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Advice for teachers -
History

Teaching and learning activities

Units 3 and 4 Australian History

From custodianship to the Anthropocene

Area of Study 1: Foundations - From custodianship to the Anthropocene (60,000 BCE–1901)

Outcome 1

Analyse the foundations of continuity and change in Australia, and evaluate the contribution of significant events, ideas, perspectives and experiences to continuity and change.

Examples of learning activities

  • Create a concept map that explains the ways in which Aboriginal peoples managed the land prior to colonisation. List some examples of similar and different practices of land management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in different parts of Australia, including Victoria. Share with a partner and analyse different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives regarding land.
  • Using primary sources and historical interpretations, record observations by European colonists about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ management of the land in the first decades of settlement in Victoria and one or two other parts of Australia. Analyse common themes, changes and differing perspectives in the observations. Perspectives could include, for example, those provided by Edward Curr and Georgina McCrae. Extracts can also be found in Richard Broome’s Colonial Experience, 4th edn, Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu and Bill Gammage’s The Biggest Estate on Earth. Observations can be collected in a digital space, such as online cloud-based application or Learning Management System, and shared with the class.
  • Construct a concept map or timeline with annotations that describes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ relationship to the land. The annotations should indicate significant events, ideas that contributed to change, perspectives from the time that indicated changing relationships, and observations of patterns of continuities and changes experienced.
  • Create a Spider Diagram that explains the role of fire in the Australian environment, Aboriginal use of fire to care for Country, and the consequences of the interruption to that land management by colonisation. Prompts can include: William Strutt’s painting of the 1851 Black Thursday bushfire and other online resources of the State Library of Victoria on the topic of bushfires in Victoria. Select one historical source and explain how this source contributes to an understanding of the extent to which the consequences of colonisation changed land use.
  • Go on an excursion to a local Aboriginal site of cultural significance, such as Budj Bim National Park, or to a museum exhibit, such as Bunjilaka at Melbourne Museum. As part of the excursion, consider both the custodianship of Country prior to colonisation and the different types of changes that occurred afterwards.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Create three map overlays of the Port Phillip District/Victoria. The overlays are to show 1) the different Aboriginal language groups in 1834, 2) sites of significant early European settlement, such as Portland Bay, and Melbourne, and 3) gold discoveries and Gold Rush towns, such as Castlemaine. Use the overlay maps as a basis for class discussion to explore the idea of terra nullius, the differing conceptions held by Europeans and Aboriginals of the idea of Country, and the extent to which British claims that the land was unoccupied were justifiable.
  • Create a table that lists and contrasts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ and Europeans’ concepts of land and land use. Use the evidence collated in the table to conduct a class debate on whether diverse and competing perspectives made conflict inevitable between the settlers and First Nations peoples.
  • Use a Fishbone Diagram to examine the consequences that European land use practices had on the environment of Port Phillip District/Victoria after 1835 and one other area of Australia for contrast.
  • Create an annotated web diagram of the ideas that influenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ and European colonists/settlers’ attitudes and perspectives about land use and management.
  • In small groups, select four or five historical sources, including perspectives and visual sources about land use and changes to land use in Australia. Use these sources to create Spider Diagram to analyse the extent to which these practices contributed to significant change in the environment. Annotate the sources to highlight ways in which land use changed, such as the construction of fences, use of water sources, deforestation and the presence of European live stock. Images may be paintings or sketches, such as those by Eugen von Guerard, Wilbraham Liardet or ST Gill, or photographs from the mid-19th century onwards, such as those found in the Fauchery-Daintree collection in the State Library of Victoria. Locate sources on state and national archives, such as State Library of Victoria website, the National Library of Australia Trove collections and the National Archives of Australia and their collection First Australians.
  • Make a list of introduced non-native animal and plant species in Port Phillip District/Victoria and at least one other area of Australia up to 1901. List reasons and effects for their introduction and prepare a Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI, Chart. Discuss the topic: Why did colonists wish to introduce non-native animal and plant species into Australia?
  • Identify the reasons for the creation of national parks, particularly the creation of Royal National Park in NSW and Tower Hill in Victoria. Annotate each reason with key events, facts and ideas and rank the reasons from most significant to least significant. Provide reasons for the ranking.
  • List a variety of colonists’ perspectives towards the Australian environment from settlement to 1901. Use a Venn Diagram to compare the continuities and changes, or a timeline to map out the reasons for continuities and changes in the views.
  • Create four or five topic sentences and supporting evidence for an essay plan to respond to the following: Evaluate the extent to which the creation of national parks up to 1901 reflected changes in the perspectives of colonists regarding the Australian landscape.
  • Conduct a whole-class brainstorm and create a concept map on the motivations of and reasons for colonists’ pursuit of resource extraction such as gold-mining, forestry and bark stripping, sealing and whaling. Select the most significant motivation and reason and construct a paragraph that includes evidence and an evaluation of the impact of resource extraction on contributing to change in the land of Port Phillip District/Victoria.
  • Sequence, in chronological order, a range of perspectives about land use and management held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and European colonisers up to 1901.
  • Collect and present statistics on the growth of population in Australian colonies and explain reasons for changes in population at select times from 1788–1901. Use statistics and evidence to discuss the extent to which urbanisation occurred over the period 1834–1901. Use the online Australian Bureau of Statistics and search for Australian Historical Population Statistics. Colonial census information from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia can be found at The Historical Census and Colonial Data Archive.
  • List as many impacts of urbanisation on land and on the environment as you can. Select three of the most significant impacts and, using evidence, write a reflection on how urbanisation may or may not have changed the colonists’ attitudes towards the Australian environment.
  • Create a scaffold for an essay on one of the following topics: ‘The Australian landscape was shaped and managed by humans’ or ‘Humans were shaped and influenced by the Australian landscape’. Organise ideas and evidence using the following headings: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, European colonists/setters. For each, consider the contribution of significant events and ideas that influenced attitudes about the land, different perspectives about land and land use.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Create a map of Aboriginal language groups/tribal areas of Victoria

Teachers:

Search online for a blank outline map of Port Phillip District/Victoria and print copies for students.

Students:

  1. Using David R Horton map of Aboriginal Australia, mark out the boundaries of these groups on the blank outline map.
  2. Using tracing paper, overlay, mark and annotate key sites of early colonisation on the map. These could include the site of the Henty settlement at Portland Bay, the route of Thomas Mitchell’s expedition into Port Phillip, failed settlements at Sorrento and Corinella, and Melbourne. Include dates. Symbols and a legend can help to note these clearly on the map.
  3. Use a second piece of tracing paper to create an overlay that indicates early gold mining centres, such as Castlemaine. Include dates. Symbols and a key can help to note these clearly on the map.
  4. Use the maps to evaluate the extent to which the evidence challenges the idea of Australia as terra nullius. Identify from the map language groups whose land was inhabited or crossed over by early colonisation.
  5. Use the maps and findings to discuss the extent to which the British claims that the land was unoccupied were justified. In the discussion, consider what other motivations may have been present for the early sites of colonisation noted on the maps.
  6. Consider what maps say about diverse and competing perspectives on land of Aboriginal peoples and colonists. Compare the maps with historical maps of Port Phillip/Victoria from the time period.
  7. Consider and evalutate the practice by colonists of naming places and physical features rivers, mountains, bays etc., with those of colonisers or places from Great Britain and Ireland. Consider what purpose this may have served.

Area of Study 2: Transformations - From custodianship to the Anthropocene (1950–2010)

Outcome 2

Analyse the changes in Australian society, and evaluate the extent to which continuity and change occurred.

