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This Week in Australian History

Black Wattle flowers — Black wattle flowers – photo, John Tann

The end of August and beginning of September is traditionally linked to the beginning of Spring in Australia, although the change in seasons is experienced in different ways in different parts of the country and was marked in locally appropriate ways by Aboriginal people. As a uniquely Australian celebration of Spring, National Wattle Day, celebrated on 1 September since 1910, celebrates the flowering of these uniquely Australian trees, as well as Australian identity.

Not strictly speaking within this week, but close enough to be included: it was 22 August, 1770, when James Cook claimed the East Coast of Australia for Britain, planting a flag on the island he called “Possession Island“.
On 29 August, 1862, Andrew Fisher, who became the 5th Prime Minister of Australia after Federation and served 3 terms (1908-1909; 1910-1913 and 1914-1915) was born in Scotland in the UK. Fisher had started working in coal mines at the age of 10 and went on to be the leader of the Australian Labor Party between 1907 and 1915. Fisher came out to Australia and worked on the gold mines at Gympie. The cottage in which he lived is a heritage-listed building and can be visited as part of the Gympie and District Historical Society Mining Museum.
On 30 August, 1835, John Batman, with a party of settlers including John Pascoe Fawkner, landed at the mouth of the Yarra River and established a settlement on the site where the current Melbourne Immigration Museum is situated. This settlement later became the city of Melbourne.
Also on 30 August, 1853, the last convict ship to travel directly from Ireland to Australia, the Phoebe Dunbar, arrived in Fremantle, Perth. England continued to send convicts for another 15 years.
31 August, 1933, the township of Stuart in the Northern Territory was renamed Alice Springs.
1 September, 1874, was the day that the General Post Office opened in Sydney. It was the first building purpose-built as a post office in Sydney and was controversially positioned over the Tank Stream, which had provided early Sydney with its drinking water.
A rather unique incident occurred on 1 September, 1846. John Ainsworth Horrocks was an explorer who founded the village of Penwortham in South Australia. Whilst on an expedition in north-west South Australia, he stopped to reload his shotgun. He was busy with this task when a sudden lurch from Harry, his camel, discharged the gun, fatally injuring Horrocks.

From a celebration of Spring to a man who was shot by his camel, there are plenty items of potential interest to students this week. These can also be aligned to aspects of the Australian curriculum. Why not celebrate wattle day in your classroom? Have the students bring in wattle flowers. Younger students can talk about changing seasons, Australian celebrations and draw the flowers; older students can examine Australian identity, Federation and the creation of a separate identity from Britain in the early 20th century. Students in Victoria and New South Wales can also examine the events of particular significance to their state.

This Week in Australian History

Today we introduce a new category for OpenSTEM® Blog articles: “This Week in Australian History”. So many important dates in Australian history seem to become forgotten over time that there seems to be a need to highlight some of these from time to time. For teachers of students from Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 6 looking for material to engage students around Australian history we recommend the OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® HASS + Science program, which is filled with curriculum-aligned topics specifically designed to capture the interest of students. Whether you use our program or not, one can still connect with students by finding content applicable to their current lives which aligns with curriculum requirements. Here are some suggestions for this week:

6th June: This year Wednesday 6 June was marked by the opening match of the annual State of Origin rugby league series between the NSW Blues and the Qld Maroons. Whilst rugby league has its own fascinating history, closely allied to Australia’s colonial history, and the first match between Qld and NSW was played on 11 July, 1908, the date of 6th June has another significant historical association for both states. It was on 6th June, 1859, that Queensland became a colony of Britain, separate from New South Wales. Officially referred to as “Queensland Day”, this date was celebrated with parades and festivals all over the state at its centenary in 1959. I’m sure many Queenslanders would like there to be more widespread recognition of their state’s “birthday”. Students in Years 5 and 6, in particular, with their focus on colonial and Federation history, might enjoy looking into the birthday of their own state, and the OpenSTEM resources on the history of each state can be used to good effect, see here for links: New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

10th June: A more tragic event in Australian history is the Myall Creek Massacre, which took place on 10 June 1838 in central New South Wales. About 30 unarmed indigenous Australians were killed by a group of 12 convicts and former convicts, working as stockmen in the area. No reason was given for the massacre apart from the expansion of European settlers into the area. The incident was notable in that it actually came to trial (a rare event at the time). After the jury refused to convict “a white man for killing a black” (letter to the editor of The Australian newspaper, 1838), the Attorney-General convened a second trial for 7 of the 11 men held in custody. All 7 were found guilty and hanged. The remaining 4 men were remanded to the next court session, but after the sudden disappearance of the chief Aboriginal witness against them (who was never seen again), they were released. One of them later committed suicide. The event and trial were extremely controversial, further polarising the colonial population. Today a memorial stands on the site and an annual commemoration is held. The curriculum offers the opportunity for students in Year 5 to study massacres in Australian history in the context of colonial history.

