Presentation for Facing History Global in Belfast July 2018

1. Australia: Repair and Reconstruction

2. Son of Mine
My son, your troubled eyes search mine,
Puzzled and hurt by colour line.
Your black skin as soft as velvet shine;
What can I tell you, son of mine?
I could tell you of heartbreak, hatred blind,
I could tell you of crimes that shame mankind,
Of brutal wrong and deeds malign,
Of rape and murder, son of mine;
But I'll tell you instead of brave and fine
When lives of black and white entwine,
And men in brotherhood combine--
This would I tell you, son of mine.
Kath Walker, Oodgeroo Noonuccal
An Aboriginal poet and vigorous spokeswoman for her people

3. History’s Children, Anna Clark 2008
• Bleak image of unenthused students,
disengaged, confused.
• Indigenous history dull or repetitive,
black armband view of history.
• History teachers unsure of how to
teach the topic would teach directly
from textbooks.

4. Australian National Curriculum 2011

5. Cross Curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

6. Year 4 History
• Inquiry Questions
• Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
• What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
before the arrival of the Europeans?
• Why did the Europeans settle in Australia?
• What was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers and
settlers?

7. Year 7: Depth study 1 - Investigating the Past
• Nature of sources for ancient Australia eg. animal and human
remains, tools and middens art and stories and sites
• Australian site – preservation / heritage
• Site study

8. HTAA Australian Curriculum Unit
• Level: Year 7
• Topic: The ancient past – Narrabeen Man
• Australian Curriculum: History reference – Depth Study 1 Investigating
the Ancient Past: Ancient Australia
• This unit presents a learning sequence for a topic, the mystery of
Narrabeen Man, which is a case study for investigating the nature of
the sources for ancient Australia and what they reveal about
Australia’s past.

9. Year 7: Depth Study 6 - Expanding Contacts
• ONE of the following- Stage 4
• Mongol Expansion
• OR
• The Black Death in Asia , Europe and Africa
• OR
• The Spanish Conquest of the Americas
• OR
• Aboriginal and Indigenous Peoples, Colonisation and Contact History

10. Year 12 History Extension – Case Study
The Frontier in Australia
Content Focus
•Students investigate changing interpretations of the frontier in Australia.
Content
•Students examine the historians and approaches to history (including
recent historiography) that have contributed to historical debate in the areas of:
•terra nullius and land
•invasion or settlement?
•the responses of Aboriginal People(s) on the frontier in Australia

11. Image: Getty Images

12. Image: AISTSIS

15. Image: Australian War Memorial

16. Image: Lyndall Ryan

17. Henry Reynolds, The Other Side of the Frontier,
1981
• “Twenty thousand blacks were killed before federation. Their burial
mound stands out as a landmark of awesome size on the peaceful
plains of colonial history. If the bodies had been white our histories
would be heavy with their story, a forest of monument would
celebrate their sacrifice….How, then, do we deal with the Aboriginal
dead? White Australians frequently say ‘all that’ should be forgotten.
But it will not be. It cannot be. Black memories are too deeply, too
recently scarred. And forgetfulness is a strange prescription coming
from a community which has revered the fallen warrior and
emblazoned the phrase ‘Lest We Forget’ on monuments throughout
the land.”

19. Image: National Museum of Australia

20. Image: National Library of Australia

24. Year 9 - Rights and freedoms (1945 – the present)
• Students investigate struggles for human rights in depth. This will include how rights and
freedoms have been ignored, demanded or achieved in Australia and in the broader world
context.
• The origins and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including Australia’s
involvement in the development of the declaration
• Background to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for rights and
freedoms before 1965, including the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations
• The US civil rights movement and its influence on Australia
• The significance of the following for the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples: 1962 right to vote federally; 1967 Referendum; Reconciliation; Mabo decision; Bringing
Them Home Report (the Stolen Generations), the Apology
• Methods used by civil rights activists to achieve change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples, and the role of ONE individual or group in the struggle
• The continuing nature of efforts to secure civil rights and freedoms in Australia and throughout
the world, such as the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007)

25. Image: National Library of Australia

26. Image: NITV News

28. Image: ABC

29. Image: SBS

30. Image: Fox

32. A decade ago in History’s Children, Anna Clark described the teaching
of indigenous history as dull, repetitive, often taught directly from the
textbook. What’s the story in 2018? Has indigenous history become
increasingly popular?
• Anna Clark was right a decade ago about the teaching of Aboriginal histories
and perceived topic 'fatigue'. It doesn't and shouldn't have to be this way.
(Melissa Riley)
• A very good question that I have never heard adequately addressed by
curriculum authorities. Could also ask how well served teachers are by their
pre-service training in this area. Would love to see it always taught as
compelling history. (Paul Kiem)
• Can't answer the popularity question but I can say that if/where it is still being
taught that way it is not for a lack of resources beyond textbooks. (Jonathon
Dallimore)
• So much comes down to adequate training and resourcing for teachers in the
classroom. (Anna Clark)