Examples of learning activities

  • Create an annotated timeline of key events in the Australian environmental movement from 60,000 BCE to 1901 and 1950 to 2010. Add annotations as the study progresses. Annotations should include facts, evidence and comments on the extent to which the events provide evidence of changes in Australian society over time with regards to attitudes towards the environment.
  • Record facts, evidence, notes and discussions on continuity and change in Australian environmental history 60,0000 BCE–2010, Outcomes 1 and 2, as Outcome 2 progresses. Consider the significant events that contributed to continuity and/or change, ideas that influenced attitudes and diverse perspectives about land and environmental action, the extent to which the land and environment changed or remained the same, and the contributions of environmental movements.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    In small groups, complete a jigsaw activity on significant environmental campaigns, such as the Little Desert campaign, nuclear testing in the Pacific, Lake Pedder Dam, Green Bans movement, Ranger Uranium mine, Franklin Dam. Members of each group then split up to teach other members of the class about their topic and contribute to a table summarising key facts about each campaign. The table should be applied to a discussion or response explaining the extent to which they can be considered significant contributors to changes in awareness of environmental attitudes.
  • Annotate, either individually or in pairs, an extract from a key environmental text of the period. Identify key ideas in the extract and consider how they may have contributed to change. Texts to use include: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, 1962: James Lovelock’s Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, 1979; the Brundtland Commission’s Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987; Paul Crutzen’s The ‘Anthropocene’, 2005; Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers, 2005.
  • Conduct a class debate on the topic: ‘The economic benefits of resource extraction and industrialisation between 1950 and 2010 outweigh the extent of damage to the environment’. Debate adjudicators evaluate the affirmative and negative teams’ use of historical evidence in the evaluation of each teams’ arguments.
  • Use National Library of Australia’s Trove newspaper database  to find depictions of environmental campaigns between 1850 and 2010. Select four to six articles to print out and place in a gallery on a classroom wall or display electronically using the school’s Learning Management System or other suitable collaborative space., In pairs, evaluate the articles by identifying their differing perspectives and the evidence revealed about attitudes towards these campaigns at the time. Search for terms that use common locations of the campaign, such as Little Desert, Lake Pedder, the Franklin Dam, and Jabiluka to yield results. Consider whether there are differences in perspectives between articles published in national, large metropolitan and regional newspapers.
  • Create a Venn Diagram or table that compares the campaigns for Lake Pedder and the Franklin River. Use the table or diagram to write a short response analysing changes and continuities in the two campaigns, and evaluating how these contributed to the success of the Franklin River campaign.
  • List the ideas and perspectives that influenced Australia’s participation in international treaties and conferences and identify continuities and changes over time by creating a visual display. As a class, debate and rank the events in order of significance – were some more important than others? Examples include the United Nations Conference on the Human environment in 1972 and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009.
  • Create a concept map that links different perspectives and influences on the Australian environment. Concepts to include are: changing patterns of consumption after World War Two, population growth, urbanisation, impacts of mining and resource export industries, advocates for conservation and the protection of endangered habitats, and interactions between Australian and other countries at international events focusing on the environment.
  • Use a Spider Diagram to compare advocacy for environmental protections by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Indigenous people in one other country such as Canada, Brazil, USA. The comparison should consider understandings of the land and environment within these cultures. It may be helpful to focus on one campaign in each country, such as the Jabiluka uranium mine in Australia and Amazon deforestation in Brazil. Compare the experiences of each group and write a short response evaluating how these changed over time.
  • Annotate a selection of political cartoons about environmental issues and campaigns. Evaluate their effectiveness as sources for understanding change in attitudes about the environment. Sources for cartoons include collections such as those at the Museum for Australian Democracy and Trove’s Geoff Pryor collection. Internet searches that combine the names of specific campaigns + cartoons will also help identify suitable examples.
  • Conduct a class debate on how perspectives about environmental issues and awareness have changed in Australian between 60,0000 BCE and 2010. Argue from the perspectives of different groups in Australian society, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, economists, political organisations or parties, the media, government and inter-governmental groups, and industry.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Jigsaw Activity: Significant environmental campaigns

A jigsaw learning activity emphasises peer teaching and collaborative learning. The object is for small groups of students to become experts on a topic, and then share their knowledge with their peers.

Teachers:

Divide the class into small groups of 4–5 students, allocating each group a major environmental campaign, such as the Little Desert, the flooding of Lake Pedder, the Green Bans Movement, the Franklin Dam, and testing of atomic weapons at Maralinga and in the Pacific.

Students:

  1. Each group creates a fact file for their chosen campaign. The fact file should include:
    • overview of the campaign, including the issue contested and outcome
    • timeline of significant dates associated with the campaign
    • outline of the key groups and individuals involved on both sides of the issue
    • summary of methods and strategies used to raise awareness of the issue and/or challenge the issue
    • summary of the resolution was the campaign successful or not?
    • at least two historical perspectives on the campaign. These might be sources from Trove, the National Library of Australia digital archive which includes newspapers, photographs and other sources.
    • evaluation of the extent to which environmental movements contributed to change.
  2. When each group has completed their fact file for their assigned campaign, students are split up, with one student from each campaign joining up to form another set of small groups. Each student takes it in turn to teach the other members of the group. Each student completes a table of information on each of the campaigns.
  3. Either in groups or as a class, use the summary table as the basis for discussion of the characteristics of the different campaigns. The discussion can be linked to the key knowledge dot point regarding the extent to which that environmental movements contributed to change.
    • Which ones were effective?
    • Which ones did not achieve their objectives?
    • Did the nature of these campaigns change over time?
    • Did representations of the campaigns in newspapers change over time?

Creating a nation

Area of Study 1: Foundations - Creating a nation (1834–1913)

Outcome 1

Analyse the foundations of continuity and change in Australia, and evaluate the contribution of significant events, ideas, perspectives and experiences to continuity and change.

