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Audio

Radio National: Sir Henry Parkes's Tenterfield Oration, 1889

What role did Henry Parkes play in the federation of Australia? Listen to a re-enactment of Sir Henry Parkes's famous 1889 speech in Tenterfield, known as the Tenterfield Oration. Note in particular the arguments Parkes used to gain political support.

Audio

From the Front Lines: The Battle for Tobruk

The North African port of Tobruk was the site of ferocious fighting during World War II. Here, Australian and other Allied soldiers repelled Italian and German attacks and even drove the enemy backwards. At the time, this was not only a strategic victory, but a psychological victory, proving that the Allies were capable ...

Audio

Townsville air raid, 1942

Australia has never been invaded. Nevertheless, isolated attacks on Australian soil have killed and injured hundreds of people, destroyed property, and made many people fearful of a large-scale invasion. In July 1942, Japanese aircraft attacked Townsville, Queensland, bombing the wharf and the surrounding area. This audio ...

Audio

Allies capture Tobruk: Chester Wilmot reports

The siege of Tobruk took place in North Africa during World War II. Before the siege, Australian forces led the capture of the crucial Mediterranean port from Italian forces. This is an archival clip from a radio broadcast delivered by war correspondent Chester Wilmot. Listen to discover one of the most remarkable accomplishments ...

Audio

Jimmy Little outlines his views on racism, 2008

This is an edited sound recording, from July 2008, of Indigenous singer-songwriter Jimmy Little. Little tells how his parents lived on an Aboriginal mission, with their movements very restricted. He also recalls going to a movie theatre where people were separated by race, but says examples of racism such as these were ...

Audio

Alexandra Shackleton discusses Ernest Shackleton, 2005

This is an edited sound recording of the Hon Alexandra Shackleton, grand-daughter of the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. She recounts aspects of his leadership of a 1907-09 expedition to Antarctica, relating how, for the sake of the survival of his team, he abandoned his bid to be the first to reach the geographic ...

Audio

Alf Turner remembers his grandfather, William Cooper, 2008

This is an edited sound recording of Alf Turner, grandson of Indigenous activist William Cooper. Turner describes moving to Melbourne to live with his grandparents in about 1936 in the house then used for meetings of the Australian Aborigines' League (AAL). He recalls Cooper's frustration at the lack of results from the ...

Audio

Bonita Mabo recalls Eddie Mabo’s land rights battle, 2008

This is an edited sound recording of Bonita Mabo, widow of Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Mabo. She recalls how her husband declared he would fight for recognition as the owner of his traditional land on Mer Island, also known as Murray Island, in the Torres Strait after learning it was officially regarded as crown ...

Online

Banjo Morton: the untold story

In 1949, after many years of being paid only in rations, Banjo Morton and seven other Alyawarra men decided they wanted proper wages for their work as stockmen and station hands at the Lake Nash cattle station in the Northern Territory. They walked off in protest. This rich media site records the history of that protest ...

Online

Royal Australian Mint Classroom Resources

This teaching and learning unit of work explores Australian coin currencies. Students learn to recognise, describe and order coins according to their values and experiment with counting small coin collections. These activity sheets and resources can be used individually, together, or as part of prepared lessons. Some of ...

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 ...

Online

Burke and Wills: Then and Now

This is a website about a journey in 2010 that retraced the 1860 Burke and Wills expedition from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Topics include: the landscape, the route, the flora and fauna, Burke’s tree, aboriginal bush foods and various interviews with experts and involved individuals. The resource is presented ...

Online

Seeing the Land from an Indigenous Canoe

This is website about the significant contribution Aboriginal people made in colonial times by guiding European explorers and colonists, stock and goods across the Victorian river systems. The resource includes introductory information and 31 Story Objects in the format of videos, audio, images and text. Each object also ...

Text

Coming home: an investigation of the Armistice and repatriation

This online text (with downloadable PDF option) provides a series of investigations examining the impact of the war on those who served and those who welcomed them home. The online resource includes teaching activities that encourage students to investigate the roles the Repatriation Commission and the Soldier Settlement ...

Online

Australia's Trade through Time

Using an interactive timeline created by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, this Teacher guide provides 12 series of learning experiences that engage students in the analysis and interpretation of data about Australian trade from 1900 to the present day. Students study videos, tables, images and texts in order ...

Online

Royal Australian Mint: units of work

This suite of teaching and learning units of work related to Australian currencies for middle and upper primary students. The units explore the role coins play in commemoration and the history of Australian currency from colonial times to post Federation. Lessons are supplemented with a range of cross-curriculum lesson ideas.

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 ...

Online

The First Fleet - dataset collections

The dataset provides information about 780 of the convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet ships 'Alexander', 'Charlotte', 'Lady Penrhyn', 'Friendship', 'Prince of Wales' and 'Scarborough' in 1788. The dataset includes information on items such as the convict's name, occupation, crime, date of trial and term ...

Assessment

Year 9 history assessment - World War I: Anzac legend

This is an assessment package that uses the Year 9 Australian Curriculum history achievement standard to gather evidence about how well students have demonstrated what they know, what they understand and what they can do for the depth study 'World War I'. Students research Australia’s involvement in World War I and the ...

Online

Eureka stories

This is a website about the Eureka Stockade uprising and trials of 1854 to 1855. It uses primary and secondary source materials to explore some of the causes and actions that fueled the uprising. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are ...