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Listed under:  History  >  World history  >  Australian history
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Sheet music cover for 'Australia draws her maiden sword', 1885

This is the damaged front cover of a three-page score for the song 'Australia Draws her Maiden Sword'. It depicts Australia as a maiden drawing her long sword and preparing for imminent conflict. Behind her, troops are shown marching out of their encampment. On the bottom of the cover in copperplate are the words 'WRITTEN ...

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Gold rush: level 1

Dig for gold on the Ballarat goldfields in 1865. Try your luck at alluvial or shaft mining. Buy a miner's permit, tools and enough supplies to last a month. Discover how hard life was on the goldfields. Explore a map showing the countries migrants left to join the gold rush in Australia. Find out which towns developed due ...

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'Aquarius 1841'

This is a pen, ink and crayon drawing, measuring 18.8 cm x 26.8 cm, of a man driving a horse and cart, on the back of which is a full water barrel. Buildings and trees are sketched in the background and at the top right is a set of signalling flagpoles. A handwritten inscription at the bottom of the picture reads: 'Aquarius ...

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Chinese workers at the Croydon Court House, c1905

This black-and-white photograph shows two lines of Chinese men, about 19 in all, squatting on the bare ground and eating a meal outside Croydon Court House in northern Queensland. The men are wearing Western-style long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and their queues (plaits) are wound around their heads. Plates and mugs are ...

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Drovers and their horses resting, c1850

This is a watercolour, measuring 44 cm x 64 cm, by the famous colonial artist Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80). It shows two drovers camped next to a fallen tree, with their horses tethered and at rest behind them. One of the drovers and a dog remain vigilant, looking towards cattle that are spread out on a wide plain below, ...

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'Cobb and Co coach on the Sydney road', 1850s

This is a watercolour, measuring 16.2 cm x 25.2 cm, by the famous colonial artist Samuel Thomas Gill (1818-80). It shows a Cobb and Co coach travelling to Sydney, New South Wales, along a rough dirt road bounded by timber fences and open fields, with buildings (probably farmhouses) in the background. At least two horses ...

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Biography: Federation people: Edmund Barton

Find out more about Edmund Barton, Australia's first prime minister and drafter of the constitution. Examine two different types of biographies of Barton: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: ...

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Biography: Federation people: John Kirwan

Find out more about John Kirwan, newspaper editor and a founder of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Kirwan: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: John Quick

Find out more about John Quick, a founder of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Quick: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: George Reid

Find out more about George Reid, premier of New South Wales and prime minister of Australia. Examine two different types of biographies of Reid: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

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Biography: Federation people: Rose Scott

Find out more about Rose Scott, a fighter for women’s rights and an opponent of Federation. Examine two different types of biographies of Scott: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how she was visually depicted in her time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

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Discovering democracy: the law rules

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the development of law and citizens' rights in the early years of British settlement in Australia. Look in particular at the role of Governor Macquarie, and compare the judicial system in his time with the Australian judicial system of today. Complete a related task.

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Discovering democracy: making a nation

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the similarities and differences between the political systems of Australia and the United States of America. Complete a related task.

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Biography: Federation people: Edwin Blackmore

Find out more about Edwin Blackmore, clerk to the Federal Convention 1897–98. Examine two different types of biographies of Blackmore: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: John Downer

Find out more about John Downer, federalist and premier of South Australia. Examine two different types of biographies of Downer: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: John Forrest

Find out more about John Forrest, federalist and premier of Western Australia. Examine two different types of biographies of Forrest: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: Vida Goldstein

Find out more about Vida Goldstein, a suffragist and feminist. Examine two different types of biographies of Goldstein: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how she was visually depicted in her time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Biography: Federation people: John Winthrop Hackett

Find out more about John Winthrop Hackett, editor and owner of the West Australian newspaper. Examine two different types of biographies of Hackett: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation ...

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Biography: Federation people: William Lyne

Find out more about William Lyne, premier of New South Wales. Examine two different types of biographies of Lyne: one short and the other more detailed. Inspect examples of how he was visually depicted in his time. This learning object is one in a series of objects in the 'Biography: Federation people' series.

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Women stapling ration books, 1943

This is a sepia-toned photograph, taken in April 1943, of young women at the South Australian Government Printing Office using large machines to staple ration books.