Examples of learning activities

  • Using historical sources, construct a table that compares the social, political, economic and religious conditions in Great Britain England, Scotland and Wales, and Ireland during the nineteenth century. Identify the common and changing patterns of migration and push/pull factors that may have influenced people’s decisions to emigrate to other parts of the world, including Australia, during the nineteenth century. Useful sources are included in Richard Broome’s The Colonial Experience, 4th edn, ‘Investigation Two: Evaluating European Ideas of Land and Emigration’.
  • Create a poster from the perspective of early settlers advertising the social, political and economic advantages of migration to the Port Phillip District between 1834 and 1850. Target a particular group, such as women or pastoral and non-pastoral free settlers. Draw on primary sources from, for example, Letters from Victorian Pioneers, booster literature and letters, Richard Broome’s The Colonial Experience, 4th edn, ‘Investigation Two: Evaluating European Ideas of Land and Emigration’.
  • Conduct a jigsaw activity on reasons for migration to each of the colonies. In groups, choose different colonies to investigate. Share with the class and conclude with a discussion about why migration to the different colonies varied and why patterns changed over time 1834–1913.
  • Create an annotated timeline of the waves of migration to the Australian colonies between 1834 and 1913. Discuss the timeline and make observations about causation and changes, especially with regards to race and gender. For example, identify factors that encouraged women and non-British migrants to come to Australia.
  • Create biographical profiles of significant females who contributed to the development of colonial and federated Australia. Evaluate the significance of the individuals’ contributions. This activity could run for the duration of the investigation, with all students contributing to the display by its conclusion. Discuss findings and evaluate the role of women between 1834 and 1913.
  • Using a range of historical perspectives, evaluate the consequences of the perceived threats to Australian sovereignty posed by Asian and European powers between 1870 and 1913. Draw on the ‘invasion’ literature of the period and consider the influence of Charles Pearson’s National Life and Character 1893.
  • Select and use a series of diverse and competing perspectives on the attitudes and treatment of Indigenous Australians, including the justification for dispossession and forced migration. A good range of sources can be found in Richard Broome’s The Colonial Experience, 4th edn, ‘Investigation Three: Evaluating the Impact of Colonisation on Aboriginal people to 1860’. Compare these early sources with those from later dates, such as Phil May’s 1888 cartoon ‘A curiosity in her own country’, to determine change and continuity of European attitudes.
  • Develop criteria to evaluate the historical significance of gold rushes on changing population and migration patterns in the colonies between 1850 and 1900.
  • Construct a graph to compare the demographic population sizes, age, gender, makeup of colonial societies before and after the gold rushes of 1850–1900. Discuss the findings and make observations about continuity and changes in demographic and population patterns.
  • Compare Europeans’ and Aboriginal peoples’ perspectives of the decline in the Aboriginal populations throughout the colonies/states. Sources include the perspectives of William Westgarth, Alfred Joyce and Derrimut.
  • Compare historical interpretations on the influence of women on shaping Australian society between 1834 and 1913. Historians to consider include Manning Clarke, Geoffrey Blainey, Marilyn Lake, Claire Wright, Stuart Macintyre and Patricia Grimshaw.
  • Create an annotated web diagram illustrating the ideas that influenced attitudes to, and perspectives on migration to the colonies and federated Australia.
  • Evaluate the influence of Hebert Spencer and Francis Galton’s racial ideas as factors influencing attitudes towards, and treatment of non-Europeans, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
  • Using extracts from parliamentary debates on the passing of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 identify and compare different ideas and perspectives on race and migration at the time of Federation.
  • Sequence, in chronological order, 10 historical sources reflecting on race and migration in Australia between 1834 and 1913. Use the sequenced sources to write a paragraph describing changes and continuity between 1834 and 1913.
  • Using a Lotus Diagram, explain the social, political and economic reasons for the forced and voluntary migration/immigration of non-European groups in Australia. For example, focus on Pacific Islanders who worked in the sugar industry in Queensland, or Aboriginal missions. In the Lotus Diagram include facts, evidence, data, and a variety of perspectives.
  • Create an annotated timeline that maps the immigration legislation and policies that were passed in the six colonies/states and federated Australia between 1850 and 1913. Annotations should include key facts, evidence and historical interpretations.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Evaluate sources for use as evidence. Using contemporary cartoons drawn from periodicals such as The Bulletin, The Worker and Boomerang, identify and evaluate the publication’s attitude towards migration and different racial groups during the period 1880–1913.
  • Construct a table that compares the protectionist policies and legislation implemented throughout the colonies/states that contributed to the management and control of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders between 1860 and 1913. Using a Fishbone Diagram, identify the short- and long-term consequences of these laws on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their culture and their connection to the land.
  • In small groups, choose one colony or state and identify the events and ideas that caused continuity and change to migration patterns and forced movements of people in 1834, 1900 and 1913. Create a poster, using a timeline and pie graphs, to illustrate the demographic makeup, including gender and population size, of the migrant populations. Compare posters and discuss the extent to which colonial society and federated Australia changed or remained the same between 1834 and 1913.
  • Conduct a class debate to consolidate understanding of the attitudes that existed towards race and migration in Australia up to 1913. Topics could be: ‘By 1913, Australia was young, white, and British’ or ‘In Australia, attitudes towards race throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were ultimately driven by economic concerns’.
  • Create a scaffold for an essay on the changing patterns of migration to and within the colonies and federated Australia. Organise ideas and evidence using the following headings: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples, European colonists/setters. For each, consider the contribution of significant events, changing patterns of migration, ideas that influenced attitudes about migration, different perspectives about race and migration, the extent of change over time.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Evaluate sources for use as evidence

Teachers:

Provide students with a range of cartoons published in Australian magazines of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Examples include:

Students:

Analyse the cartoons under the headings below and answer the questions. Where possible, corroborate the cartoons with other primary sources and historical interpretations.

Context – When was the cartoon published?

  • What was happening in the colonies/states at the time the cartoon was published with regards to immigration and treatment of different racial groups?

Content – What is happening in the cartoon?

  • Describe the content and note the key features in the cartoon, especially the identification of key individuals/groups
  • Describe how different individuals/groups are being represented.

Comment – What attitudes and perspective is the cartoon presenting about race and immigration? What attitude does the cartoon convey about different racial groups in the colonies/states at that time?

  • Comment on the impact/effect that the cartoon would have had on people’s attitudes towards the presence of different racial groups at that time.
  • Comment on the impact that the cartoon would have had on minority groups, such as the Chinese and Pacific labourers, during that time?
  • Evaluate the extent to which the perspectives presented in the cartoons were typical of the time.
Place cartoons and other pieces of evidence in chronological order in order to establish whether attitudes towards immigration and racial groups changed or remained the same over the selected period of time.

Area of Study 2: Transformations - Creating a nation (1945–2008)

Outcome 2

Analyse the changes in Australian society, and evaluate the extent to which continuity and change occurred.

Examples of learning activities

  • Using a range visual, audiovisual and written materials used to promote migration to Australia between 1945 and 2008, identify the perspectives on race and immigration presented. Evaluate the extent of change or continuity in these perspectives over the course of the period.
  • Using census data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, create a line graph charting the changing ethnic composition of Australian society between 1945 and 2008. Plot year on the x-axis and population on the y-axis. Annotate the graph to identify and explain how key legislation and events, such as the Migration Act 1966, the 1967 Referendum, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the fall of Saigon 1975, the Tiananmen Square Massacre 1989, and refugee and migration policies since 1945, have contributed to changes and/or continuities in Australian society to 2008. Summarise the graph and annotations in 200 words.
  • Create a concept map that examines the significant events that have influenced ideas, diverse perspectives on immigration and citizenship and social experiences of migrants in each decade from 1945 to 2008.
  • Select a range of immigration stories that provide insights into migrants’ experiences of Australian society. Compare the stories and identify the push and pull factors that influenced individuals’ decisions to migrate, settlement in Australia, interactions with other groups in Australian society, and experiences of racism and discrimination. Summarise these in a table. A useful resource for immigration stories is the ABC education website.
  • Create a T-chart comparing migration patterns and experiences in the periods 1834–1913 Outcome 1, and 1945–2008 Outcome 2. Identify and explain changes and continuities.
  • In small groups, prepare a profile of a multicultural group in a community, town or city. Document the group’s origins, contribution to the cultural life of their local area and how their experiences have changed over time.
  • Review key articles of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and evaluate how they influenced attitudes and perspectives towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian society post World War Two.
  • Design criteria to evaluate the significant events that Reconciliation policies have made to improving social, political and economic experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Developments to consider include the 1967 Referendum, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech, and the 1997 Bringing Them Home Report. Using a ranking ladder to rank them from the most significant to the least and explain your choices.
  • Create a profile on a key individual and or/group that played a significant role in influencing views about immigration and citizenship. Possible subjects include Arthur Calwell, Malcolm Fraser, The Good Neighbour Council, Gough Whitlam, the Labor Party, Pauline Hanson, or Geoffrey Blainey. The profile must include a short biography, a summary of the individual/group’s beliefs and perspectives on race and immigration, two primary sources and an evaluation of the contribution the group/individual made to attitudes and perspectives on race and immigration. Share findings with the class.
  • Create an annotated timeline documenting key events, legislation, and changing attitudes and perspectives that contributed to the phasing out of the White Australia Policy 1947–1975.
  • Prepare a table summarising the attitudes of political parties and organistions towards the White Australia Policy in each decade between 1945 and 2008. Parties and organisations might include the Australian Labor Party, trade unions, Australian Natives Association, and the Returned and Services League (RSL). Evaluate and compare the extent of continuity and change in these perspectives over the period.
  • Using sources as evidence, identify ideas and competing perspectives that influenced immigration debates in Australian society between 1945 and 2008. These could include the perspectives of Arthur Calwell, Malcolm Fraser, Geoffrey Blainey, Bob Hawke, John Howard and Pauline Hanson.
  • Provide a range of political cartoons/opinion pieces/editorials that comment on the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s. Evaluate how useful these cartoons are as sources of historical evidence of perspectives about immigration and citizenship during the 1970s.
  • Watch and discuss episodes 2 and 3 of the SBS series ‘Immigration Nation’. Construct a table that summarises the perspectives on government immigration policies and legislation since 1945. Use the table to prepare a statement describing the nature of Australian perspectives on immigration policies and legislation after World War Two.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Evaluate the impact of significant events on notions of citizenship and migration.
  • Conduct a class debate on the topic ‘Australian perspectives on race, immigration and citizenship have only changed between 1834 and 2008 because of international developments’. Draw on the different perspectives articulated by a range of groups in Australian society, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, established communities, migrants, politicians and political parties, media, and multicultural groups.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Impact of significant events

