Search results

Video

The Making of Modern Australia: Aunty Beryl Carmichael on spirit and culture

Ngiyaampaa Elder Aunty Beryl Carmichael speaks in this clip about how important it is that Aboriginal people care for, or nurture, their spiritual self. She discusses the way things are connected and the importance of Dreaming stories. She also explains why she passes on knowledge and cultural heritage to younger members ...

Audio

Radio National: Peter Lalor's Bakery Hill speech

What events led to the attack on the Eureka Stockade (Eureka rebellion) on the Ballarat goldfield in 1854? This audio clip examines the famous Bakery Hill speech by activist Peter Lalor. Listen to Dr Anne Beggs-Sunter discuss the effect that the speech had on the assembled miners. Find out why this is considered a key event ...

Online

Archives ACT: find of the month

This topic-based collection of primary source material provides a rich and varied source of official documents, guides and background information on the civic history of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. Produced monthly, this eclectic collection covers topics including the history of monuments, architecture, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Video

Pocket Compass, Ep 5: An immigration nation

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull once described Australia as an 'immigration nation'. What do you think he meant by that? Do you agree? |Watch four very different people speak about their experiences as first- and second-generation migrants. What were some reasons they or their parents migrated to Australia?

Video

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?

Video

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 ...

Video

This place: Dreamtime story of the Nambucca River

Hear the Dreamtime story of the Nambucca River on Gumbaynggirr Country (North Coast of New South Wales). What is the river called in Gumbaynggirr? What made the imprint in the land around Nambucca River? There's a bend in the river called Baga Baga in Gumbaynggirr. Why is it called this?

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

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.

Online

Yulunga: kai wed

In this game from the Torres Strait Islands, a number of players stood in a circle and sang the kai wed (ball song) as they hit a ball up in the air with the palm of their hands. The game was often played using the thick, oval, deep-red fruit of the kai tree, which is quite light when dry. This game was apparently introduced ...

Online

Yulunga: makar

Various types of toy boats and canoes are found in parts of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. On Sunday Island in northern Australia, small models of the raft (kaloa) were made for children to play with. In other areas of Australia small replicas of dugout canoes were fashioned. In parts of the Torres Strait simple ...

Online

Yulunga: kari-woppa

A wrestling game was played by the people in the Torrens area of South Australia. The contests were generally held on the meeting of groups from different areas. Players wrestled for a tuft of emu feathers called a kari-woppa. Komba burrong or kambong burrong (the game of ‘catching hold’) was the name of a similar game ...

Online

Yulunga: bunbuja

Spin-tops were made from the gourds of the Benincasa vacua, in an area of north Queensland. The people in the Cape Grafton area called them bunbuja. A spin-top was made by passing a stick through the gourd and then fixing the stick into position with twine and beeswax. Spin-tops were used only by the men, and spun by twirling ...

Online

Yulunga: boogalah

This was a ball game played by both genders of the Juwalarai people in New South Wales. A ball (boogalah) was made of sewn-up kangaroo skin. In playing the game all of one Dhé, or totem, were team-mates. This is a team throwing and catching game. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide ...

Online

Yulunga: marn-grook

The marn-grook or ‘game of ball’ was played by some Aboriginal groups in Victoria. The men and boys would joyfully assemble when the game was to be played. The ball was often made of twine formed using the twisted hair of the possum. It was of a good size, somewhat elastic but firm and light. The ball was given to the ‘best’ ...

Online

Yulunga: pukamitjal

A popular ball game of keep-away was played by adults in camps on Mornington Island in northern Australia. Grass and/or leaves were rolled into a ball and bound with hair-string or a piece of fishing net. The adults formed two teams and energetically threw the ball to each other until they tired. This is a keep-away throwing ...

Online

Yulunga: aurukun

This game comes from the Aurukun Aboriginal community in north Queensland, where it is known as ‘bat and ball’. It is a modern game that has links to traditional hitting games of Aboriginal people in the area. It is the most popular of all the games played at Aurukun and can usually be seen being played at lunch time in ...

Online

Yulunga: Gapala

Playing in small dug-out canoes, bark boats or rafts was (and still is) a popular water activity. A favourite game of the Tiwi children of Bathurst Island (northern Australia) in the wet season was pushing a tin, box or other flat-bottomed object along the water. Children’s rafts were observed in parts of Northern Australia ...