11th June: On this day in 1770, Captain James Cook encountered the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. Unfortunately, Cook’s ship, The Endeavour, ran aground on the reef now named for Cook’s ship, near Cape Tribulation (which was named by Cook for this unfortunate event) at 11pm at night. This incident led to Cook and his crew spending 7 weeks ashore, near modern Cooktown, repairing their ship. As a result of this time, the word “kangaroo” entered the English language and the stage was set for Australia to later become a British colony. In 1969, 6 cannons, ballast and an anchor, tossed overboard in an attempt to get the ship off the reef, were discovered and one of the cannons is on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. Today, with the Great Barrier Reef under extreme threat from warming, coral bleaching, pollution and increased carbon dioxide, we would do well to remember its part in our history.

Some events in history are pleasant and can be embraced with excitement, whilst others are more sombre. However, all contain lessons for our modern lives. Students love to discuss wide ranging topics, especially if these can be made relevant to their own lives. The OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® HASS + Science program offers a vast range of engaging ways to help teachers gain interest in these topics from their students and to stimulate enquiry and problem-solving, as well as introducing basic research skills which will stand them in good stead for life. Why not make your classroom a vibrant hub for curious young minds by implementing our programs next term?

NAPLAN and vocabulary

It is the time of year when the thoughts of teachers of students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 turn (not so) lightly to NAPLAN. I’m sure many of you are aware of the controversial review of NAPLAN by Les Perelman, a retired professor from MIT in the United States. Perelman conducted a similar review in 2005 in the US, which was influential in leading to a change in the American Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs). At the time, Perelman published a guide on how to “ace the essay writing test” and he has produced a similar PDF text for Australia’s NAPLAN writing test. Perelman criticises the fact that NAPLAN essays are marked according to which words in a vocabulary list are included in the essay, with those words on the list rated as “Challenging” being awarded the highest marks. Perelman states that students who use these particular words, regardless of whether or not they demonstrate that they understand the meaning of the words, will score higher, and that students can thus be trained to use these words in their essays. However, Perelman also warns that if students are unsure of the spelling, then they should not use a word because of the emphasis placed on correct spelling in the marking of NAPLAN essays.

Perelman had been asked to review the planned robot-marking of NAPLAN essays in October 2017, and his criticism was so harsh that the plan was scrapped. ACARA seems to be taking Perelman’s concerns seriously. ACARA have stated that they believe that teachers focus on building and expanding the vocabulary of students and students should be able to use this vocabulary in “meaningful, constructive ways”. It seems certain that ACARA will re-evaluate the marking of NAPLAN essays in the face of these criticisms.

So how can teachers best help students to improve their vocabulary? Well, one way may be to study Perelman’s list, but surely there are better ways, more closely aligned to our goals of enhancing students’ understanding of words as well. It is well known (and scientifically proven) that reading improves children’s vocabulary, especially if they are reading texts which use decent vocabulary. The OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® program, which covers the HASS + Science curriculum for the years: Foundation/Prep/Kindy to Year 6 prides itself on the vocabulary used in its resources, which cover a huge range of curriculum-aligned subjects. We maintain a reasonably high standard of vocabulary aimed at stretching students to improve their knowledge of more complex words. We encourage the concomitant use of a dictionary to ensure that students learn the meanings of these words.

Teachers have already reported to us that they find these resources a useful addition to students’ preparations for NAPLAN. This is a wonderfully efficient use of time – while engaged in HASS or Science learning, students are actually also preparing for NAPLAN’s literacy tests, practising vital curriculum-aligned core skills that will improve their performance in NAPLAN, as well as increasing their overall educational outcomes. It really is the best of all worlds! These resources (over 200 on topics as vast as geography, indigenous peoples, explorers, Australian history, electricity, the seasons, celebrations, sport etc, etc, and including many activities) are available for free download to subscribers, or can be purchased individually, or as part of the Understanding Our World® units.

So let’s help our students to become the best they can possibly be, whilst efficiently covering the curriculum, and most importantly helping them to prepare to face the world armed with the knowledge and skills they will need in their future lives!

At Mercy of the Weather

Black Thursday, 1851 — 1864 Painting by William Strutt of the 1851 Black Thursday fires

It is the time of year when Australia often experiences extreme weather events. February is renowned as the hottest month and, in some parts of the country, also the wettest month. It often brings cyclones to our coasts and storms, which conversely enough, may trigger fires as lightening strikes the hot, dry bush. Aboriginal people carefully managed the Australian environment in the period before contact with Europeans. They used strict fire-management regimes on small and large scales to manage the timing and occurrence of fires, the impact on vegetation (including for those native plant species that need fire to germinate), as well as the impact on people (who had inhabited every corner of the continent for many thousands of years) and animals.