Students complete the following activities:

  1. Work in groups or individually to evaluate the impact of significant events on notions of citizenship and migration.
  2. Use the table below to reflect and record key information for the activity.
  3. Reflect across both historical periods, 1834–1913 and 1945–2008, and include details for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and migrant communities from Britain, Asia, the Middle East and other areas of the world. Keep in mind that each of these categories is very diverse; for example, Asian migrants include Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indian communities. Remain sensitive to this diversity in order to develop a nuanced evaluation of the impact of significant events.
  4. Using the information in the table, develop criteria to evaluate the most significant event that contributed to change.
  5. Rank events from the most significant one that most contributed to change, to the least one the contributed least to change.
  6. Prepare a written summary of conclusions and an explanation for rankings.

Event that contributed to global movements of people and changing patterns of migration to and within the colonies and federated AustraliaIdeas that influenced assimilations, citizenship and multiculturalism (e.g. Imperialism, race, economic theories)Key groups (e.g. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Greek, Irish, Indian, Lebanese, English)Impact on Australian demographicsExtent of continuity and change
Conditions in Great Britain, Ireland and Asia

 

 

 

 

Colonisation and settlement of the Port Phillip District

 

 

 

 

Gold Rushes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 and the Victorian Half-Cast Act 1886

 

 

 

 

White Australia policies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maternity Allowance Act 1912

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post-World War Two migration schemes and policies

 

 

 

 

Migration Act 1966

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1967 Referendum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Migration and multicultural policies in the 1970s and 80s

 

 

 

 

Racial Discrimination Act 1975

 

 

 

 

The Fall of Saigon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pauline Hanson’s Maiden speech to parliament in 1996

 

 

 

 

1997 Bringing Them Home Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australian relations with the Asia-Pacific region

 

 

 

 

Power and resistance

Area of Study 1: Foundations - Power and resistance (1788–1913)

Outcome 1

Analyse the foundations of continuity and change in Australia, and evaluate the contribution of significant events, ideas, perspectives and experiences to continuity and change.

Examples of learning activities

  • Create profiles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who responded to early European colonisation between 1788 and 1913. Use a source such as the SBS documentary, ‘First Australians’, episode 1: ‘They have come to stay’. Profiles could include Aboriginal individuals such as Bennelong, Pemulwuy and Windradyne.
  • List and compare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ responses to European colonisation. Note any changes and continuities during this period. Corroborate these responses with those illustrated in the artworks and texts of colonial era artists, such as ST Gill’s ‘The Bushman’s Hut’ 1865, and ‘Kangaroo Stalking' 1864.
  • List reasons why frontier battles over land contributed to European and Aboriginal attitudes towards beliefs about power and authority that existed in the colonies. Use a Venn Diagram to compare attitudes.
  • Create an annotated continuum line 1788–1913 and on it, plot groups that can be considered to have exercised power and authority in colonial society, from most to least. Annotations should include: consideration of factors including race, gender, economic power and political power, continuity and changes of possession, exercise and loss of power and authority and a written explanation for ranking of each group along the continuum line.
  • Create a flowchart to illustrate power shifts from autocratic governors to the establishment of self-government in the colonies from 1788–1890. Identify and evaluate the factors that contributed to the establishment of responsible government in each of the colonies.
  • Create a table identifying the introduction of democracy in each colony and list the causes. Examples of reforms could include: responsible government, manhood and female suffrage, the Secret Ballot.
  • Develop criteria to evaluate the historical significance of the Eureka Stockade’s contribution to political change in colonial Victoria. Resources include the work of historians such as Geoffrey Searle, Stuart Macintyre and Claire Wright.
  • Play ‘Glossary Bingo’ as a class. Students are given a prepared bingo card containing words introduced throughout the investigation. Teacher reads out the definition of a word and student attempts to match words with definitions. The first student to call out ‘bingo’ must be able to demonstrate their understanding of the word by providing the correct definition. Words could include: colonisation, constitution, liberalism, Chartism, squattocracy, democracy, egalitarianism, responsible government, socialism, democracy, New Unionism, suffrage, ‘workingman’s paradise’, ‘social laboratory’.
  • Select one political change between 1788 and 1913, describe the change achieved in terms of type, rate, speed and depth of change and rank the changes from the most significant to the least significant. Provide reasons for the ranking.
  • Using a range of primary sources, identify perspectives and ideas that underpin arguments for and against Federation. Using a T-Chart, corroborate sources, identifying factors that would have contributed to diverse and competing perspectives.
  • Create a table that identifies and compares the demands of the Chartists to those of the diggers on the goldfields of Victoria up to 1860. Use sources such as the London Working Men's Association 1838 People's Charter and the 1854 Charter of the Ballarat Reform League.
  • Write an extended response evaluating the extent to which the Eureka Stockade and political ferment on the goldfields contributed to political change.
  • Construct an annotated timeline using historical perspectives and interpretations to illustrate the development of the union movement in Australia. Primary sources may include cartoons from publications such as The Bulletin, The Australian Worker and Boomerang, and the writings of unionist WG Spence, including Australian Awakening: Thirty Years in the life of an Australian Agitator, 1909. Secondary sources may include the website, Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory.
  • Using a timeline, analyse the long- and short-term causes that contributed to decreases and increases in the unions’ power between the 1850s and 1913.
  • Create a four-topic sentence and one piece of evidence that addresses the question: To what extent did the campaigns for political and economic rights for workers contribute to change in Australia between the 1850s and 1913?
  • Read Chapters 9 and 10 of Geoffrey Searle’s The Golden Age: A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851–1861. Make a list of the demands and challenges faced by diggers and those who demanded access to land selection. Rank the demands from the most significant to the least and justify your reasons.
  • Construct a table that identifies legislative and judicial decisions after Federation and explain how each one contributed to continuity and/or change of power and authority in Australia.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Identify groups in society that sought to bring about political change between 1788 and 1913, and evaluate the extent to which change was achieved.
  • Create a scaffold for an essay on how the exercise of political power and resistance changed or remained the same in Australia between 1788 and 1913. Organise ideas and evidence using the following headings: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, settlers. For each group, consider the contribution of significant events, political ideas, attitudes, different perspectives about democracy and power, and the extent of continuity and change over time.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Identify and evaluate the extent of change

Topic:

Identify groups in society that sought to bring about political change between 1788 and 1913. These might include any of the following: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australian women, gold miners, trade unionists, workers, colonial parliamentarians and European settlers.

