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Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud

This resource was curated in response to the theme of the 2024 NAIDOC week: Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud! The theme highlights the diverse achievements and knowledge passed down through generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The resource provides a series of curated, age-appropriate ...

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The Navigators: Baudin sails north to Timor

Have you ever opened an exciting gift box to find nothing that you hoped for inside? French explorer Nicolas Baudin voyages to 'New Holland' to investigate the continent. This clip explains what he was expecting to see and why he was so disappointed with what he finds in Western Australia.

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Counted: Australian culture in the 1960s

What was Australia like in the 1960s? Why does reporter Stan Grant say that "change is coming" at this time, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? Choose one of the people mentioned in this video and do some research into their sporting, artistic or political achievements.

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Outback House: Arrival of the hawker

Imagine leaving your home to travel back over 150 years ago, to live and work on an outback farm. Sixteen Australians take part in a reality TV show about life on Oxley Downs, a sheep station built to look and work like a real station of the 1860s. Discover the treats and treasures that a hawker brings to the station. Learn ...

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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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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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The Navigators: Meeting of the expeditions

Have you ever been surprised to see someone you know in a place far from home? Rival explorers, Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders, are sailing in opposite directions along the coast of 'New Holland'. Imagine their surprise when they spot each other's ship. Watch this clip to find out what happens when they meet at sea.

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The Navigators: Expeditions return home from 'New Holland'

Discover what happens when the expeditions of Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin return home. Both explorers brought back detailed maps and specimens, including live kangaroos and emus, from 'New Holland'. How will each explorer be celebrated and remembered? Watch this clip to find out.

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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 ...

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Yulunga: keentan

A keep-away game of catch-ball was played everywhere by both genders in the northwest central districts of Queensland. Because the action of the players jumping up to catch the ball resembled the movements of a kangaroo, the Kalkadoon people sometimes described this game as the ‘kangarooplay’. The ball itself was made from ...

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Yulunga: kolap

This object-throwing game was observed being played on Mer Island in the Torres Strait region in the nineteenth century. More recent versions have also been observed. A game based on throwing accuracy. Teams of one to two players throw objects, attempting to make them land on a target on the ground. The Yulunga: Traditional ...

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Yulunga: waayin

The study of different animal and bird tracks was an important part of the education of Aboriginal children. These were drawn in the smoothed earth or sand by means of the fingers, fingernails, palms, small sticks and so on. A great deal of care was taken by adults in imitating the tracks of various animals for the benefit ...

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Yulunga: buroinjin

This was a ball game played by the Kabi Kabi people of south Queensland. The game was played with a ball made of kangaroo skin, which was called a buroinjin. The ball, which was smaller than a soccer ball, was sewn with tendons and stuffed with grass. Teams from different groups played against each other. The game was often ...

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Yulunga: kai

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 palms of their hands. The game was played using the thick, oval, deep-red fruit of the kai tree, which is quite light when dry. This is a hand-hitting (volley) game ...

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Yulunga: chiba

At Clump Point in north Queensland, regular mock warfare tournaments were held. These were called chiba or malla. The name of the actual site where it took place in the close neighbourhood was called yirri. In Cairns the Yidinji people called this activity puloga. A game of mock warfare between two groups, using ‘sponge’ ...

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The Navigators: Shipwrecked off 'New Holland'

Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders are ready to take their maps and discoveries home. They have been exploring the coasts of 'New Holland' for many months. Both men suffer tragedy on their return voyages. Watch this clip to find out what happens to them.

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This Day Tonight: Sydney's Aboriginal rock carvings in danger, 1969

How and why do things that are precious and important sometimes get damaged or destroyed? This clip from 1969 gives us some answers. It explores what was happening to significant Aboriginal rock carvings in and around Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in New South Wales. We see many of the carvings, and hear a museum curator ...

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BTN: Aboriginal astronomy

Many ancient cultures studied the night sky, and we know this because it is reflected in some of the earliest stories we have on record. Learn about one of these stories in this video. Other than the Dreamtime stories, what other evidence might there be that the Aboriginal people studied the stars?

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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. ...

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Australian coin history

This interactive slideshow from the Royal Australian Mint provides a series of high resolution images and brief descriptions of currencies from Indigenous barter systems to modern Australian currency. A downloadable fact sheet on Australian coin history is accessible from selected pages within the slideshow.