A Study Guide by Katy Marriner & Fiona Edwards

A STUDY GUIDE BY KATY MARRINER & FIONA EDWARDS

http://www.metromagazine.com.au

ISBN-13-978-1-74295-058-7 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au A STUDY GUIDE

OVERVIEW

Tony Robinson, who has previously presented Time Team and Ned Kelly Uncovered, embarks on a case study of Australia’s past, from the earliest explorers to white settlement, Indigenous Australians, multiculturalism and Australia’s role in two world wars.

Filmed on location around the country in November and December 2010, in this exciting and fast-paced six-part series Robinson is joined on his mammoth journey by some of Australia’s foremost historians and writers, including Tim Flannery, Thomas Keneally and Eric Wilmott.

From the search to identify the ‘great southern land’, through colonial trials and tribulations and right up to the establishment of the dynamic modern Australia, Tony Robinson covers a huge amount of ground as he reveals the key events and major inﬂuences that deﬁne Australia – and Australians – today.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 2 s Discuss the pros and cons of both television and ﬁlm.

Look at the following link. View the excerpts provided.

http://listverse.com/2007/12/04/ top-10-greatest-tv-documentary-series/

s History of Medicine: thirteen parts, shown in 1978 on the BBC and on PBS stations in America. Jonathan Miller, in the series, used a combination of visual images and lecture-like presentations to not only trace the history of medicine, but to explain the working of the human body in entertaining ways.

s Victory at Sea: One of the earliest television documentary series and one of the ﬁrst dealing with World War Two, Victory at Sea used extensive archival footage – up to that point unseen by the public – taken during the war to illustrate the long naval struggle that helped bring Allied victory, from the Battle of the Atlantic to the island-hopping campaigns in the Paciﬁc. What helped make the series even more memorable was the participation of composer Richard CURRICULUM LINKS: GENRE Rodgers, who wrote the stirring theme music. Tony Robinson Explores Tony Robinson Explores Australia is a documentary series. Television has s The Civil War: Ken Burns’ well- Australia would be a valuable gradually become the primary source of known and highly acclaimed series knowledge for the great majority of the made a star out of author Shelby resource for middle and population – most of us still get our news Foote, whose commentary is one of from television sources, for example. the most enjoyable and fascinating senior secondary students of aspects of each episode. Touching, English, History, Geography Television has provided directors and poignant, fascinating, The Civil War producers with another format via which is viewed today as not only Burns’ (integrated humanities) SOSE/ their material can be shown to a mass best work, but it became the new audience. standard for history-related television HSIE, Media and Film Studies. documentaries.

Discuss: s The Blue Planet: From an underwa- ter lake to close-up photography of s What do we mean by documentary? sharks and a blue whale, to a fascinating trip into the black abyss, this Discuss what viewers can expect from is David Attenborough’s documentary documentary (in the cinema and on on the life of our planet. His first was television) and the relationship between the historic Life on Earth, followed by documentary and reality (or actuality). series such as The Life of Mammals, Planet Earth and of course The Blue Students are to generate their own defi- Planet. Each series was full of beauti- nition of documentary. ful film work. One of the greatest things about The Blue Planet is its s What is the difference between film stirring score, and the feel it gives for and television? the epic drama of the oceans.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 3 Discuss: s What do these series have in common? s Does there seem to be a formula? s What works and what doesn’t? s What would you do to improve the visual outcome?

Student activity: s Consider the following list as the four distinct (but sometimes overlapping) purposes of documentary:

- to record, reveal, or preserve

- to persuade or promote

- to analyse or interrogate s What do you notice about the editing BEFORE VIEWING of the extract? How is narrative - to express. constructed? The premise of a film or series is the fundamental concept that drives the Can students think of other s What do you think are the benefits narrative. documentary series that fit into and limitations of the different ap- these categories? proaches they have identified? Student activity: s How might these different motives Following this discussion, challenge intersect? students to revisit their definition of Read the article below. documentary, written at the start of the s Are there any other purposes that the lesson. Tony Robinson explores pioneer documentary series might seek to Australia in this latest TV show fulfil? s How might they adapt their definition after watching and discussing the Tony Robinson strides through the lobby Students are to find samples of clips? and cafe of a hip South Yarra hotel with documentary series and show briskness, ease and purpose. After extracts to the class. s Can they argue for their definition in months of filming under the Austral- front of the class? ian sun, the diminutive Londoner has a Ask students to note down their glowing complexion. thoughts on each example. Documentary series are often narrated by one lead personality. Tony Robinson As he approaches 65, he could well be a s What is the purpose of the series? Explores Australia is narrated by Tony poster boy for healthy lifestyles. There’s Robinson. the trademark hooded eyes but not a s What different approaches can you trace of the grotesqueness or pottiness identify (use of narration, direct that define his roles in Blackadder and questioning, observational etc.)? Student activity: the knockabout host of The Worst Jobs in History and Time Team. You are a journalist and you have been asked to write an article on Tony Robin- He’s in the home stretch of the fast, son for a weekend TV guide. The article seven-week shoot of Tony Robinson is to be no more than 400 words in Explores Australia, a six-part series on length. the history of Australia from European settlement to today. s Who is Tony Robinson? The island continent has a particular s Is he an authority on history? affinity for Robinson. Several years ago, he gamely ventured into a contested

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 4 chapter of our history with Ned Kelly are great organisers … They would never An only child, Robinson credits his father Uncovered for the ABC. have been able to create that kind of for teaching him to argue and ‘be the state back home because of 2000 years biggest pain in the arse at school’. But he’s approaching his new show with of history but over here they were able the same ignorance Captain Cook had to create a template for a very egalitarian ‘He imbued in me this 18th-century when he first landed in 1770, he says. kind of state that worked around things notion that you could deploy rhetoric and ‘The difference is he had real ignorance, like the family, equality, justice.’ intellect in order to challenge the status whereas mine is clouded by Kylie and quo of anything,’ he says. ‘What am I Jason videos and Picnic at Hanging ‘There were a lot of self-serving bas- doing when I’m 13 or 14? I’m having the Rock and Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly. I tards, just as there are in any political most terrible rows with my dad because want to engage in what Australia is.’ class who followed them, but somehow he taught me to argue.’ I think that combination of visionary, The program, Robinson says with capable, working-class people and an But it’s an approach that has served characteristic vernacular, is not Robert intellectual elite that aspired to create a Robinson’s numerous forays into history Hughes or Tom Keneally explaining what new world by and large worked.’ and factual TV well. happened. ‘It’s me saying, “I don’t understand this shit, explain it to me”.’ Even the racism behind Federation, ‘I left school when I was just 16. I have namely the White Australia Policy, been surrounded all my life by smart- But as he often does in his shows, ‘however bad its consequences might arse, academically minded people who Robinson undersells his knowledge and have been … nevertheless the reason have often talked in a language that I authority. it was done was utopian. We celebrate found inaccessible. Like most Austral- the Athenians as the fathers of democ- ians, I’m a stroppy bastard and have The central question for the series, racy but they were fascists compared to always resented that.’ he says, is how a convict settlement those who espoused the racism behind transformed itself into a series of well- Federation.’ ‘Emotionally, I’ve always wanted to tell ordered, wealthy colonies and from there stories; that’s probably my way of keep- into a country that is one of the top 15 If anything, he feels his ignorance – ing the darkness at bay.’ economies in the world today. though discussions about the Battle of Vinegar Hill, the Myall Creek Massacre ‘The stories I’ve wanted to tell Robinson says he always regarded and the fall of Singapore suggest he is have always had that element of transportation as an unspeakable evil far more conversant with Australian his- deconstruction …’ ‘meted by the British ruling class on tory than the rest of us – is an advantage these poor ignorant, penniless dupes in the making of the show. He says he once discussed with actor who went to a country where they would Victoria Wood the unlikelihood of them be bitten by snakes and die of heat’. ‘I feel ignorance has an advantage playing Romeo and Juliet. because I don’t know what’s difficult While there is no doubt transportation territory,’ he says. ‘No one will ever cast us simply by created a lot of suffering for the indig- accident of biology. Because I’m short enous population and the environment, ‘I don’t know what’s PC. I know now that and perky but because I’ve always had convicts ‘weren’t the mindless tossers there are an awful lot of areas where for comic timing my work was in that sector. I’d imagined them to be’. such an upfront, honest culture, people But I’ve always been a very interested tread very lightly.’ person.’ Rather, he says, they were literate, working-class people, while many of ‘If I ask people how many Aboriginal http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/ the senior and junior officers of the First friends they have there’s always a silence tv-and-radio/approaching-australia-with Fleet were enlightened utopians imbued of about 15 seconds before they give me -ignorance-20110427-1dwba.html with the philosophies of the Age of an answer. The answer will be intelligent, Reason. considered, profound but, boy oh boy, are the cogs going before the answer Discuss: ‘Like most political dissidents, they might comes out.’ be a complete pain in the arse but they s What is the premise behind this So how did he deal with those sensitive documentary series? and contested topics? ‘With affection,’ he says, ‘I’m not here to stitch anyone up.’

