EPISODE FOUR
‘EUREKA!’
OVERVIEW Getting started ‘Apart from its green coastal fringes, there’s an awful It was the lure of the unknown and the lot of Australia that’s rock, sand and harsh desert, and promise of new discoveries in Australia’s the men who pioneered the exploration of that interior vast and at times forbidding interior that were unified not so much by their heroism, their prow- spurred on the early explorers. Unper- ess or even by their navigational skills, as by the fact turbed and sometimes very unprepared, that there was a little bit of virtually all of them that they were determined to find pastureland was completely barking mad.’ – Tony Robinson beyond the Blue Mountains, cross the continent from north to south and dis- sWhat stories do you know about the early cover if there really was an inland sea. exploration of Australia?
The discovery of gold also changed Aus- sWhy do you think Tony Robinson calls Australia’s tralia’s fortune. The finds brought people, explorers ‘the astronauts of their age’? commerce, corruption and dissent. What started as a trickle, quickly became a sDo you think Australia’s explorers were heroes or tide of prospectors, deserting the cities fools? and heading to the goldfields in search of fortune. Tony Robinson claims that ‘every Australian school kid knows the discovery of gold in 1851 transformed ‘Eureka’ is about the mixed fortunes of Australia.’ these two groups – the foolhardy explor- ers who set out into the wilderness, and sWhat have you learnt about Australia’s gold rush at the gold seekers hungry for riches, and school? united as they rebelled against corrupt police and a tax hungry government
SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 25 JOHN HORROCKS
‘I want a more stirring life’
– John Horrocks
John Horrocks was one of the first settlers in the Clare Valley in 1839. He established the town of Penwortham and made his living as a farmer.
When Horrocks proposed an expedition to search for new agricultural lands near Lake Torrens, an appeal for government assistance was unsuccessful but over £140 was raised by private subscription. Leaving Penwortham on 29 July 1846, for a planned four-month absence, Hor- rocks’ party of six, included the colonial artist Samuel Thomas Gill and was the first expedition to use a camel to carry supplies.
On 1 September, Horrocks was shot when Harry the camel lurched, knock- ing him and causing the weapon to discharge. His injuries were substantial. Horrocks died at home on 23 September. Harry was executed.
Horrocks gave his name to several geographical features in the vicinity of Mount Remarkable and the Clare Valley. His cottage at Penwortham, has been recently restored and is open to visitors.
Student activity site/page.cfm?u=500#e1139>. Why should Horrocks be remembered?
Read a detailed biography of John Hor- Samuel Thomas Gill’s paintings of the A comprehensive list of primary and rocks online at SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 26 When Mitchell was asked to chart the Dar- http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/ Student activity ling River, in the west of New South Wales, mitchell_duelling_pistols/ his ambition got the better of him. Believ- sWhy did the Hentys settle at ing that there was more promising land Portland? to the south of the Murray River, Mitchell Extension decided to set off into uncharted territory. sWhy was Governor Gipps unhappy sWorks by Thomas Mitchell at Project about the settlement at Portland? Gutenberg: Student activity sWhat contribution did the Hentys Journal of an Expedition into the Interior make to Australia’s history? sWhy did Thomas Mitchell settle on of Tropical Australia the name Australia Felix for the pas- tureland that he discovered? Three Expeditions into the Interior of Extension Eastern Australia, Volume 1 sThomas Mitchell is remembered for Visit the State Library of Victoria at his achievements as an explorer and Five months after leaving Sydney, Mitch- Make a list of Thomas Mitchell’s achievements. What moments of Thomas Mitchell’s career were less notable? sBelieve it or not. Mitchell was the last person in Aus- tralia to challenge anyone to a duel. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 27 Student activity s Who was Governor Gipps? What role did he play in restoring jus- tice to Indigenous Australians at the time of the Myall Creek Massacre? Research s Comprehensive accounts of the Myall Creek Massacre can be found at Teachers are advised to preview these websites. Student activity The Myall Creek Massacre involved the killing of up to thirty unarmed Austral- After the Myall Creek Massacre attacks s What is the meaning of the term ian Aborigines by European settlers on on Aboriginal people continued for many dispossession? 