Black Friday bushfire Matlock — 1939 fires in Victoria (house in Matlock)

Disruptions of traditional Aboriginal ways of life in the 18th and 19th centuries had many severe impacts – on Aboriginal people, on the Australian environment, and on the European settlers in turn. One of these impacts was the breaking down of the country-wide fire management schemes which has been in place before the colonial period. European settlers did not recognise the necessity for regulated burning in the Australian landscape. The build-up of dry timber fuel meant that when storms brought lightening, as in Victoria in February, 1851, large swaths of bush burnt with unstoppable fury. Similarly ferocious fires in Victoria in 1939 (the Black Friday fires) led governments to start to re-introduce fire management schemes. Today these fire management schemes protect us from the worst fury of bushfires, just as they did back in pre-colonial Australia.

At the other end of the scale the storms and cyclones of February often bring flooding rains, especially to Queensland, NSW and Western Australia. In 1852 in Gundagai, NSW, in February 1893 in Brisbane and in many other times and places, most recently 2011 in Brisbane, devastation and loss of property and life have accompanied these events. Seven of the worst 10 floods in Australia have occurred in summer, with several in February. Aboriginal people avoided living in low-lying areas, especially during times of potential flooding, during the pre-colonial period. In fact, Aboriginal people warned the people of Gundagai, NSW, that their settlement was too close to the river before the floods, and were instrumental in saving one fifth of the town’s population from drowning during the floods themselves.

Fortunately this year we have not had any dramatic extreme weather events, but, these topics can still be built into HASS studies (as they are in the OpenSTEM® Understanding Our World® program). Students in Year 5 study natural disasters and the environment as part of the HASS curriculum, however, discussions about climate (Year 3) and Aboriginal Australia (Year 4) can also be incorporated into these topics. OpenSTEM® resources (some of which are linked above) also include quotes of primary sources, as well as contemporary paintings and photographs, addressing necessary skills across a range of year levels.

Australia at the Olympics

The modern Olympic games were started by Frenchman Henri de Baillot-Latour to promote international understanding. The first games of the modern era were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Australia has competed in all the Olympic games of the modern era, although our participation in the first one was almost by chance. Of course, the Olympics predated Federation by 5 years, so there was officially no “Australia” as a unified country – rather a collection of separate colonies of Britain. In fact, OpenSTEM®‘s Understanding Our World® program offers National Sport as a optional topic for students in Year 6, for studying Federation and the development of a national identity.

Edwin Flack, first Olympian — Edwin Flack

An Australian, Edwin Flack, born in London and moved to Victoria at the age of 5, later attending Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, was a keen runner, taking part in amateur athletics with the Melburnian Hare and Hounds Athletics Club. Flack went overseas to work in London and New York as an accountant, at the age of 21, and decided to attend the inaugural Olympic games as a spectator. He spent 6 days travelling by rail and sea, and was dreadfully sea-sick, before arriving in Athens. However, once there, he decided to take part in the games and won his first race on the opening day – an 800m heat, which he completed in 2 min 10 sec. On the second day he beat the American favourite in the 1500m race and then won the 800m final on the fourth day. Flack competed in the colours of his high school in Melbourne, there being no official national colours or uniform for Australia yet. He is credited with 2 gold medals and a bronze medal for doubles tennis, although it was not until 1904 that medals were actually awarded at the games. Flack later joined the Australian Olympic Committee and represented Australia at the International Olympic Committee Congress. Flack’s medals have been credited to Australia by the international Olympic committee, which means that Australia is ranked as a country that has taken part in every modern Olympics.

1936 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (Bundesarchiv)

Winter Olympics did not begin until 1924 and Australia did not compete in the Winter Olympics until 1936, although they have participated in every one since, with the exception of the games of 1948. In 1936 the games were held in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. A picture taken at the opening ceremony shows a rather concerned looking Henri de Baillot-Latour standing between Rudolf Hess and Adolf Hitler. History may have justified Baillot-Latour’s expression… Australia was represented by Kenneth Kennedy, who took part in the speed skating event, coming 33rd in both the 1500 and 5000m events and 29th in the 500m event. Not being a country renowned for its winter sports, and having a climate not particularly conducive to supporting the training of local athletes, it was many years before Australia was a serious contender in any of the winter sports. It was not until 1994 that Australia won its first medal at the Winter Olympics – a bronze in the short track relay.