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 5 EPISODE ONE

RACE TO THE END OF THE WORLD

THE TITLE Discuss: ‘great southern land’ and claim it for their own. The titles are created using stop-motion s What is a title supposed to do? animation. This is a technique that It was not until 1770 that Englishman makes a physically manipulated object s How effective is this title? Captain James Cook, aboard the En- appear to move on its own. The object deavour, extended a scientific voyage to is moved in small increments between s What does the title say to the audi- the South Pacific in order to further chart individually photographed frames, ence; what are we expecting? the east coast of Australia and claim it creating the illusion of movement when for the British. the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Student activity: By the late 1700s Britain was at a social crossroads, with its jails crammed full The modern stop-motion animation style Remake the title of the series using a of petty criminals. The fastest-growing used in Tony Robinson Explores Australia different form of stop-motion animation. class in the country was the criminal reflects the host’s personality, and is See . most minor of offences and as a solu- maps. tion, Britain decided to use its new Keep a journal detailing the process outpost as a penal colony. and highlight the reasons why you made different decisions and what the It was Joseph Banks who suggested that outcomes were. Botany Bay, named by Cook, be set up as a penal colony. Meanwhile, the British believed that the Indigenous inhabitants only had sovereignty over the land THE STORY if they had built upon it or had engaged in agriculture on it. Because the British Episode one begins the tale; it starts could see nothing that resembled the from the beginning of white settlement kind of agriculture that was undertaken in Australia and covers the race between in Britain, they mistakenly assumed that European colonial powers to find the the Indigenous inhabitants did not tend

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 6 THE PERSONALITIES Captain James Cook Joseph Banks Arthur Phillip A male convict aboard the First Fleet A female convict aboard the First Fleet Jean-François de la Pérouse William Bradley

the land. They did not link the fires that north and discovered the finest harbour the abolition of Australia Day. Keep a they had seen to agriculture. in the world. This became the site of production journal. Sydney. The First Fleet of eleven ships car- s Hold a debate about Australia Day. ried about 1500 people – half of them The fleet arrived in Sydney Harbour on convicts under the captaincy of Arthur 26 January 1788, just in front of a couple Phillip. But after eight months of sailing, of French sailing ships. Student activity: when the fleet reached Botany Bay, they discovered that it was most unsuitable Pick a personality from the list above. for a settlement, least of all because it Student activity: had no running water. s Write an opinion piece as one of The 26 January is Australia’s national the above, describing the arrival Phillip sent out a work party that went day. But not everyone celebrates. at Botany Bay, the voyage (if appropriate), the first impressions s What does Australia Day mean to of the settlement etc. some? s Write a journal. s Write an opinion piece on whether or not we should celebrate Australia s Work in pairs and role-play an Day. interview.

s Design an advertising campaign to 1) Many people research their family his- celebrate Australia Day or 2) call for tory; to be related to someone from the

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 7 First Fleet is considered rather special.

Student activity:

Research the First Fleet and ﬁnd out the names of those on board.

Student activity:

Research your own family history. s Illustrate your family tree. s When did your family come to Aus- tralia and in what circumstances? s Prepare a presentation for the class.

Discuss:

Robinson defers to some notable historians during this episode. s Who are they? PRODUCTION VALUES s How effective is this form of s Why does he use other talking recreation? heads? Mise en scène is a French term and originates in the theatre. It means, literally, s Would it work for every documentary s What does this do for the authenticity ‘put in the scene’. presenter? of the history? In film, it has a broader meaning, and s Is there someone else you would refers to almost everything that goes into have suggested he spoke to? the composition of the shot, including THE IDEA OF CONTEXT the composition itself: framing, move- Discuss: ment of the camera and characters, Research what England was like in the lighting, set design and general visual 1700s. s What do you believe were the environment, even sound as it helps filmmaker’s motivations for making elaborate the composition. Discuss what was life like for the poor the film? in Britain, and what was it like for the s Discuss the mise en scène of this wealthy. s What were the hurdles? film. s What purpose has it served? s How does the filmmaker move Student activity: between time? How does the s Is the end of the episode one the end filmmaker move between places? Choose from: politics, arts, the city, the of the story? How is it being linked to country, society, the law, the military. episode two? s What is the impact of seeing places as they are today? Present a research project to the class. It s How is the series relevant to you? can include visual aids such as posters, or computer projects like web quests. Student activity: The first recorded European contact Robinson recreates scenes from history with Australia was in March 1606, when in an unusual way. Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (1571– 1638) charted the west coast of Cape s How does he do this? York Peninsula in Queensland. Later that year, the Spanish explorer Luis Vaez de s How do the crowds react? Look at Torres sailed through the strait separat- facial features and body language. ing Australia and Papua New Guinea.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 8 fully understand the many layers of this soundtrack.

Student activity:

s What kind of impact does the music have?

s What genre is the music?

s Is there any change in the genre throughout the episode?

s Choose some other music that you think may be suited to the narration.

Over the next two centuries, European s Do the images and the voice-over SCRIPT AND DIRECTION explorers and traders continued to chart match, i.e. are the visuals resonating the coastline of Australia known as New with what is being said or are they in What makes a good script and how Holland. In 1688, William Dampier be- contrast to it? Why would this be so? crucial is it to the strength of a series? came the ﬁrst British explorer to land on the Australian north-west coast. What are the main requirements for a Student activity: successful script?

Student activity: Pick a part of history that interests you. Is there any difference in:

What would Australia be like if it had ﬁrst s What is the story that you want to < A script for a play to be been claimed by the tell? performed in a theatre?

1) Dutch s What would your audiences want to < A script for a ﬁlm or television know? program that is adapted from a 2) French novel? s What would you want to see? 3) Spanish. < A script for a documentary? s Who do you want to ask? Write a list Write a creative piece on this subject. of questions that you would pose. < An original script for the screen?

s Write a short shooting script, adding < A script for a documentary any desired sound effects. Use film- series? LOOK AND STYLE OF THE ing technique terminology. EPISODE s Which scenes worked the best for Taking it further: you as a viewer? Why? s How does the documentary begin? s Write a script and create a three- to s Which production elements in the s What do the very first frames show? four-minute documentary on a topic episode appealed to you? What is being suggested to the of significance to you. Include inter- viewer? views, soundtrack, cutaways, head s What didn’t appeal? shots. Robinson injects humour into his script.

MUSIC s Identify some comic moments. s Do they work for you? A ﬁlm’s soundtrack is made up of sounds and music, with composer and sound s How would you make them more ef- designer working closely to achieve fective? complex moods. It’s worth closing your eyes at certain points in this episode to

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 9 Student activity: Student activity: Would it have been much different from the First Fleet’s encounters with the envi- Pick a small segment of the history Pick three frames. For each one, ronment and the local population? covered in episode one. consider: s Rewrite the script. a) What we see and hear RESOURCE s Draw a storyboard. See . Epic of Australia’s Founding, Harvill c) Why the scene or sequence is Press, London, 1987. powerful. VISUAL LANGUAGE Extension activity: To understand the visual language of this documentary, it is important to look Jack McLaren, My Crowded Solitude closely at some of the scenes to see how (5th edn), Ernest Benn, London, 1930. impact and interest is created. This is now available as an e-book; see .

My Crowded Solitude is Jack McLaren’s account of his experiences establishing a coconut plantation on Cape York Peninsula in the early twentieth century.

