Sticking up of the Goulburn Mail, artist unknown, published by Ebenezer and David Syme, March 28, 1867, State Library of Victoria TROOPERS, TRACKERS and BUSHRANGERS VIRTUAL EXCURSION TEACHER NOTES PRE-SESSION Presented by PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOUR LAW OF THE LAND VIRTUAL EXCURSION WITH SYDNEY LIVING MUSEUMS: • Photocopy the morse code alphabet. • Prepare for the bushranger name activity. There should be enough copies to share one Some bushrangers chose names that between two students. Please give out the made them sound like the romantic hero alphabet during the videoconference session of a novel, eg, Captain Moonlite, Captain only when requested to by the presenter. Thunderbolt, Captain Starlight. Ask your students to choose the names they • Photocopy the lyrics of ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’ would use if they were bushrangers. and practise singing the ballad with your students. For this session the students will only • Organise the students into groups of three or need to know the first two verses and the four and arrange the classroom so each chorus. Click here for a recording of the song: group sits together during the session. The https://soundcloud.com/sydlivmus/ presenter will lead them in an activity that wild-colonial-boy-warren-fahey they will work on within their groups and each group will be asked to nominate a • Photocopy the kepi template provided onto A3 spokesperson to report back to the class. paper and distribute it to students so they can each make their own kepi before the virtual • A number of educational videos relating to the excursion. They will be asked by the presenter to Law of the Land virtual excursion have been put on their kepis at some point during the session. posted on the Sydney Living Museums website. • Read through and familiarise your Follow this link to view videos on the development students with the song ‘Brave Ben Hall’ of weapons during the bushranging era: and the newspaper article ‘The reign of http://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/ terror’. Click here for an audio recording of troopers-trackers-bushrangers-and- the documents: https://soundcloud.com/ their-weapons sydlivmus/sets/law-of-the-land-readings The documents will be referred to during the session. A glossary has been provided for both documents, as well as additional questions, should you wish to do further work on the documents after the virtual excursion. AFTER THE VIRTUAL EXCURSION Two additional exercises have been included for you to work through with your students to help consolidate learning from the virtual excursion. You will find details in a separate document called ‘The Law of the Land: Teacher Notes – Post Session’. 1 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION ACTIVITY PRE‑SESSION: POST‑SESSION: Before your virtual excursion please read If you would like to do more work on these through the two documents ‘Brave Ben Hall’ documents after the session, here are some and ‘The reign of terror’ with your students and additional questions that you may find useful: familiarise them with the language and the • Find a reference to the police in the vocabulary. Alternatively you can listen to a documents. Does the writer have a recording of the documents by clicking on this positive or negative view of the police? link: https://soundcloud.com/sydlivmus/sets/ law-of-the-land-readings Your students will • Does the writer have a positive or be asked some questions during their virtual negative view of bushrangers? excursion to see if they can tell from which • Are there any clues that tell you when perspective each document has been written. the document was written? The documents illustrate the battle that was going • Who wrote the document? on for the hearts and minds of the public. The official line as presented in the newspaper article • Whose point of view is the writer portrays bushrangers as violent, hard-hearted trying to communicate? criminals. It hopes to win over people and enlist • Who was the intended audience? their help in capturing the bushrangers. Equally, the bushrangers need the support of the local population to survive in the bush and evade Extension questions: capture. Ballads are a powerful way of putting across the bushrangers’ points of view but they • Is the writer stating facts or opinions? tend to romanticise their exploits by emphasising Do they use evidence to support their ideas? their good points and ignoring their imperfections. • Is the language emotive or persuasive? This link will provide you with some strategies for reading texts with children: http://www.history.org.uk/resources/ primary_resource_3638,3641_130.html 2 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION MORSE CODE ALPHABET A ·– N –· B –··· O ––– C –·–· P ·––· D –·· Q ––·– E · R ·–· F ··–· S ··· G ––· T – H ···· U ··– I ·· V ···– J ·––– W ·–– K –·– X –··– L ·–·· Y –·–– M –– Z ––·· 3 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION THE WILD COLONIAL BOY There was a Wild Colonial Boy, Jack Doolin was his name He was born and bred in Victoria, in a place called Castlemaine He was