A View near WOOLWICH in KENT showing the Employment of the CONVICTS from the Hulks'. The engraving measures 29.8 cm x 44.9 cm.

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Twofold Bay whaling, early 20th century

This is a photograph made from a glass plate negative measuring 12.0 cm x 16.5 cm dating from between 1900 and 1922. It shows a whale hunt taking place in Twofold Bay on the south-eastern coast of New South Wales. There is a five-oared whaling boat visible, with the captain, George Davidson, standing aft (at the rear), ...

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Priest blessing Irish emigrants in 1851

This is a black-and-white print made from a wood engraving, which appeared in the 'Illustrated London News' in 1851, of a priest blessing a group of poor Irish emigrants who are packing their belongings onto a horse-drawn cart. The people are dressed in hats and coats, and some are kneeling to accept the blessing. The landscape ...

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Biography: Federation people: Frederick Holder

Find out more about Frederick Holder, premier of South Australia and first Speaker of the House of Representatives. Examine two different types of biographies of Holder: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects ...

Interactive

Biography: Federation people: William Dalley

Investigate William Dalley's role as a critic of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Dalley: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

Interactive

Biography: Federation people: Mary Lee

Investigate the suffragist Mary Lee's role in the move towards Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Lee: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how she was visually depicted in her time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

Interactive

Biography: Federation people: Richard O'Connor

Investigate Richard O'Connor's role in the move towards Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of O'Connor: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

Interactive

Biography: Federation people: Livingston Hopkins

Investigate cartoonist Livingston Hopkins's role in Australia's Federation movement. Examine two different types of biographies of Hopkins: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

Interactive

Biography: Federation people: William Trenwith

Investigate trade-union leader William Trenwith's role in Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Trenwith: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Convict jacket

This is a woollen convict jacket from Tasmania. The inside of the jacket is stamped with the mark 'WD', indicating that it was issued by the War Department, and it has an arrow mark, signifying British Government property. These marks date the jacket to after 1855.

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The 'Southern Cross' reaches Sydney, 1928

This is a black-and-white photograph of the 'Southern Cross' biplane arriving in Sydney and being greeted by reporters and photographers and a large contingent of police after the record-breaking flight of Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew across the Pacific. Signed portraits of the crew are superimposed upon the photograph, ...

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City railway terminus, Melbourne, 1854

This is a black-and-white lithograph measuring 12.5 cm x 20 cm, depicting the city terminus of the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in Melbourne in 1854. An early type of steam locomotive is shown approaching a platform where passengers and freight are waiting. The drawing was made by Samuel Thomas Gill and his ...

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Sled dogs at the South Pole, 1911

This is a 1911 black-and-white sepia-toned photograph, taken by Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) at the South Pole, of a dog team hitched to a loaded sled on the snow. A figure dressed in Arctic-style cold weather gear stands beside the sled and a Norwegian flag is stuck in the snow. Apart from three other dogs tethered behind ...

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Touring possible sites for the federal capital, 1902

This is a black-and-white photograph, measuring 18.8 cm x 24.0 cm, taken in 1902 during a tour of inspection by senators from the Federal Parliament of possible sites for the proposed federal capital. Having alighted from a horse-drawn stage coach, five members of the party en route to Tumut, New South Wales, are standing ...

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Visit of Australian cricketers to the USA, 1913

This is the front page of a program printed in rust-red-and-black letters on a beige background, with the words 'OFFICIAL PROGRAMME COMMEMORATING THE VISIT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS TO AMERICA 1913'. The text is set within decoration in the Art Nouveau style.