However, modern technology which increased access to training options for athletes and increased support for the winter sports by the Australian Olympic Committee have seen Australia forge ahead in recent decades. In 2002 Australia won its first 2 gold medals (the first time any country from the southern hemisphere had won a winter Olympics event) for short track speed skating (which Steven Bradbury won after all the other competitors crashed out) and aerials.

Torah Bright, 2010 — Torah Bright, gold medal 2010 (Allie from Vancity)

2010 was Australia’s most successful Winter Olympics. The games were held in Vancouver, Canada and Australia won 2 gold and 1 silver, with a further 7 athletes finishing in the top 10 in their events. Torah Bright, who was the Australian flagbearer, won a gold medal for the snowboard half-pipe. Lydia Lassila took gold in the aerial skiing. Dale Begg-Smith took silver in the men’s mogul skiing.

This year Australia has 51 athletes competing in 10 sports in PyeongChang in South Korea. Matt Graham has already taken a silver medal in men’s moguls and Scott James has taken a bronze in men’s snowboard half-pipe, with many events still to be completed. Go Aussies!

Current events such as the Winter Olympics can be a great vehicle for teachers to achieve student engagement. There are heaps of ways that these events can be incorporated into students’ learning – from looking at how they can hold the Winter Olympics while we’re sweltering through the tail-end of summer (our Torch and Ball activity demonstrates global seasons as well as day and night, specifically aimed at Science for Years 1 to 3 , it can be a great thing to revise in higher years too); to the Geography and climate of the different venues around the world; from the historical events surrounding many Olympics to the development of an Australian national identity, and national sport, around Federation. The broad range of OpenSTEM® resources are aimed at helping teachers to guide the interests of the students towards the outcomes of the curriculum, whilst keeping the process interesting and engaging.

Australia Day in the early 20th century

Australia Day and its commemoration on 26 January, has long been a controversial topic. This year has seen calls once again for the date to be changed. Similar calls have been made for a long time. As early as 1938, Aboriginal civil rights leaders declared a “Day of Mourning” to highlight issues in the Aboriginal community, particularly around celebration of the sesqui-centenary of the date that the First Fleet arrived to take possession of Australia. Interestingly enough, the date of 26 January was initially not universally accepted as the date for Australia Day.

Before 1888, each colony had its own celebration of the founding of the colony, which was 26 January for New South Wales, making that date closely associated with New South Wales. Since Federation was officially marked as 1 January, there did not seem to be any point in making this day a public holiday, since it was already a public holiday for New Year’s Day. It was the events of the First World War, particularly Australia’s role in the Gallipoli conflict, which highlighted a need to celebrate patriotically and suggestions of public holidays to mark Australia and it’s contribution to the war effort. ANZAC day was born out of this fervour and it was also decided to celebrate an “Australia Day”. The Red Cross suggested that this occasion could be used to raise money for wounded soldiers, widows and orphans and an “Australia Day Fund” was started.

The Sydney Morning Herald of 17 June, 1915, announced that this was supported by the Premier of NSW, and various of his ministers. The date was set for this celebration for 30 July, 1915. Many states turned the celebration into a giant pageant or carnival, some incorporating it with the state’s agricultural Exhibition for that year. The day was celebrated on 28 July, 1916; 27 July, 1917 and 26 July, 1918. Each year the celebration got bigger, with cake stalls, refreshment stands, bands, concerts, demonstration sports, etc. and people dressed in a myriad of costumes. The fund-raising was a huge success too, with figures of £120,000 being mentioned – an enormous sum of money at that time!

It was only in 1935 that all the states settled on 26 January as the date to mark Australia (and 3 years later that Aboriginal people announced their objections to this date). A range of other days have been suggested. These include:

19 January (which can be written as 19.01 – commemorating 1901, the year of Federation);

3 March (commemorating the Australia Acts 0f 1986, removing the appeal to Privy Council and diminishing the influence of the Queen);

25 April (combining with ANZAC day);

8 May (a play on words, suggesting the epithet “Mate” – May-8)

9 May – opening of the first Federal Parliament;

27 May – marking the date of the 1967 referendum amending the constitution to include Aboriginal people;

9 July – the date that Queen Victoria gave her royal assent to the Constitution of Australia, which allowed Federation to proceed;

24 October – the date of Henry Parkes‘ speech on Federation at Tenterfield;

3 December – to commemorate the Eureka Stockade.

The range of possible dates available show that Australia has a rich history as a nation, which can be celebrated in a positive way. The initial celebrations, although within a context of war, were very positive in approach and made a positive contribution to segments of society badly needing support. Perhaps we can alter the focus of the modern celebration, incorporating some of these elements and acknowledging the different meanings different dates have for different parts of society? This might be a useful class discussion, examining the historical context around some of the issues raised above. Links to useful resources have been provided for teachers to explore some of these topics with their classes.