Discuss his interactions with the local Indigenous population, how he worked with them, the evolution of the relationship between him and the locals, and the burgeoning white Australian civilisation.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 10 EPISODE TWO

AGAINST THE ODDS

OVERVIEW THE TITLE THE STORY The colony started with a bang, As in episode one, the titles in episode Governor Phillip set about establish- but from that point on it was a bit- two are created using stop-motion ani- ing the basic infrastructure of the new ter struggle for survival. With the mation. This is a technique that makes settlement. Male convicts were tasked assistance of Tim Flannery, Tony a physically manipulated object appear with clearing the trees and digging the recreates the orgy that was said to to move on its own. The object is moved latrines, and it was some eleven days have taken place when women were in small increments between individu- before the women arrived. brought ashore many days after the ally photographed frames, creating the men first landed. illusion of movement when the series Men and women had been segregated of frames is played as a continuous for the journey, and fun was had on the From day one, the challenge was sequence. very first night that the women and the to find and grow food to sustain men were reunited. the new colony. Captain Phillip had The modern stop-motion animation style come well stocked, but had neglect- used in Tony Robinson Explores Australia The next day, Governor Phillip made a ed to bring a farmer. Realising the reflects the host’s personality, and is public address, stating that he would not importance of conserving food, he supported with detailed animated travel accept bad behaviour and that if men issued a decree: if food is stolen, the maps. were found in the women’s tents they thief will be hanged, whether he be would be shot. Stealing the smallest of convict or soldier. Phillip also tried to items was punishable by death. engage the Indigenous people, with Discuss: disastrous results. That day was 7 February, and with s Are the title sequences the same for Captain Collins (the new judge advocate) episode two as for episode one? reading the relevant act, commissions What are the differences? and letters patent to the assembled crowd, the government was formally s How are the two episodes linked? inaugurated.

s What are we expecting to see in this This brought about a big land grab, with episode? four million square kilometres claimed as New Holland. s How are we told?

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 11 Members of the local Indigenous tribe was in the midst of depression and on Phillip wanted to understand the local watched as these newcomers began the 1 April the rations were cut even inhabitants, and kidnapped a man called to take hold of their land. In the past, more. Arabanoo, of the Eora people. He was foreigners had come and then gone, but captured at Manly and quickly learnt to this time it was different – they were here Phillip had shown that he meant speak English. He lived with Phillip at to stay. business if anyone stole from the colony Government House; however, he died – a man named Thomas Barrett was within a year from smallpox. But the settlers were not having it easy hanged after stealing food from the and the new colony seemed to be on government stores. Undeterred, Phillip kidnapped two more borrowed time. Governor Phillip had Aboriginals, Bennelong and Colbee, failed to bring the one thing he really Scavenging in the bush was becoming who quickly escaped. Bennelong sent a needed – a decent farmer. a dangerous business (Phillip also forgot message to meet the Governor at Manly to pack ammunition). While the natives Cove, where a misunderstanding ensued While he had 700 labourers, there was were considered timid, they had begun and Phillip was speared. Phillip declared not one farmer among them. to attack anyone who strayed from the that there was to be no retaliation and settlement. Bennelong returned to live in the colony The settlement was also in the midst of a drought, and as the Fleet had arrived in the heart of summer, they began to feel the effects of a limited water supply very quickly.

Governor Phillip instructed that rations be given equally to convicts and soldiers, with the soldiers also allowed some rum.

Soon there was a food crisis and disease hit the colony. By 1790, the settlement

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 12 more than an hour, before they had all got their tents pitched or anything in order to receive them, but there came on the most violent storm of thunder lightening and rain I ever saw. The lightening was incessant during the whole night and I never heard it rain faster. About 12 o’clock in the night one severe flash of lightening struck a very large tree in the centre of the Camp, under which some places were constructed to keep the sheep and hogs in. It split the tree from top to bottom, killed five sheep belong- ing to Major Ross, and a pig of one of the Lieutenants. The severity of the lightening this and the two preceeding nights leaves no room to doubt but many of the trees which appear burnt up to the tops of them were the effect of lightening. and built a strong relationship with Phil- soldiers could rise above their stations, The sailors in our ship requested to have lip. He even called the Governor ‘father’. too – none so bold as John Macarthur, some grog to make merry with upon who made a lot of money from land the women quitting the ship, indeed the But there was growing tension between deals and became the richest man in the Captain himself had no small reason the new settlers and the native inhabit- country thanks to sheep. to rejoice upon their being all safely ants; this was heightened when Gover- landed and given into the care of the nor Phillip’s gamekeeper, John McIntyre, Governor, as he was under the penalty was killed by a Bidjigal man named Student activity: of £40 for every convict that was miss- Pemulwuy from the Botany Bay area. ing. For which reason he complied with Read the journal entries below. the sailor’s request, and about the time Governor Phillip sent out fifty to sixty they began to be elevated the tempest armed men, which was seen as an act 1) The Women Come Ashore came on. The scene which presented of war and sparked a protracted guerrilla itself at this time and during the greater and economic war against the new On Wednesday 6 February 1788, the part of the night beggars every descrip- settlers; it went on for twelve years. women were brought ashore from their tion. Some swearing, others quarrelling, transport ships. Diarists of the time others singing - not in the least regarding Governor King (Phillip’s successor) put recorded that it was a day of frequent the tempest, though so violent that the a price on Pemulwuy’s head, offering thunder squalls, the wind was from the thunder shook the ship exceeded any- substantial rewards for his capture, dead west-north-west, the temperature was thing I ever before had a conception of. I or alive. In 1802, Pemulwuy was stalked 70 degrees F, and the barometer 29.48. never before experienced so uncomfort- and killed by two settlers. His head was Bowes described the disembarkation in able a night, expecting every moment the cut off and sent to England. his journal. ship would be struck with the lightening. The sailors almost all drunk, and inca- The settlement was evolving and At five o’clock this morning, all things pable of rendering much assistance had expanding. Britain continued to use were got in order for landing the whole of an accident happened and the heat was Australia as a penal colony and kept the women, and 3 of the ships longboats almost suffocating. receiving convicts from Britain until 1868. came alongside us to receive them; Some of the convicts were extremely tal- previous to their quitting the ship, a strict 2) Governor Phillip’s Address to the ented, including architect Francis Green- search was made to try if any of the Convicts, 7 February 1788 way and media mogul John Davies. many things which they had stolen on board could be found, but their artifice On Thursday, 7th February 1788 the day This new land was a place where eluded the most strict search, and at six after the women were landed the day o’clock p.m. we had the long wished for had variable winds, the temperature was pleasure of seeing the last of them leave 74 degrees F, and the barometer 29.60. the ship. They were dressed in general very clean, and some few amongst them Mr. Clark got up early to dress for the might be said to be well dressed. The parade, which Arthur Bowes described men convicts got to them very soon after in detail. (The spelling and grammar are they landed, and it is beyond my abilities all his own work.) to give a just description of the scene of debauchery and riot that ensued dur- This morning at 11 o’clock all who could ing the night. They had not been landed leave the ships were summoned on

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 13 relye upon justice taking place. Their labour would not be equal to that of an husbandman in England, who has a wife and family to provide for. They would never be worked beyond their abilities, but every individual should contribute his share to render himself and Cornunity at large happy and comfortable as soon as the nature of the settlement will admit of Thet they should be employed erecting houses for the different officers, next for the marines, and lastly for themselves. After this harangue they were dismissed in the same form as they were assembled. After which the Governor retired to a cold collation under a large tent erected for that purpose to which the general officers only were invited and not the least attention whatever was paid to any other person who came out from England. The Masters of the different ships paid him the compliment of attending on shore during the reading of the Comission, which they were not under any obligation to do, notwithstanding which there was no more notice taken of shore, to hear the Governor’s Commis- opened and unsealed in the sight of all them or even to provide the slightest ac- sion read and also the Commission con- present, and read by the judge Advocate commodation for them than the convicts stituting the Court of Judicature. The ma- (Captain Collins). themselves. rines were all under arms, and received the Governor with flying colours and a After reading his orders and commission Lt Clark’s account of the day was of band of music. He was accompanied by a more material nature. “All the offic- the judge Advocate, Lieutenant Gover- The Governor harangued the convicts, ers dined with him on a cold collation; nor, Clergiman, Serveyor General, Sur- telling them that he had tried them hith- but the mutton which had been killed geon General etc. After taking off his hat erto to see how they were disposed. That yesterday morning was full of maggots. and complimenting the marine officers, he was now thoroughly convinced there Nothing will keep 24 hours in this coun- who had lowered their colours and paid were many amongst them incorrigable, try, I find.” that respect to him as Governor which and that he was persuaded nothing but he was intitled to, the soldiers marched severity would have any effect upon http://firstfleet.uow.edu.au/stories.html with music playing, drums and fifes, and them, to induce them to behave properly formed a circle round the whole of the in future. He also assured them that if convicts, men and women who were they attempted to get into the women’s collected together. The convicts were tents of a night there were positive or- all ordered to sit down on the ground; ders for firing upon them. That they were all gentlemen present were desired to very idle - not more than 200 out of 600 come into the centre, where stood the were at work, that the industrious should Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Judge not labour for the idle. If they did not Advocate, Clergyman, Surgeon etc. etc. work, they should not eat. In England, A camp table was fixt before them, and theiving poultry was not punished with 2 red leather cases laid thereon, contain- death; but here where a loss of that kind ing the Commissions etc. which were could not be supplied, it was of the ut- most consequence to the settlement, as well as every other species of stock, as they were preserved for breeding. There- fore stealing the most trifling article of stock or provisions should be punished with Death. That, however such severity might militate against his humanity and feelings towards his fellow creatures, yet that Justice demanded such rigid execution of the Laws and they might implicitly