Teachers:

Organise students into small groups and allocate each one a social group.

Students:

  1. Using a graphic organiser, such as a Lotus Diagram or mind map, complete the following:
    • List the political, economic and social demands if applicable, made by the group.
    • Identify the ideas that influenced the group’s attitudes and perspectives about power and authority.
    • Identify and describe methods/actions used in order to demand and achieve political change.
    • Describe how the demands, attitudes, perspectives, methods/actions may have changed or continued over the period.
    • Evaluate the rate of change.
    • Evaluate the extent to which the social group achieved their demands.
    • Evaluate the extent to which the power and authority of the group changed/or remained the same.
  2. In rearranged groups so that at least 3–4 social groups are represented, discuss the extent of change experienced by the various social groups. Then:
    • Share the results of the initial discussion of specific social groups
    • Formulate criteria to evaluate the extent of change/continuity experienced by each social group.
    • Using these criteria, evaluate and rank each social group along a continuum of significant change and to significant continuity. Include annotations to explain the positioning of social groups along the continuum.
  3. Groups report back to class, discussing their criteria, rankings and conclusions.
  4. As a class, discuss different interpretations made by each group and why these conclusiions were reached.

Area of Study 2: Transformations - Power and resistance (1957–2008)

Outcome 2

Analyse the changes in Australian society, and evaluate the extent to which continuity and change occurred.

Examples of learning activities

  • Record facts, evidence, notes and discussions on continuity and change in the exercise of power and resistance to power in Australia 1957–2008, as Outcome 2 progresses. Consider the significant events, debates and ideas that influenced diverse and competing perspectives, changing social experiences and the extent of continuity and change.
  • Create a concept map that illustrates the political, economic and social challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, workers, women and the LGBTQIA+ communities in Australian society between 1957 and 2008. Add to the concept map as each topic is studied to include methods and strategies used by each group to bring about change.
  • Create a flowchart that illustrates how the American Civil Rights movements influenced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ campaigns for civil and land rights. Focus on ways in which the American examples influenced the exercise of power and resistance to power between 1957 and 1998. Create similar flowcharts to analyse how other international movements, such as women’s movements and LGBTQIA+ rights groups, influenced social movements in Australia
  • Construct an annotated timeline of Aboriginal land rights campaigns between 1957 and 2008. The timeline should include significant international and Australian events, key ideas and perspectives, prominent individuals and groups associated with the campaigns, and methods used. Colour-coordinate the annotations as event, influencing ideas, and change of method in the challenge to power. Use the timeline to analyse patterns of continuity and change over time.
  • Construct an annotated living timeline of the women’s movement campaigns between 1965 and 2008. Include significant international and Australian events, key ideas, key figures and organisations, and methods. Use a living timeline to rank the events, ideas, perspectives and methods as a positive or negative change. Positive changes go above the horizontal line and negatives go below the line.
  • Create a Fishbone Diagram analysing the causes and consequences of a method that challenged power and consider how the method contributed to changes in the exercise of power for these groups. These can include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, workers, women and/or LGBTIQA+ people.
  • Create a cause and consequence diagram to discuss the extent to which the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government was the exercise of power or demonstrated resistance to power. Include ideas about sovereignty, debates about Australian democracy and the methods used to resist or challenge the Whitlam Government and its dismissal.
  • Formulate a proposal to a local council to erect a statue of an individual or group who made a significant contribution to creating change for women, workers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the LGBTQIA+ community. The proposal must include a brief introductory statement, a timeline, a description of the influences of their ideas and methods, a summary of major campaigns and an evaluation of the individual/organisation’s contribution to the movement for change. The proposal should also include a concept sketch of the proposed statue, including symbols that could represent the perspectives of the individual or group.
  • Watch and discuss the Wind and Sky production ‘Out of the Closets, Into the Streets’. Identify the demands made, and challenges encountered by LGBTQIA+ peoples and other groups in Melbourne in the 1970s.
  • Create an annotated timeline of key events/developments in legislation and legislative changes that led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Australia. Discuss how the process of change was achieved.
  • Design a pamphlet that could have been used as part of a 1970s Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL), campaign in one of the following areas: equality in the workplace, the home, marriage or reproductive rights. The pamphlet should reflect the ideas and perspectives expressed by WEL and incorporate the methods they employed to challenge pre-existing power structures.
  • Consider a range of extracts from Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch. Identify the author’s view about gender and sexuality.
  • Make a list of methods used to exercise power and resist/challenge power in Australian society 1788–1913 and 1957–1998. Rank the effectiveness of each method on a scale from 1–5 with five being the most effective. Consider other factors that may contribute to the effectiveness of the method, such as race, gender, wealth and ideas about class. Compare methods, analysing the extent to which they changed or continued between 1788 and 2008.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Create a living graph for two historical timeframes 1788–1913 and 1957–1998, with a focus on power and resistance. This activity focuses on recalling content, and evaluating change and continuity associated with key events.
  • Conduct a class debate on the topic: ‘The exercise of power and the methods of resisting that power reflect the changing expectations and values of Australians between 1788 and 1998’. Members of the affirmative and negative teams, as well as adjudicators, need to be mindful of the diverse perspectives within Australian society during this extended period.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Activity: Evaluating change and continuity: 1788–1913 and 1957–1998

  1. Brainstorm
    As a class, students brainstorm movements, groups, individuals, ideas and methods that challenged or maintained power in Australian society between 1788–1913 and 1957–1998. Reflect broadly on the topic to ensure that the key social movements for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, LGBTQIA+ peoples, workers, methods such as legislation or direct protest, and ideas, for example democratic and civil rights, are captured in the brainstorm. Also ensure that specific methods are linked to relevant campaigns; for example, the Mabo decision was the legal result of an Aboriginal Land Rights campaign.
  2. Report on key social movements
    In small groups, prepare a report on one of the key social movements that draws on information from the brainstorm and prior learning. The report should include ideas that influenced the chosen movement, a timeline, thumbnail biographies of key figures, major campaigns and methods used. It should also include historical sources highlighting the competing perspectives on the topic.
  3. Share
    Each group presents a brief summary of their report to the class and a copy of each report is shared with each class member. This may be done electronically.
  4. Communicate
    Drawing on the brainstorm, the reports and prior learning, individual students prepare an essay outline in response to the question: ‘Evaluate the extent of continuity of change in the exercise of power and resistance in Australia between 1788–1913 and 1957–1998.’ The outline should include:
    • a full introductory paragraph
    • dot point paragraph outlines
    • a one paragraph conclusion.

War and upheaval

Area of Study 1: Foundations - War and upheaval (1909–1950)

Outcome 1

Analyse the foundations of continuity and change in Australia, and evaluate the contribution of significant events, ideas, perspectives and experiences to continuity and change.