10 June 1838 at Myall Creek in northern decades and well into the twentieth New South Wales. century. s Why is this term used to describe the history of Indigenous Australians? Discuss Student activity s Why is the painted proclamation board featured in this episode of s Why did the massacre occur? s Why did most crimes against Tony Robinson Explores Australia an Aboriginal people go unpunished? important relic? Beginning on 15 November 1838, the case of the men charged with murdering the Is there any other evidence to prove that Aborigines at Myall Creek was heard be - attempts were made to protect the fore the Chief Justice of New South Wales, status of Indigenous Australians dur- James Dowling. The jury, after deliberating ing the early settlement of Australia? for just twenty minutes, found all eleven men not guilty. s Who were the squatters of early nineteenth century Australia? One of the jurors later told the newspaper The Australian that although he considered s Why did the squatters resent the the men guilty of murder, he could not Aborigines? convict a white man of killing an Aboriginal person: ‘… no white person was hanged any- where in Australia for killing a black ‘I look on the blacks as a set of monkeys person in the first fifty years of the and the sooner they are exterminated from colony – despite the fact that thousands the face of the earth, the better. I knew of Aborigines were murdered in those the men were guilty of murder but I would years.’ – Tony Robinson never see a white man hanged for killing a black.’ A second trial on 30 November 1838, found seven men were found guilty of mur - dering the Aborigines at Myall Creek. They were sentenced to execution by hanging. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 28 GOLD Imagine that you are a new arrival Student activity to the colony of Victoria and have Convicts cutting a road to Bathurst were decided to find your fortune on the s‘Though a single twig may be bent rumoured to have struck gold as early as goldfields of Central Victoria. or broken, a bundle of them tied 1814 but it was Edward Hargraves who together yields not nor breaks.’ publicly claimed to have discovered gold Write a series of journal entries and in Bathurst in on 12 February 1851. accompany the entries with original Hold your own monster meeting. or existing sketches. Your journal entries should include: Adopt a persona and have your say Discuss about the decision to raise the cost of An explanation of your reasons gold mining licenses. sWhose interests were served by for heading into Central Victoria to keeping the discovery of gold a search for gold. Will you be a miner? Or the wife or child secret? of a miner? Will you be a shopkeeper on A description of your journey to the the goldfields? You might like to adopt goldfields of Central Victoria. the persona of a policeman who has Student activity to check that the licences have been A description of an ordinary day pan- paid, a colonial politician or even the A detailed biography of Edward Har- ning and digging for gold. commissioner responsible for signing graves can be read online at SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 29 PowerPoint should use 5 to 10 slides. Use a combination of words, images and audio to tell the story that you have selected as your subject. Student activity s ‘I have a dream. A happy dream. I dreamt that we had met here to - gether to render thanks to our Father in heaven for a plentiful harvest. Such that for the first time in this, our adopted land, we have our own food for the year. But not so Britains, not so. We must redress the grievances inflicted on us not by Crown heads, but by blockheads. Aristocratical in- capables who never did a day’s work in their lives.’ – Raffaello Carboni Who was Raffaello Carboni and what role did he play in the uprising? s Why is Peter Lalor’s name associated struggle for principle, a stand against at the State Library of Victoria The Burke and Wills Research Gateway Divide the class into two teams. One SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 30 team is responsible for the affirmative s Research the role Indigenous Austral- SCRIPT AND DIRECTION case and one for the negative case. ians played in helping explorers survive Each speaker has one minute to the perils of nineteenth century expedi- What makes a good script? provide an argument and evidence to tions into Australia’s unknown interior. support their team’s case. Discuss THE EXPERTS Research sWhich scenes worked the best for you as a viewer? Why? ‘Mr Burke suffers greatly from the cold & Tony Robinson consults experts as he is getting extremely weak he & King start researches how Australia’s fortune was sWhich production elements in the to-morrow up the creek to look for the shaped by the discovery of fertile land episode appealed to you? blacks. It is the only chance we have of and gold. They are: being saved from starvation [...]’ Robinson injects humour into the script. !" Grenville Henty-Silvester – Henty – William John Wills, descendant journal entry, 26 June 1861 Student activity !" Eric Wilmott– Historian In 1909, the National Library of Australia sIdentify some comic moments acquired the journal kept by William !" Robyn Annear – Author and historian John Wills from 23 April to 28 June 1861 sDid you find these moments amus- along with the diary kept by Robert !" Geoff Hocking – Historian ing? O’Hara Burke from 16 December 1860 to 20 January 1861. !" Dave Phoenix – President Burke and sIs the humour appropriate? Wills Historical society John Wills’ journal has been digitised and is available online at the National USING A PRESENTER Library of Australia Student activity Student activity sReview the subjects that you have researched for this episode. Choose Describe the way sound is used in one a story that interests you and make sequence of the episode. a three-minute documentary. Before you begin shooting, write an inten- tion that provides a description of the subject, your purpose and your audience and compile a storyboard. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 31