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 14 Discuss: were mustered ‘to see the deserved Student activity: ends of their companions’. The entire s How are the 1) convicts 2) soldiers 3) battalion was paraded with bayonets s Write a news article for The Times in officers behaving? fixed ‘in case an insurrection should take London. place’. s What do you think they may be s Use Microsoft Publisher to format the thinking? At 5 pm Barrett stood beneath a large piece in newsprint. tree in chains. This was public theatre s What are the challenges ahead of staged to instil terror into all spectators, Here is a list of convicts that became them? be they convict, soldier, sailor or the well known. unseen, silent Aboriginal audience. s What has the Governor been Esther Abrahams – one of the few Jew- commissioned to do? Nooses were positioned about his neck ish convicts (there were about 1000 in and a bag covered his head. The fleet all) and common-law wife of a leader of Chaplain, Reverend Richard Johnson, the Rum Rebellion Student activity: murmured a sing-song litany of prayers. “He expressed not the least signs of fear Samuel Barsby – first convict to be Research journal entries from the First till he mounted the ladder and then he flogged Fleet. turned very pale and seemed very much shocked” First Fleet Journal, Ralph Billy Blue – established a ferry service s Write a three- to four-minute script. Clark, Marine Officer. James Blackburn – famous for contribu- s Dramatise the events in the journals. An actor was missing from this grisly tion to Australian architecture and civil production. The colony had no hangman. engineering A convict (James Freeman) was hauled Extension: from the crowd and forced at gun-point William Bland – naval surgeon trans- to perform the role of Jack Ketch and ported for killing a man in a duel; he s Film the dramatisation. hang Thomas Barrett. prospered and was involved in philan- thropy, and had a seat in the legislative s Ask for peer performance reviews. It was sometime before the man could assembly. be prevailed upon to execute his office Read: nor would he at last have complied if he William Buckley – famously escaped and had not been severely threatened by the lived with Aboriginal people for many The Hanging of Thomas Barrett Provost Marshall Mr Brewer and Major years Ross threatened to give orders to the Sydney Cove on 27 February 1788 marines to shoot him. John Cadman – had been a publican, as a convict became Superintendent of Thomas Barrett, aged 30 years, was ac- At 5 PM, Thomas Barrett was forced up Government Boats in Sydney; Cadmans cused of stealing food, in company, from a ladder and ‘launched into Eternity’. Cottage is a cottage granted to him. the government stores. For an hour the convicts were made to watch as he swung to and fro, twisted, William Chopin – a convict whose work At noon, Barrett and his co-accused jerked, twitched and died. The body in prison hospitals in Western Australia appeared before a hastily convened hung for an hour and was then buried in grounded him in chemistry; on receiving court. At 1 pm, the judges, all military a grave dug very near the gallows. a ticket of leave he was appointed chem- men, brought in their verdict and he was ist at the Colonial Hospital, but preferred found guilty and sentenced to hang. The http://www.thetreeofus.net/7/184115. to open his own chemist shop. He was execution ordered to take place before html later convicted as an abortionist. nightfall. Discuss: Daniel Connor – successful merchant During the afternoon of 27th February 1788 all the First Fleet’s 750 convicts Read the report of the The Spearing of Daniel Cooper – successful merchant Governor Phillip at Collins Cove (now Manly Cove), 7 September, 1790. John Davies – co-founded The Mercury newspaper http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/Ignition Suite/uploads/docs/The%20Spearing Margaret Dawson – First Fleeter, %20of%20Governor%20Phillip%20at ‘founding mother’ %20Collins%20Cove.pdf John Eyre – painter and engraver How and why could the misunderstanding have occurred? William Field (Australian pastoralist) –

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 15 notable Tasmanian businessman and John Mitchel – Irish nationalist landowner Francis ‘Frank the Poet’ MacNamara – Francis Greenway – famous Australian composer of various oral convict ballads, architect including A Convict’s Tour to Hell

William Henry Groom – successful John Mortlock – former marine auctioneer and politician, served in the inaugural Australian parliament Thomas Muir – convicted of sedition for advocating parliamentary reform; Laurence Hynes Halloran – founded escaped from NSW and after many vicis- Sydney Grammar School situdes made his way to revolutionary France William Hutchinson – public servant and pastoralist Isaac Nichols – entrepreneur, first postmaster John Irving – doctor transported on First Fleet; was the first convict to receive an Kevin Izod O’Doherty – medical student absolute pardon and Young Irelander who was transported for treason Mark Jeffrey – wrote famous autobiog- raphy Joseph Potaski – first Jewish Pole to come to Australia Jørgen Jørgensen – eccentric Danish adventurer influenced by revolutionary William Smith O’Brien – famous Irish ideas who declared himself ruler of revolutionary; sent to Van Diemen’s Iceland; later became a spy in Britain Land in 1849 after leading a rebellion in Tipperary Joseph Wild – explorer Henry Kable – First Fleet convict, arrived with wife and son (Susannah Holmes, John Boyle O’Reilly – famous escapee Solomon Wiseman – merchant; operated also a convict, and Henry); filed first and writer; author of Moondyne ferry on Hawkesbury River; hence town law suit in Australia, became wealthy name Wisemans Ferry businessman William Redfern – one of the few surgeon convicts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_ Lawrence Kavenagh – notorious Australia bushranger Mary Reibey – operated a fleet of ships

John (Red) Kelly – Irish convict and James Ruse – successful farmer Student activity: father of bushranger Ned Kelly Henry Savery – Australia’s first novelist; Chose a name from the list and research Solomon Levey – wealthy merchant, author of Quintus Servinton that person. endowed Sydney Grammar School Robert Sidaway – opened Australia’s first Why were they transported to Australia? Simeon Lord – a pioneer merchant and a theatre magistrate in Australia What was their contribution to society? James Squire – an old hand of the First Nathaniel Lucas – one of first convicts on Fleet and Australia’s first brewer and s Prepare a presentation for the class. Norfolk Island, where he became master cultivator of hops carpenter; later farmed successfully, built s It can be dramatic, visual, 3D or use windmills, and was superintendent of Samuel Terry – wealthy merchant and IT. carpenters in Sydney philanthropist

Mary Wade – youngest female convict transported to Australia (eleven years of age) who had twenty-one children and at the time of her death had over 300 living descendants

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 16 PRODUCTION VALUES

Mise en scène is a French term and originates in the theatre. It means, literally, ‘put in the scene’.

In ﬁlm, it has a broader meaning, and refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot, including the composition itself: framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual environment, even sound as it helps elaborate the composition.

s Discuss the mise en scène of this ﬁlm.

s How does the ﬁlmmaker move between time? How does the ﬁlmmaker CONTEXT Discuss: move between places?

Food was in short supply when the s What is the impact of seeing places Student activity: settlers ﬁrst came to Australia. as they are today? s Rewrite the arrival of the First Fleet From the episode, describe what the set- from the viewpoint of a member of tlers were eating and growing. the Eora tribe. LOOK AND STYLE OF THE EPISODE s You can choose to retell the story of Student activity: the kidnapping of Bennelong or the spearing of Governor Phillip – the key Cook up a storm. Student activity is to write from the perspective of the Indigenous Australians. s Write up a menu of what you would Robinson recreates scenes from history expect to eat if you were a ﬁrst set- in an unusual way. s Compare the differences in tone tler. between this and an account written s How does he do this? by a settler. s Cook and present your meal to the class. You are only allowed to use the s How do the crowds react? Look at ingredients that the settlers would facial features and body language. Extension: have had access to. s How effective is this form of recrea- s Write a script and create a three- to s Keep a kitchen (cooking) journal. tion? four-minute documentary about the arrival of the First Fleet as seen s Write a food review for a magazine. s Would it work for every documentary through the eyes of the local Indig- presenter? enous people. Include interviews, soundtrack, cutaways, head shots. Student activity: s Does he use the same techniques in episode two as he does in episode John Macarthur made his fortune from one? wool.

s Research the wool industry in NSW. TONE s Include a timeline and make a poster.

s Design an advertising poster for Discuss: Australian wool. s How does Robinson create tone?