Examples of learning activities

  • Create a list of significant events for the period 1909–1950 in a random chronological order. In groups, speculate on the correct chronological order, making connections between events and elaborating by using any prior knowledge. Provide historical sources to confirm the chronology and create annotated notes for each event to create an annotated timeline for the outcome.
  • Using the Defence Act 1909, define the obligation for military training and service and use a range primary sources such as Alfred Deakin’s 1910 election speech, Bulletin cartoons and the Australian Freedom League Manifesto, to identify and explain the debates and perspectives generated by, and the passing and implementation of the Defence Act 1909.
  • Create a two-column table to outline a range of perspectives between 1914–1918 and 1939–1945 based on Australia’s involvement at the outbreak of war. In each column, provide examples of primary sources, including speeches by political leaders, such as Andrew Fisher and Robert Menzies, and newspapers, such as The Argus, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Labour Call. Comment on what these perspectives reveal about the ideas that influenced attitudes and debates about Australia’s participation in wars and the continuities and changes associated with these.
  • Evaluate the continuity and change in the debates, ideas and perspectives about Australia’s involvement in war between 1914 and 1945. The evaluation should consider the extent of change and continuity during the period. Draw on a range of historical interpretations, such as those of Joan Beaumont, Michael McKernan and Stuart Macintyre, to use as evidence in the argument.
  • With the class in two groups, each group focuses on attitudes towards enlistment and conscription in one of the following contexts:
    • Australia during World War One
    • Australia during World War Two
    Use primary sources, including World War One conscription campaign materials, such as ‘The Blood Vote’ handbill, and propaganda posters, like ‘He’s Coming South’, to identify and explain the perspectives and debates about enlistment and conscription during each conflict. Findings are shared in class presentations. Students from different contexts partner to discuss and collaboratively respond to the question ‘To what extent did the issue of conscription cause significant debate in Australia during World War One and Two?’
  • Prepare an exhibition of historical sources that illustrates attitudes and perspectives towards participation, enlistment and conscription in the British Empire during World Wars One and Two. Suitable cases for examination include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. In small groups, create a display based on a particular historical context and conflict. Each display should include at least three historical sources, an image of each object/source, a description of its context, the perspective it conveys and the group’s evaluation of the object/source’s historical significance. Each group then conducts a tour of their exhibition. On completion of the tour, class discussion compares and contrasts the experience of Australia with that of other nations in the British Empire.
  • Sequence, in chronological order, a range of perspectives that influenced debates about involvement and participation in conflict between 1909 and 1950. Annotate the perspectives.
  • Using primary sources relating to Australia’s relationship with Britain from the period 1909–1950, analyse what the sources reveal about Australia’s loyalty to the British Empire. Report findings to the class; collaboratively create a graphic organiser to chart Australian attitudes and perspectives towards the British Empire over the period of study.
  • Use a T-Chart to organise the ideas that influenced attitudes to, and perspectives about Australian participation in World War One and World War Two. Make links between ideas common to both wars.
  • Use a web diagram graphic organiser to discuss and respond to the question ‘To what extent was loyalty to the British Empire the most significant motivation for Australia’s participation in conflict between 1909 and 1950?’
  • Use a Venn Diagram to document the social experiences of Australian women during World Wars One and Two. Title the Venn Diagram with ‘Australian women during conflict’, with each circle representing a World War conflict. Record key knowledge and evidence of women’s experiences during these conflicts. On completion, discuss the changes and continuities of women’s experience in the two wars.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Create a table to compare and contrast the provisions of the War Precautions Act 1914 and the National Security Act 1939.
  • Using a Lotus Diagram, explain the social impacts of either World War One or World War Two on Australia society. In the Lotus Diagram include facts, evidence, data, a variety of perspectives and an evaluation of the extent of change on the home front.
  • In pairs, select a social group, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women or workers, and prepare a script of questions and responses that convey how this group responded to, and experienced the World Wars. Paired students share findings with the class by delivering a character interview.
  • Create a scaffold for an essay on the debates and perspectives about Australia’s participation in war and conflict between 1909 and 1950. Organise ideas and evidence using the following headings: World War One, World War Two. For each, consider the contribution of significant events, debates about involvement and participation, ideas that influenced attitudes about participation, different perspectives that influenced debates, continuities and changes in social experiences between 1909 and 1950, and responses to the wars.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Evaluation of change and continuity

Teachers:

  1. Create a table to compare and contrast the War Precautions Act 1914 and the National Security Act 1939. Note: this table could be completed collaboratively using online software.

    War Precautions Act 1914 National Security Act 1939Extent of continuity and/or change
    Summarise the powers in the Act 
    Significant regulations and statistics
    Responses to the Act
    Different perspectives
    Impact on the home front and social experience
    Historical Interpretations

    Student’s interpretation

  2. Provide students with a range of sources to evaluate and use as evidence for each row of the table. Resources for this learning activity could include:
    • The Acts
    • Parliamentary debate of the acts
    • Significant regulations imposed by the Acts
    • Opponents of the Acts, such as The International Workers of the World or Maurice Blackburn
    • Key statistics showing the scale and impact of wartime regulations
    • Historical Interpretations, such as Joan Beaumont’s Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War, 2013, and Michael McKernan’s Australians at Home: World War II, 2014.

Students:

  1. Evaluate the sources and use this as evidence to complete the table. For example, evaluate the legislation documents to identify the powers in each Act and add these to the table. 
  2. Discuss the extent of change and continuity shown in each row of the table. For example, identify continuities and/or changes in the powers outlined in each Act. Use this discussion to complete the column by describing and explaining the extent of change or continuity.
  3. Based on the evidence and evaluation from the table, write an extended response to the question ‘To what extent did Australians' responses to, and experiences of government wartime Acts and regulations during World War One and Two change?’

Area of Study 2: Transformations - War and upheaval (1950–1992)

Outcome 2

Analyse the changes in Australian society, and evaluate the extent to which continuity and change occurred.