his father’s only son, and his mother’s pride and joy And dearly did they always love the Wild Colonial Boy At the early age of sixteen years, he left his father’s home And through Australia’s sunny climes as a bushranger did roam He robbed the wealthy squatters, their flocks he did destroy And a terror to Australia was the Wild Colonial Boy So come away my hearties, we’ll roam the mountainside Together we will plunder, together we will ride We’ll cross the wild Blue Mountains, and gallop over the plains And we scorn to live in slavery, bound down by iron chains In eighteen hundred and sixty-two he commenced his wild career With a heart that knew no danger, no foeman did he fear He stuck up the Beechworth Mail coach, he robbed Judge MacEvoy Who trembling cold, gave up his gold, to the Wild Colonial Boy One morning as he rode his horse, the mountainside along Listening to the kookaburra’s pleasant laughing song He spied three mounted troopers: Davis, Kelly and Fitzroy With a warrant for the capture of the Wild Colonial Boy ‘Surrender now Jack Doolin, you see there’s three to one Surrender in the Queen’s name, you plundering highwayman’ Jack drew a pistol from his belt and he flashed the little toy ‘I’ll fight but not surrender’, cried the Wild Colonial Boy Anonymous 4 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION BRAVE BEN HALL Ever since the good old days Of Dick Turpin and Duval, Knights of the road were outlaws bold, And so was bold Ben Hall. He never robbed a needy man, His records best will show, Staunch and loyal to his mates, And manly to the foe. Until he left his trusty mates, The cause I ne’er could hear, The bloodhounds of the law heard this And after him did steer. They found his place of ambush, And cautiously they crept, And savagely they murdered him While the victim slept. Yes, savagely they murdered him, The cowardly blue-coat imps, Who were laid onto where he slept By informing peeler’s pimps. No more he’ll mount his gallant steed, Nor range the mountains high, The widow’s friend in poverty – Bold Ben Hall, goodbye. Extract from traditional Australian song, composer unknown 5 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras sit amet semper elit. Pellentesque id est interdum, elementum quam ac, volutpat dolor. Integer non risus vitae tellus blandit pellentesque nec eu dolor. Sed at mattis erat. Aliquam luctus vehicula bibendum. Quisque elementum libero id commodo vulputate. Phasellus sit amet justo mi. Vivamus Theeuismod nibh a risus consectetur tempor ac a ipsum.Bathurst Sed condimentum vel nulla ac feugiat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean placerat viverra tortor vel rhoncus. Duis sit amet ligula ultricies, venenatis eros ac,Times ultricies mauris. Morbi eleifend, neque vitae sollicitudin tristique, massa odio sodales. Established 1858 ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 1863 Price 6d THE REIGN OF TERROR Half-a-dozen heartless, reckless, blood-thirsty scoundrels are masters of this western territory, and hold, at their good will and pleasure, the lives and properties of all our citizens who reside beyond the boundaries of a populous township. Mere boys though they be, they are, beyond all question, masters of the situation, and the fact is a deep disgrace to our civilisation. ABOVE: One of the reckless scoundrels, Ben Hall. One unfortunate storekeeper, Mr Hosie, of one undisturbed series of and three or four other Caloola Creek, has been successes so far, indeed, men with the handcuffs deprived of money and from the police keeping taken from the police the property and is brought them in check, they have day before. to the verge of ruin, and, commenced apprehending They care no more for the notwithstanding that the police, and habitually police than if they were so the district is almost hold them in the most many gadflies. swarming with police, thorough contempt. TBT their career appears to be They handcuffed Hosie 6 TEACHER NOTES – PRE-SESSION GLOSSARY FOR GLOSSARY FOR ‘BRAVE BEN HALL’ THE BATHURST TIMES ARTICLE blue-coat a Mounted Trooper, apprehend arrest (someone) for a crime who wore a blue coat blood-thirsty having or showing bold willing to take risks; confident a desire to kill and maim and courageous contempt the feeling that a person or a thing Dick Turpin (1706–1739), English is worthless or beneath consideration highwayman. He stole cattle, horses and deprive to prevent (a person or place) deer, and was hanged for his crimes from having or using something Duval Claude Du Vall (1643–1670) was a French- gadfly a person who annoys or criticises born gentleman highwayman in Britain others in order to force them into action foe enemy or opponent habitual done as a habit gallant brave; heroic heartless showing a complete lack of imp a small, mischievous devil or sprite feeling or consideration for other people manly having those qualities master a person who has complete traditionally associated with men, control of something such as courage and strength notwithstanding in spite of needy lacking the necessities of life; very poor populous having a large population; peeler UK, slang, archaic police officer.