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 17 s Is he authentic as a storyteller? If so, s Choose some other music that you c) Why the scene or sequence is why? Give examples. think may be suited to the narration. powerful.

MUSIC Student activity: RESOURCES Pick a small segment of the history A film’s soundtrack is made up of sounds covered in episode two. and music, with composer and sound Online designer working closely to achieve s Rewrite the script. complex moods. It’s worth closing your http://www.freebase.com/view/en/ eyes at certain points in this episode to s Draw a storyboard. convicts_on_the_first_fleet fully understand the many layers of this soundtrack. http://www.pdfpad.com/storyboards/ http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs pdf/4-3.pdf http://www.members.iinet.net. Student activity: au/~perthdps/convicts/1stfleet.html s What kind of impact does the music VISUAL LANGUAGE http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ have? arts/first-fleet-follies/story-e6frg8px To understand the visual language of -1111117565662 s What genre is the music? this documentary, it is important to look closely at some of the scenes to see how http://users.tpg.com.au/adsl36b9/ s Is there any change in the genre impact and interest is created. posters/pemu.pdf throughout the episode?

Student activity: Book

Pick three frames. For each one, David Hill, 1788: The Brutal Truth of the consider: First Fleet, William Heinemann, North Sydney, 2008. a) What we see and hear

b) How it either sets up or advances the narrative

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 18 EPISODE THREE

THE PEOPLE ARE REVOLTING

Getting started OVERVIEW Certiﬁcate of Freedom. He was then free to become a settler or to return ‘Australia started as a social experiment.’ One of the primary reasons for the home. Convicts that misbehaved, – Tony Robinson British settlement of Australia was the however, were often sent to a place establishment of a penal colony. Trans- of secondary punishment where they sAny convicts in your family? portation to Australia was a common would suffer additional punishment punishment handed out for both major and solitary conﬁnement. sThe website of the Australian Gov- and petty crimes. At the time it was ernment provides a comprehensive seen as a more humane alternative to ‘The People are Revolting’ examines account of this period in Australia’s execution. Between 1787 and 1868, the enforcement of law and order in history and provides links to other over 162,000 British and Irish convicts the colony of New South Wales. As the online resources. Explore . convict could be given a ticket of dom began. The authority of the penal leave, and at the end of the convict’s government was questioned more and s‘He got convicted for stealing a tea sentence, seven years in most more by the convicts and even by the set.’ – Tony Robinson cases, the convict was issued with a soldiers themselves. What was the Bloody Code?

Research transportation to Australia at .

As a class debate the contention, ‘That the punishment should ﬁt the crime’.

sWhat do you think would have been the worst aspect of being a convict

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 19 in Australia? Share your answer with the class. Can you think of any ad- vantages of being transported to the colonies?

PINCHGUT ISLAND

Pinchgut Island, or as it is now known, Fort Denison, is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales.

Prior to European settlement, the island was known as Mat-te-wan-ye. It was initially named Rock Island but came by the name Pinchgut in 1788, after a convict named Thomas Hill was Discuss sHow does the newsreel portray Fort sentenced to a week on bread and water Denison? in irons there. Have you ever visited Fort Denison? If you have, share your memories of the sWhat did you notice about the By 1796, a gibbet had been installed on visit with others in the class. production values of the newsreel? Pinchgut. The first convict to be hanged from the gibbet was probably Francis Morgan. Student activity THE 1804 BATTLE OF sWhat other functions has Fort VINEGAR HILL Student activity: Denison served? Use print and electronic texts to research the ‘Death or liberty.’ sWhat is a gibbet? history of Fort Denison. When you have completed your research, think In March 1798, Ireland was declared to sWhat crimes did Francis Morgan of a way to present the information be in a state of insurrection. Under the commit? to the class. You could construct a Insurrection Act, Magistrates and Military timeline, make a PowerPoint, draw a Officers were empowered to arrest and sWhy was Pinchgut Island Francis comic, write a fictional story, assume punish, by death or otherwise, according Morgan’s place of execution? the persona of a tour guide or make to their discretion, people committing a series of postcards. treasonable acts or even suspected of Francis Morgan’s convict record is treason. Many thousands were, without registered online at An Australia Today newsreel dating from The first Battle of Vinegar Hill occurred Fort Denison is now a museum, tourist 1939 provides a nostalgic look at the his- on 21 June 1798, when over 15,000 attraction and a popular location for tory of Fort Denison. You can watch two British soldiers launched an attack wedding receptions and corporate clips from the newsreel on the Australian on Vinegar Hill outside Enniscorthy in events. Screen website at . Rebellion of 1798, as it was the last attempt by the rebels to hold and defend A newsreel was a form of short docu- ground against the British military. mentary film that was popular in the first half of the twentieth century. It was Extensive information about the uprising a source of news, current affairs and can be found on the website of Ireland’s entertainment for millions of moviego- National 1798 Visitor Centre at . 1950s. Newsreels are now considered significant historical documents. Australia’s very own Battle of Vinegar

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 20 Hill occurred in the colony of New South Teachers should use this resource to The penal station was established in Wales in 1804. locate relevant primary and secondary 1830 as a timber-getting camp, produc- sources. ing sawn logs for government projects. The sending of Irish political prisoners After 1833, Port Arthur became a jail for to Australia changed the colony of New Primary accounts of the Battle of Vinegar repeat offenders, and by 1840, it held South Wales. The Irish convicts did not Hill are found in the Historical Records of over 2000 convicts. In 1848, the first see English authority as legitimate in Ire- NSW a shift in punishment philosophy from conspired to be free of the brutal tedium on pp.353–8. physical to mental subjugation. of convict life and the harshness of convict discipline. Their ultimate goal was to Convicts at Port Arthur were subjected escape from the penal colony by ship. Student activity to a range of punishments including loss of privileges, hard labour, head shaving, The leaders of the 4 March 1804 rebel- sLearn more about the Battle of the treadmill, shackles, leg irons and lion were Phillip Cunningham and William Vinegar Hill online at: flogging. With the opening of the Sepa- Johnston. Phillip Cunningham was a rate Prison, solitary confinement became veteran of the 1798 conflict in Ireland - http://about.nsw.gov.au/ the preferred method of punishment. and the mutiny of the convict transport encyclopedia/article/battle-of ship Ann. William Johnston was another -vinegar-hill-5-march/ Transportation to Van Diemen’s Land Irish convict. ended in 1853 and Port Arthur became - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ a place to send convicts who were too The plan involved torching John Macar- Castle_Hill_convict_rebellion physically or mentally disabled to look thur’s property at Elizabeth Farm in order after themselves. The penal settlement to draw the Parramatta garrison out of - http://www.dictionaryofsydney. finally closed in 1877. Many of the set- the town. Once this was done the rebels org/entry/castle_hill_convict_ tlement’s buildings were pulled down or in Parramatta would rise up and set fire rebellion_1804 gutted by fire. Others were sold to pri- to the town as a signal. The Castle Hill vate settlers and gradually a small town, rebels would gather at Constitution Hill - http://www.hawkesburyhistory. named Carnarvon, was established. and then raid the barracks for more arms org.au/articles/Battle_of_Vinegar. and ammunition. From there the rebels html The Port Arthur Historic Site Manage- would march to Windsor and join up ment Authority is now responsible for with the rebels in the Hawkesbury before sWrite an account of the Battle of the site’s management and conservation marching on Sydney. Vinegar Hill that may have been as a place of international significance. published in the Sydney Gazette at Port Arthur is Tasmania’s premier tourist Major George Johnston led the group the time. attraction. of New South Wales Corps soldiers and members of the Active Defence militia Or The official website for Port Arthur who pursued the rebels. Governor Philip is a useful resource for teachers and Gidley King’s retribution for the rebellion Write an account of the Battle of students wanting to learn more about was swift. King believed that punishing Vinegar Hill that may have been Australia’s convict past . who had followed them. the time.