Examples of learning activities

  • Annotate a political outline map of the world in 1950. In groups, identify, discuss and elaborate on the question ‘What influenced debates about Australian foreign policy in 1950?’ Using prior knowledge, groups annotate their map, share and discuss with others. For example, using prior knowledge students may be able to identify Communist countries.
  • As a class, add to a shared annotated timeline of events, ideas, perspectives and social experiences of Australian involvement and responses to post-World War Two conflicts. Each annotation should include a brief description of the event, identification of influential ideas and perspectives and social impacts/responses. The timeline should be updated regularly, perhaps at the end of each week.
  • As a class, define the Cold War and annotate a map for display, to visually illustrate Australia’s position in world politics. Include all the significant events that contributed to debates regarding Australia’s involvement in war and conflict between 1950 and 1992.
  • Record facts, evidence, notes and discussions on continuity and change in Australia’s involvement, reasons for participation in conflicts between 1950 and 1992 and the debates arising from these conflicts. Consider the significant events, debates and ideas that influenced diverse and competing perspectives, changing social experiences and the extent of continuity and change.
  • Prepare a television news report on a significant event. Working in groups one group for each of the significant events identified in the key knowledge for the Area of Study, each group is given a range of relevant primary sources, such as archival materials or newspaper ‘clippings’ and reports from Trove and historical interpretations of the event. Each group creates, a five-minute news segment that provides an overview of the event, incorporates a range of evidence and historical perspectives and concludes with an evaluation of the conflict’s significance. These news reports and transcripts can be shared in class or uploaded to an online learning space.
  • Use a graphic organiser such as a T-Chart or the Frayer Model, to demonstrate and share understandings of ideas (such as the Domino Theory or forward defence) that influenced Australian attitudes and perspectives between 1950 and 1992. Completed visual summaries can be hosted on a shared learning space.
  • Using a range of primary source examples of perspectives about involvement in conflict between 1950 and 1992 for example, archival footage of a speech by Prime Minister Menzies, moratorium campaign posters or political cartoons, complete the following:
    • Describe the nature of the source.
    • Situate the source in its historical context.
    • Summarise the explicit content of the source.
    • Identify the attitude/perspective expressed in the source.
    • Corroborate the source with other perspectives at the time.
    • Evaluate the significance of this idea.
    This activity can be readily adapted to other topics, including ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples served in the armed forces, the participation of women in the armed forces, allowing LGBTQIA+ people to serve openly in the armed forces, debates regarding enlistment and participation in conflicts from political parties and other groups, and the influence of the media.
  • In groups, use a Lotus Diagram to evaluate the extent and nature of continuity and change in response to post-World War Two conflicts. Each group should address one topic, focusing on social experiences, participation in and responses to conflicts, and voluntary enlistment and compulsory service. Groups report back to the class using the Lotus Diagram to structure their presentation.
  • Using the key facts and statistics for both periods of national service 1951–1959 and 1964–1972, create double-sided flash cards to compare and contrast the schemes. Develop criteria to evaluate which ideas had the most significant effect on influencing attitudes and perspectives about reasons for participation and involvement in conflicts between 1950 and 1992. Using a ranking ladder, rank the ideas from the most significant to the least. Explain conclusions in a single paragraph.
  • Create a table that identifies the ideas and perspectives in columns, that influenced the ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples served in the armed forces, the participation of women in the armed forces, and allowing LGBTQIA+ people to serve openly in the Australian Defence Forces. Rank the importance of influencing factors and explain their interpretation.
  • Create a series of flowcharts that detail the causes and consequences of responses to conflict, voluntary enlistment and compulsory service. Response could include:
    • The Moratorium Movement
    • The Save our Sons Campaign
    • Australian Popular Culture
    • War Commemorations and Memorials.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Use a thinking routine such as FCCF (Form, Content, Context, Function) to analyse primary sources and examine the different and changing perspectives on enlistment and participation in conflicts from political parties and other groups.
  • Analyse the experiences of war veterans from different conflicts using primary sources located at the ANZAC Portal. Select examples from four conflicts and consider the nature of training and combat involved, and the participants’ experiences on return to Australia. Document each veteran’s experiences in a table. Evaluate the significance of the veterans’ accounts as sources, and evaluate continuity and change in experiences over the period from 1950 to 1998.
  • Read media reports on debates about allowing LGBTQIA+ people to serve openly in the Australian military. Identify the diverse and competing perspectives and discuss the nature and extent of change and continuity.
  • Discuss change and continuity throughout the period 1909–1992, focusing on key groups, ideas, perspectives and social experiences. These could include:
    • Women during conflict
    • Attitudes towards military service
    • Reasons for involvement
    • Opposition to involvement.
  • Using a change and continuity continuum, use evidence to debate the level of change and/or continuity in Australia’s experiences of war and conflict from 1909–1992.
  • Sequence the events that led to changing attitudes and perspectives that explain changes in the establishment and abolition of conscription and voluntary service 1909–1992.
  • Conduct a class debate on the topic: ‘Australia’s reasons for participating in conflicts between 1902 and 1992 have been the result of direct threats to national security’. Debaters and adjudicators should draw on a range of perspectives from groups such as: politicians and political parties, Australian Defence Force, RSL, the media, anti-war groups and others in developing their response and evaluation of the debate.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Analyse sources using a thinking routine

Teachers:

  1. Choose from a range of teaching strategies for analysing historical sources. For example:
    • The FCCF thinking routine (Form, Content, Context, Function) is designed to assist students to analyse sources before they use them as evidence in their responses.
    • SCIM–C Strategy (Summarising, Contextualising, Inferring, Monitoring and Corroborating). It is recommended that this routine be modelled as a class activity before students attempt individual or group responses.
  2. Present students with four or five primary sources, of diverse perspectives about enlistment and participation in conflicts, such as those of the Liberal Party, Labor Party, RSL, Save our Sons or the media. Ideally there should be a variety of source types, including speeches, cartoons, memoirs.
  3. Use a graphic organiser as a means of visually organising responses. Alternatively, students can make notes in their notebooks next to each letter of the FCCF acronym.

Students:

  1. Examine the source before beginning the thinking routine.
  2. Complete the thinking routine:
    • Form: identify the form of the source using captions, titles, authorial attribution and knowledge of types of primary source. Ask: What type of object is the source?
    • Content: describe what can literally be seen or read in the source to identify what is represented in the source. Do not interpret the source. Ask: What is represented/depicted/described in the source?
    • Context: based on content, establish the historical context in which the source was created by considering what else was happening at the time the source was produced. Ask: What was happening at the time the source was created?
    • Function: drawing on the previous three steps, make inferences about the purpose and meaning of the source. Consider the limitations of its representation and possible bias. Ask: What does the source tell us about the past?
  3. Repeat the activity with each source.
  4. Construct a short response to the following question: To what extent did perspectives about who should participate in conflict change or remain the same between 1950 and 1992?

Resources

Some of the print resources contained in this list may be out of print. They have been included because they may still be available from libraries, bookshops and private collections.

At the time of publication the URLs (website addresses) cited were checked for accuracy and appropriateness of content. However, due to the transient nature of material placed on the web, their continuing accuracy cannot be verified. Teachers are strongly advised to prepare their own indexes of sites that are suitable and applicable to the courses they teach, and to check these addresses prior to allowing student access.

From custodianship to the Anthropocene

Books

Attwood, B 2009, Possession, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton

Bashford, A & Macintyre, S (eds) 2013, The Cambridge History of Australia, 2 vols, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Blainey, G 2013, History of Victoria, Cambridge, Melbourne

Blainey, G 2015, The Story of Australia’s People: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Viking Penguin, Sydney

Bolton, G 1992, Spoils and Spoilers: A History of Australians shaping their environment. 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Bongiorno, F 2015, The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia, Black Inc Books, Carlton

Broome, R 2019, Aboriginal Australians, 5th edn, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Broome, R et al 2019, Mallee Country: Land, People, History, Monash University Publishing, Clayton

Cahir, F 2012, Black Gold, Griffin Press, Victoria

Canning, Dr S & Thiele, F 2010, Indigenous Cultural Heritage and History within the Metropolitan Melbourne Investigation Area, A report to the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council

Flannery, T 1994, The Future Eaters: an ecological history of the Australasian lands and people, Reed New Holland, Sydney

Gammage, B 2011, The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Gergis, J 2018, Sunburnt Country: the History and Future of Climate Change in Australia, Melbourne University Press, Carlton

Griffiths, B 2018, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia. Black Inc., Carlton

Hutton, D & Connors, L 1999, A History of the Australian Environment Movement, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Jones, R 2017, Slow Catastrophes: Living with Drought in Australia, Monash University Publishing, Clayton

Karskens, G 2020, People of the River, Allen and Unwin, Melbourne

Macintrye, S 2020, A Concise History of Australia, 5th edn, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

McGrath, A & Jebb, MA (eds) 2015, Long Time, Deep Time: Deeping Histories of Place, ANU Press, Canberra

O'Brien, P 2020, Bitter Harvest: The Illusion of Aboriginal agriculture in Bruce Pascoe's Dark Emu, Quadrant Press, Melbourne

Peel. M & Twomey, C 2017, A History of Australia, 2nd edn, Red Globe Press, London

Pascoe, B. 2014, Dark Emu Black Seeds: agriculture or accident?, Magabala Books, Broome

Perkins, R and M Langton (eds) 2008, First Australians, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne

Presland, G 2008, The Place for a Village: How Nature has Shaped the City of Melbourne, Museum Victoria, Melbourne

Presland, G 2010, First People: The Eastern Kulin of Melbourne Port Phillip and Central Victoria, Museum Victoria, Melbourne