The location of the Battle of Vinegar Hill Discuss is in Castlebrook Cemetery, Rouse Hill and is marked by a memorial. PORT ARTHUR sHave you visited Port Arthur? Share your recollections of the time that A comprehensive index of references to ‘How do you punish someone who’s al- you spent there with the class. the Battle of Vinegar Hill can be found at ready being punished in a penal colony?’ . – Tony Robinson Student Activity The peninsula on which Port Arthur is located was deemed suitable for a penal sWhy does Tony Robinson tell the station. It was a naturally secure site story of the bushranger James given it was surrounded by water that at Carrot? the time was rumoured to be shark in- fested. The narrow isthmus of Eaglehawk s‘… he put on a kangaroo skin and Neck that was the only connection to the bounded out of Port Arthur.’ mainland was fenced and guarded by – Tony Robinson soldiers, traps and half-starved dogs.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 21 Why does Tony Robinson tell the excerpts from the novel and use an arthur. Camden Park is one of Australia’s story of Billy Hunt? Internet search engine to find video most historically important farms. clips from the film adaptations. sHow does Tony Robinson fare as he sHow does this episode portray John puts himself through the paces of Macarthur? being a convict at Port Arthur? THE RUM CORPS Learn more about John Macarthur at sThe narrative emphasises the . sympathetic view of their time spent convicts except for their red coats, they at Port Arthur. Why do you think this soon became known as the Rum Corps, sRead John Macarthur’s letter re- is the case? the most powerful and unscrupulous questing a land grant on pp.446–7 group in the colony by far.’ of the Historical Records of NSW at The Panopticon is a type of prison build- – Tony Robinson . observer to observe all prisoners with- regiment to relieve the marines who had out the incarcerated being able to tell accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. sWhy was John Macarthur featured on whether they are being watched. Due to the remoteness and unpopularity Australia’s $2 note? An image of the of the posting, the Corps was composed $2 note can be found at . important? When the colony was short of currency, rum soon became the medium of trade. Lachlan Macquarie Extension The officers of the Corps were able to use their position and wealth to buy Lachlan Macquarie was installed as For the Term of His Natural Life, writ- imported rum and then exchange it for governor of the colony of New South ten by Marcus Clarke, was published goods and labour at very favourable Wales on 1 January 1810. in the Australian Journal between 1870 rates, thus earning the Corps the nick- and 1872, before appearing as a novel name The Rum Corps. Macquarie saw the colony of New South in 1874. The novel is regarded as an Wales as a settled community as well Australian classic. The story follows the Governor William Bligh’s attempt to es- as a penal settlement. Upon his arrival fortunes of Rufus Dawes, a young man tablish order in the Corps and stop their he established order amongst the Rum transported for a murder that he did not trading in rum led to the Rum Rebellion. Corps. Given emancipists outnumbered commit. Clarke portrays the harsh and free settlers, Macquarie insisted that they inhumane conditions of Port Arthur penal be treated equally. He appointed eman- settlement. Student activity

The novel was adapted to ﬁlm in 1908 sMake a list of the reasons why using and 1927 and for television in 1983. The rum for currency isn’t a wise idea. 1918 Australian ﬁlm His Convict Bride or For the Term of Her Natural Life also sWhat role did Governor Arthur Philip, alluded to Clarke’s novel. John Macarthur and William Bligh play in the Rum Rebellion? sSpend time as a class reading

JOHN MACARTHUR AND WILLIAM PARROT

‘Yep, a gunﬁght and six runaway cows helped start the Australian wool industry.’ – Tony Robinson

Tony Robinson visits Camden Park, the former home of John and Elizabeth Mac-

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 22 Draw on the evidence contained in this episode of Tony Robinson Explores Australia, print texts and information found online to support your position.

Some useful starting points include:

- http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/ biogs/A020162b.htm

- http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/digital/ lema/

- http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/ discover_collections/history_ nation/macquarie/governor/city. html cipists to government positions and James Church; the Macquarie Street established land grants for these former precinct; the Macquarie Obelisk in Discuss convicts. Macquarie was the greatest Macquarie Place; the Domain and the sponsor of exploration the colony had Botanic Gardens; Mrs Macquarie’s Chair; sIf Lachlan Macquarie arrived in yet seen. and the restored Female Orphan School Sydney today, what projects do you at the Parramatta campus of the Univer- think he would initiate? The origin of the name Australia is sity of Western Sydney are all part of the closely associated with Macquarie. While Lachlan Macquarie story. Matthew Flinders had suggested the Extension name, Macquarie was the first to use the Have you ever visited any of these name in official despatches. suburbs and places? The office of Governor is the oldest constitutional office in Australia. His vision, by 1821, was shown in a Macquarie encouraged the creation of public building and town-planning the colony’s first bank, the Bank of New sWhat is the role of a Governor? program that had established a solid South Wales, in 1817 and he was the infrastructure for the colony. Exploration first patron of New South Wales’ Be- sWhy don’t Australia’s territories have had reached deep into the inland, and nevolent Society, established to support a governor? settlement and agriculture were follow- ill, disabled and homeless convicts. Mrs ing, north and south along the coastline Macquarie led the establishment of the sWho is the governor of your home and inland beyond Bathurst. Bible Society. These two organisations state? Find out something about the still exist today. The Macquaries also es- person’s life prior to becoming gov- The suburbs of Windsor, Richmond, tablished the first asylum for the mentally ernor? What contribution have they Wilberforce, Pitt Town and Castlereagh ill at Castle Hill. made to the state during their time as in northwest Sydney are the ‘Macquarie governor? Towns’ - settlements that Governor Macquarie designated and named in Student Activity 1810. Liverpool and Campbelltown are both named for his wife Mrs Elizabeth sWhy is Governor Lachlan Macquarie Macquarie. often referred to as the ‘Father of the Nation’? Places such as Old Government House, Parramatta; Hyde Park Barracks; St sMake a list of the different groups of people living in the colony of New South Wales during the time of Gov- ernor Lachlan Macquarie.

Would the view of Governor Lachlan Macquarie have varied from group to group?

sFrom your perspective, what type of leader was Governor Lachlan Macquarie?

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 23 SCRIPT AND DIRECTION

What makes a good script?

Discuss

sWhich scenes worked the best for you as a viewer? Why?

sWhich production elements in the episode appealed to you?

Robinson injects humour into the script.

Student activity

sIdentify some comic moments.

sDid you ﬁnd these moments amusing?

sIs the humour appropriate? sDo you think that the position of Student activity governor is necessary? sWhat role do these experts play in USING A PRESENTER the telling of Australia’s story in this The experts episode of Tony Robinson Explores Tony Robinson is the presenter and Australia? narrator of Tony Robinson Explores Tony Robinson consults experts as he Australia. researches law and order in the colonies of new South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. They are: PRODUCTION VALUES Student activity RECREATING HISTORY o Binowee Bayles – sTo what extent, does the effective- Aboriginal educator Tony Robinson Explores Australia recre- ness of the episode rely on Tony ates scenes from history in different Robinson’s skills as a presenter and o Lynette Ramsay-Silver – ways. a narrator? Historical investigator o Hamish Maxwell-Stuart – Discuss Historian THE SOUNDTRACK sWorking as a class, make a list of the o Paul Brunton – Author and historian ways this episode recreates historical A ﬁlm’s soundtrack is made up of sounds events. and music, with composer and sound o Warren Brown - Cartoonist designer working closely to achieve the sHow effective are the recreations of mood that best ﬁts the subject. It’s worth o Ted Higginbotham – Archeologist historical events? closing your eyes at certain points in the episode to fully understand the many layers of the soundtrack. Student activity

sReview the subjects that you have Student activity researched for this episode. Choose a story that interests you and make sDescribe the way sound is used in a three-minute documentary. Before one sequence of the episode. 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 24 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 explorers 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 . . Australia website at . ed a letter in which he described the What purpose do these artworks serve? expedition. The letter and other primary sources about John Horrocks Are the depictions idealised or realistic? can be viewed online at and Horrocks’ story, write a description

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 pastureland 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- to learn in 1838 for his contribution to the Victoria. more about the Henty family. surveying of Australia. The Hentys were the first permanent Spend time reading biographies of settlers in Portland. Edward Henty and Thomas Mitchell online. his brother Stephen had come from THE MYALL CREEK Van Diemen’s Land to set up a farming MASSACRE http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/ enterprise in 1834. A month later, the A020206b.htm?hilite=sir%3Bthomas%3 third Henty brother, Francis, arrived with The source of much of the conflict and Bmitchell Victoria’s first Merino sheep. confrontation between the new settlers and the Indigenous groups was the land http://www.davidreilly.com/australian_ and its resources. explorers/mitchell/mitchell.htmSheep http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_ Mitchell_%28explorer%29 http://www.australianhistory.org/ thomas-mitchell http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_ collections/people_places/east/settlers/ mitchell.html

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

sWho was Governor Gipps?

What role did he play in restoring justice to Indigenous Australians at the time of the Myall Creek Massacre?

Research

sComprehensive accounts of the Myall Creek Massacre can be found at and .

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 sWhat 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. sWhy is this term used to describe the history of Indigenous Australians? Discuss Student activity sWhy is the painted proclamation board featured in this episode of s Why did the massacre occur? sWhy 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. sWho were the squatters of early nineteenth century Australia? One of the jurors later told the newspaper The Australian that although he considered sWhy 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 murdering 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 . to shout ‘Eureka’ and an account of how Aborigine. you celebrate finding your fortune. sEdward Hargraves called the gold- Begin your research at: field Ophir, named after the Biblical Begin your research at: city, and the Ophir Township was http://www.chewton.net/history.htm later established there. Why was http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/ Ophir a fitting title for the Bathurst golden-victoria http://www.monstermeeting.net/ goldfield? archives/the-diggers-flag/ http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/ sWho were John Lister and James golden-victoria/life-fields By the end of 1854, unrest on the Tom? What part did they play in the diggings at Ballarat had escalated. story of Australia’s gold rush? http://sheducationcom.ascetinteractive. biz/?id=students In the early hours of December 3, 1854 The gold rush caused the population police and soldiers combined forces and of Australia to boom from over 400,000 http://sheducationcom.ascetinteractive. marched from the Government Camp to people to over 1,000,000 from 1845 to biz/?id=teachers the Eureka Stockade. Upon arrival they 1896. Central Victoria would prove to attacked miners who had taken up arms be the richest alluvial goldfield the world Chewton is a town in central Victoria. and formed a stockade in defence of, had ever known. In two years Victoria’s Gold was discovered by shepherds on amongst other grievances, their refusal population grew from seventy thousand Dr Barker’s sheep run at nearby Barkers to pay a license fee that they believed to to more than half a million. Creek in 1851, beginning a gold rush. be excessive. The violent battle that took Over 30,000 diggers arrived at Chewton place was brief but remains a significant within three months. event in Australian history. Student activity The protest meeting held at Chewton on Research sWhy did the diggers shout ‘Eureka!’? December 15, 1851, was given the name Monster Meeting because of the number sComprehensive accounts of the s‘For some striking it lucky remained of diggers attending. It was estimated rebellion can be read online at: just a dream. While others dug up that between 12,000 to 20,000 diggers wealth beyond their wildest imagina- protested about increasing the cost of - http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore tion.’ – Tony Robinson the licence to dig from 30 shillings to 3 -history/golden-victoria/impact pounds per month. The decision to in- -society/eureka-stockade crease the cost of a gold mining license was regarded as an intrusion on liberty. - http://www.ballarat.com/ eurekastockade.htm This early protest by the diggers was one of the first signs of the stirring of democ- - http://www.eurekaballarat.com racy. sDrawing on your research, create a PowerPoint that tells one of the many stories of the Eureka Stockade. Your

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 together 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? sWhy is Peter Lalor’s name associated struggle for principle, a stand against at the State Library of Victoria provides a other instance of a victory won, by a comprehensive account of the Victorian Begin your research by reading a lost battle.’ – Mark Twain Exploring Expedition. biography of Peter Lalor at: What did Mark Twain mean when he Burke & Wills Web at provides a range of A050059b.htm victory won, by a lost battle’? primary and secondary sources relating to the Victorian Exploring Expedition. http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/ sDo you think the Eureka Stockade rebels-outlaws/law-enforcement/peter was the closest Australia has ever -lalor come to rebellion? Student activity sThe leaders were charged with Think back to the Battle of Vinegar s 9OUR CHALLENGE IS TO TELL THE STORY OF treason against her Majesty Queen Hill, reconsider the events that oc- the Victorian Exploring Expedition in Victoria but a not guilty verdict was curred at the Monster Meeting in fifty words exactly. returned. Chewton and investigate the Red Ribbon Rebellion at Bendigo. s 3O WHAT EXACTLY DID "URKE AND 7ILLS Why was this the case? take with them? A complete list of Can you think of any events in twenti- provisions can be read online at eth and twenty-first century Australia . s‘The Eureka Stockade is the finest sWhy do you think Burke and Wills thing in Australasian history. It was were chosen to lead the expedition? a revolution, small in size but great BURKE AND WILLS Review the evidence and consider politically. It was a strike for liberty. A whether the Royal Society of Victo- In 1860, Robert O’Hara Burke and Wil- ria’s Exploration Committee chose liam John Wills set out from Melbourne the best applicants for the position? to travel across the Australian continent to the Gulf of Carpentaria on the northern coast. Officially named the Victorian Debate Exploring Expedition, this venture was funded by the newly independent colony s‘That the Victorian Exploring of Victoria. Expedition was bound to fail.’

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

Research THE EXPERTS 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. o Grenville Henty-Silvester – Henty – William John Wills, descendant journal entry, 26 June 1861 Student activity o Eric Wilmott– Historian In 1909, the National Library of Australia sIdentify some comic moments acquired the journal kept by William o 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 o Geoff Hocking – Historian ing? O’Hara Burke from 16 December 1860 to 20 January 1861. o 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 Library of Australia . sWhat role do these experts play in Tony Robinson is the presenter and the telling of Australia’s story in this narrator of Tony Robinson Explores Extension episode of Tony Robinson Explores Australia. Australia? s‘Most of us have only heard of a handful of Australian explorers, either Student activity those who spectacularly succeeded or those who completely failed but PRODUCTION VALUES sTo what extent, does the effective- actually there were hundreds of them, RECREATING HISTORY ness of the episode rely on Tony some like Burke were hugely funded Robinson’s skills as a presenter and but most of them were little hand- Tony Robinson Explores Australia recre- a narrator? fuls of stockmen who just rode that ates scenes from history in different ways. bit further than anyone else and the result, they opened the country up to sheep, cattle and the people who Discuss THE SOUNDTRACK work with them, and that transformed Australia.’ – Tony Robinson sWorking as a class, make a list of the A film’s soundtrack is made up of sounds ways this episode recreates historical and music, with composer and sound Your task is to make a digital story events. designer working closely to achieve the about an Australian explorer. Your mood that best fits the subject. It’s worth digital story should be 3 to 5 minutes sHow effective are the recreations of closing your eyes at certain points in the in duration including titles and/or historical events? episode to fully understand the many credits sequences. layers of the soundtrack.

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 EPISODE FIVE

WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA

OVERVIEW Getting started

From its earliest days, Australia needed free Australia is a country of immigrants. Aside from migrants to grow and prosper, particularly indigenous Australians, we all come from families women. Schemes were devised to achieve who once called somewhere else home. both objectives, with bounties offered for bringing boatloads of human cargo from the Why do people leave a country to start life in a UK and Ireland. But the people merchants new one? got greedy, and the human toll was terrible. The gold rush brought people from a diver- The factors causing migration can be labeled push sity of countries, and that led to conflict. and pull factors. Push factors are conditions that There was a toll placed on the importation cause people to leave an area. Pull factors are of people from China, so ship captains conditions that attract people to an area. would dump them on the coast hundreds of kilometres from port. The Chinese would When did your family first arrive in Australia? walk to the gold fields from there. Through What factors caused them to leave their home- all of this Australia started to take shape as land? Why were they attracted to Australia? a nation.

This episode of Tony Robinson Explores Australia traces immigration and multiculturalism from the early 1800s, through the White Australia Policy, to the ﬁrst arrival of Vietnamese boat people in the 1970s.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 32 THE BOUNTY SCHEME

‘In the early nineteenth century, Australia was a land of pickpockets, prostitutes and ne’er do wells. If the little colony was going to succeed and in order to raise the tone of the neighbourhood, so to speak, they desperately needed more people who weren’t criminals.’ – Tony Robinson

The Bounty Immigration Scheme com- menced in 1835. Bounty immigrants were free immigrants whose passage to Australia was paid for by the colonial government. A skilled labour force was recruited and shipped to the new colony. Shipping agents, however, were criti- cised for overloading their vessels in a greedy attempt to make a greater proﬁt.