Robin, L 2007, How a Continent Created a Nation, NewSouth Books, Sydney

Sherratt, T, Griffiths, T and Robin, L (eds) 2005, A Change in the Weather: Climate and Culture in Australia, National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra

Sutton, P & Walshe, K 2021, Farmers or Hunter-Gatherers?: The Dark Emu Debate, MUP, Melbourne

Podcasts

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2020, Rear Vision ‘The story of fire in the Australian landscape’

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2019, Rear Vision ‘Land use, climate change and the role of soil’

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2019, Rear Vision ‘Counterculture – the environment movement’

La Trobe University, Richard Broome and Katie Holmes, Australian Environmental History, iTunes U Course

La Trobe University, Richard Broome, Australian Aboriginal History, iTunes U course

Film

First Australians, Rachael Perkins, 2008

Website

Reason in Revolt
Source documents of Australian Radicalism

Creating a nation

Books and articles

Bashford, A & Macintyre, S (eds) 2013, The Cambridge History of Australia, 2 vols, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Fitzgerald, J 2007, Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia, UNSW Press, Australia

Lake, M 2012, ‘State Socialism for Australian Mothers: Andrew Fisher’s Radical Materialism in its International and Local Contexts’, Labour History, No. 102, pp.55–70

Lake, M 2014, Chapter 4 ‘The Day Will Come’: Charles H. Pearson's National Life and Character,’ in Antoinette Burton & Isabel Hofmeyr (eds), Ten Books that Shaped the British Empire, Duke University Press Books

Lake M & Reynolds H 2008, Drawing the Global Colour Line, MUP

Jupp, J 2002, The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origin, Cambridge University, New York

Jupp J 2007, From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration, Australian National University, Canberra

Macintrye, S 2020, A Concise History of Australia, 5th edn, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Markus, A & Ricklefs, M C (eds) 1985, Surrender Australia? Essays in the study and uses of history – Geoffrey Blainey and Asian Immigration, George and Unwin, Sydney

Richards, E 2008, Destination Australia: Migration to Australia Since 1901, University of New South Wales, Sydney

Sammut, J. 2005, ‘The Long Demise of the White Australia Policy’ [online] in Quadrant, Vol. 49, No. 11, Nov 2005: 34–47

Tavan, G 2005, The Long Slow Death of White Australia, Scribe Publications, Melbourne

Viviani, N 1996, The Indochinese in Australia 1975–1995: from burnt boats to barbecues, Melbourne, Oxford University Press

Films and documentaries

Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us, from White Australia to Multiculturalism, SBS, 2010

100 Years: The Australia Story, episode 2: Rise and Fall of White Australia, Australian Broadcasting Commission, 2002

Many Roads, Stories of Chinese on the Gold fields, Wind and Sky productions, Culture Victoria, 2017

Power and resistance

Books

Attwood, B 2003, Rights for Aborigines, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Attwood, B & Markus, A 1999, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights: A Documentary History, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Bashford, A & Macintyre S (eds) 2013, The Cambridge History of Australia, 2 vols, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Bennett, S 1971, The Making of the Commonwealth, Cassell Australia, Melbourne

Bongiorno, F 2014, The Sex Lives of Australians: A History, Black Inc., Carlton

Saunders & Evans (eds) 2002, Gender Relations in Australia, Harcourt Brace & Jovanovich, Sydney

Broome, R 2019, Aboriginal Australians, 5th edn, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Chesterman, J & Galligan, B 1997, Citizens Without Rights: Aborigines and Australian Citizenship, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Dwyer, M 2003, Room for One More: The Life of Mollie Dwyer, Aboriginal Affairs, Victoria, East Melbourne

Dyrenfurth, N & Bongiorno, F 2011, A little history of the Australian Labor Party, NewSouth Publishing, Australia

Goodall, H 1996, Invasion to Embassy, Allen & Unwin in association with Black Books, Sydney

Grimshaw, P, Lake, M, McGrath, A & Quartly, M 1996, Creating A Nation 1788–1990, Penguin, Melbourne

Hirst, J 2000, The Sentimental Nation, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Irving, H 1997, To Constitute a Nation, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

Kelly, P & Bramston, T 2016, The Dismissal: A Groundbreaking New History, Penguin, Australia

Lake, M 1999, Getting Equal, Allen& Unwin, Sydney

Macintrye, S 2020, A Concise History of Australia, 4th edn, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

McGinness J 1990, Son of Ayandabu: My Struggle for Aboriginal Rights, Queensland University Press, Queensland

Reynolds, H 1989, Dispossession: Black Australians and White Invaders, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Reynolds, H 2006, The Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia, NewSouth Publishing, Australia

Sawer, M 2008, Making Women Count: A History of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, UNSW Press, Australia

Souter, G 2017, The Lion and the Kangaroo: The Initiation of Australia, Brio Books, Australia

Summers, A 2013, The Misogyny Factor, University of NSW Press, NSW

Wright, C 2013, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, Text Publishing Company, Melbourne

Wright, C 2019, You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World, Text Publishing Company, Melbourne

Willet, G 2000, Living out Loud, Allen and Unwin, NSW

Films and documentaries

Brazen Hussies, Catherine Dwyer, 2020

First Australians, Rachael Perkins, 2008

The Hidden History of Homosexual Australia, Con Anemogiannis, 2005

Nnigla A-na, Alessandro Cavadini, 1972

Out of the Closets, Into the Streets, Gary Nemo, 2016

Websites

Reason in Revolt
Source documents of Australian Radicalism

The Koorie History Website

War and upheaval

Books

Bashford, A & Macintyre, S 2013, The Cambridge History of Australia Vol. 2

Beaumont, J 2013, Broken Nation: Australians in the Great War, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Bolton, G 1996, The Oxford History of Australia, Vol. 5: The Middle Way, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Caulfield, M 2007, The Vietnam Years: From the Jungle to the Australian Suburbs, Hatchette, Sydney

Crotty, M & Roberts, DA (eds) 2006, Great Mistakes in Australian History, UNSW Press, Sydney

Crotty, M & Larsson, M (eds) 2010, Anzac Legacies: Australians and the Aftermath of War, Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne

Damousi, J & Lake, M (eds) 1995, Gender and War: Australians at War in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Darian-Smith, K 2009, Melbourne in wartime: 1939–1945, 2nd edn, Melbourne University Press, Carlton

Edwards, P (ed) 1997, The Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts: A Nation At War Vol. 2, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Gammage, B (ed.) 1990, The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War, Penguin, Melbourne

Grimshaw, P, Lake, M, McGrath, A & Quartly, M 1996, Creating A Nation 1788–1990, Penguin, Melbourne

Ham, P 2007, Vietnam: The Australian War, Harper Collins, Sydney

Kingston, B 1988, The Oxford History of Australia, Vol. 3 1860–1900: Glad, Confident Morning, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Larsson, M 2009, Shattered Anzacs: Living With the Scars of War, UNSW Press, Sydney

Macintyre, S 1986, The Oxford History of Australia Vol. 4 1901–1942: The Succeeding Age, Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Macintyre, S 2020, A Concise History of Australia, 5th edn, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne

McKernan, M 2014, Australians at Home World War II, The Five Mile Press, Scoresby

Pemberton, G (ed) 2009, Vietnam Remembered, New Holland, Sydney

Sexton, M 2002, War for the Asking: How Australia Invited Itself to Vietnam, New Holland, Sydney

Websites 

The Australian War Memorial

Anzac Portal

Reason in Revolt
Source documents of Australian Radicalism