The colony of New South Wales provided significant opportunities for enterprising men and women. Having escaped the rigid class system that governed British providing inviting descriptions of oppor- bar, the ship arrived at Sydney Heads society, the assisted migrants had the tunities for females in the colony. on the night of August 20, 1857. Heavy opportunity to build a new and fulfilling rains and stormy seas made navigation life. difficult. In treacherous weather condi- Research tions the ship broached and was driven By 1850, approximately 187,000 free by the swell into the towering black cliffs. settlers had migrated to Australia, most Who was Caroline Chisholm? What The impact shattered the ship. One hun- of who had arrived under an assisted role did she play in the lives of Aus- dred and twenty-one people perished. A passage scheme. tralia’s female immigrants? crewman, James Johnson, was the sole survivor. The voyage to Australia was long and Student activity perilous. The poor standard of accom- The death toll staggered the population modation on board the ships only made of Sydney. Thousands were drawn to Why did people choose to become it more arduous. Assisted passengers the scene and some 20,000 people lined assisted immigrants? Your answer were housed in the lower decks. The George Street for the funeral proces- should refer to both push and pull quarters were cramped and privacy was sion. Banks and offices closed, and factors. limited. The 18 inches width allowed for every ship in harbour flew their ensigns each person was identical to that which at half-mast. The victims of the Dunbar Working as a class, use Plus Minus had been used during the transportation were buried at St Stephen’s Cemetery at Interesting to evaluate the Bounty of convicts. Newtown. Immigration Scheme.

As men outnumbered women in the Student activity Student activity colony of New South Wales, the colonial government assisted the passage Write a description of a typical day at Visit the Australian National Ship- of single women of marriageable age. sea for a bounty immigrant. You may wreck Database to learn more about Advertisements were posted in England write the description in ﬁrst or third the wreck of the Dunbar. person. If you choose to write in ﬁrst person, you will need to establish https://apps5a.ris.environment.gov. who you are. au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck. do?key=517 The rugged nature of the New South Wales coast saw thousands of vessels Why do you think the incident is referred meet their end. to as Australia’s Titanic?

Tony Robinson tells the story of the Dun- Images of the shipwreck can be viewed bar. Named after its owner, Duncan Dun- online at

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 33 au/state-archives/digital-gallery/ Student activity collections/history_nation/gold/minority/ the-dunbar-australias-titanic>. index.html Why were the Chinese miners How does S.T.Gill’s watercolour depict resented? Analyse S.T.Gill’s watercolour Might the wreck of the Dunbar? or Right.

Research Download a copy of the painting at Extension . Australia protects its shipwrecks and their associated relics that are older than What were the Anti-Chinese League’s What is literally represented in the 75 years through the Historic Shipwrecks objectives? painting? Act 1976. Its objectives are to research, explore, document and protect Aus- Did the Anti-Chinese League achieve What symbolic meanings are tralia’s historic shipwreck heritage. The their objectives? expressed in the painting? Australian National Shipwreck Database provides detailed information about ‘… the crowd of rioters took the road to What comment is S.T. Gill making shipwrecks in Australian waters and Lambing Flat … every Chinese resident about the Lambing Flat Riot? Australian vessels that were shipwrecked in the township on whom hands could in overseas waters. be laid was attacked and maltreated … What were the outcomes of the Unarmed, defenceless, and unresisting Lambing Flat Riot? Find out more at: Chinese were struck down in the most brutal manner by bludgeons … and http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ by pick handles … .every article of the Extension shipwrecks/australian.html property they had endeavoured to take with them was plundered.’ – Report from Harvest of Endurance is a fifty- http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 1861 metre-long scroll that represents two shipwrecks/database.html centuries of Chinese contact with, The worst case of anti-Chinese violence and emigration to, Australia. The Share what you discover with the class. occurred at Lambing Flat in New South scroll depicts stories of hardship and Wales. In July 1861, an armed white mob survival, resourcefulness and reward. numbering 2,000, descended on an en- campment of 300 Chinese miners. Even Read the scroll at . The discovery of gold in Australia in 1851 diggers, burnt their tents, cut off their sparked a gold rush, prompting tens of pigtails, seized their gold and even mur- thousands of miners to flock to Australia dered those who would not reveal where from countries including China, France, their gold was hidden. Fifteen rioters Germany and America. were brought to trial but were acquitted by juries. The Chinese diggers were subject to resentment on the goldfields. On several occasions, other miners violently lashed Student activity out at the Chinese in an attempt to drive them away. Colonial authorities were at a Write an eyewitness account of the loss to control the violence. riot at Lambing Flat. You will need to decide on a persona before you begin writing.

Begin your research at:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/tag? allTags=1&name=Lambing%20Flat %20Riots

http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov. au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/ lambingﬂatsbanner/

http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 34 MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE Do you think that the visiting journal- Why is Henry Parkes regarded as the ist’s comment is the origin of the father of Federation? ‘For years a ring of canvas had encircled Melbourne-Sydney rivalry that exists Melbourne. A tent city to accommodate today? Use the online biographies of Henry the thousands arriving weekly to seek Parkes to ﬁnd evidence to support their fortune.’ – Tony Robinson your answer.

Melbourne was in a state of evolution in HENRY PARKES http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/ the nineteenth century. Founded in 1835, A050455b.htm it was named by Governor Richard Burke Henry Parkes and his wife Clarinda were in 1837. In 1851, Melbourne became the bounty immigrants. They arrived in Syd- http://www.nla.gov.au/guides/federation/ capital city of the newly created colony ney in 1839 with a three-day-old child. people/parkes.html of Victoria. The building boom that Arriving in Australia, Parkes found work followed the gold rush saw Melbourne as a farm labourer, before working for the http://www.nnsw.com.au/tenterfield/ transform from a city of tents and timber Customs Department in Sydney. Over hparkes.html dwellings into the second largest city in the next few years he went into business the empire after London. for himself. http://www.rba.gov.au/banknotes/types/ bio-parkes.html Discuss While in England, Parkes had taken up the cause of political radicalism and A comprehensive list of primary and Tony Robinson visits some of coming to the colony continued his secondary sources about Henry Parkes Melbourne’s prefabricated houses. interest in politics. He campaigned for can be accessed at . Were you surprised to discover that resumption of convict transportation to many of Melbourne’s first settlers New South Wales. Parkes won a seat in One of Henry Parkes’ most famous lived in flat pack houses? the Legislative Council at the elections of speeches is the Tenterfield Oration. 1854 and two years later he was elected The speech made on October 24, If you live in Melbourne, you can visit the to the newly established Legislative 1889 at the Tenterfield School of Arts portable iron houses. Information can be Assembly in the first Parliament under called for ‘a great national govern- found on the National Trust of Australia - responsible self-government. ment for all Australia’. Victoria website at . Student activity appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald the following day at .

In celebration of the Centenary of Read the text of Parkes’ speech. How Student activity Australia’s Federation, the Reserve does Parkes’ see Australia and its Bank of Australia issued a commem- future? During an 1885 visit, English journalist orative $5 note in January 2001. The George Augustus Henry Sala coined the front of the note carried a portrait of phrase ‘Marvellous Melbourne’. Henry Parkes.

Why was Melbourne dubbed View an image of the note at . Begin your search for an answer at . Write a description of the design. Your description should mention both the literal and symbolic meaning of the design elements.

Henry Parkes, once described by the British press as ‘the most com- manding ﬁgure in Australian politics’, is often referred to as the father of Federation.

Before Federation the six Australian colonies were all separate and independent of each other. Some people supported the joining of the six colonies to create a new nation, Australia. Others opposed Federation, believing that the differences keeping the colonies separate were stronger and more important than what they had in common.

In 1897, elections were held to choose delegates to attend a convention to draw up a Federal constitution that would be agreed to by the people of Australia at referendums.

The convention was held in three ses- sions in three places: Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. This draft constitution The records of the Australasian Federa- Information about the paintings can be was then put to the people at referen- tion Conference of 1890 and the Aus- located at . satisfy the level set by the parliament. As read online at . proposed constitution and the vote was Debate taken again. This time, the NSW ‘yes’ Aside from Henry Parkes, who else vote was high enough and the referen- helped shape Federation? In an- Hold your own Constitutional dum was put to voters in Queensland swering this question, think both of Convention of the 1890s. and Western Australia, who also voted individuals and of groups who may ‘yes’. have played a part in the campaign. Each of the six colonies will need to be represented at the convention. The Australian colonies federated Political cartoons from the time high- in 1901 to form the Commonwealth light opinions about the federation Your teacher will divide the class into of Australia. The Commonwealth of of the six colonies into the states of representatives from the six colonies. Australia was proclaimed on 1 Janu- Australia. You will need to work with a team of ary 1901 at a ceremony at Centennial peers to find out the position your colony Park in Sydney. The first meeting of the Locate one of the cartoons. How does took during the years leading up to Federal Parliament of Australia was held it depict the issue of Federation? Federation. in Melbourne’s Exhibition Building on 9 May 1901. The importance of the opening of the Begin your research at . significant visual record of the event. Student activity The artist Charles Nuttall was commissioned to produce a painting Extension Make a list of the arguments for and depicting as many of the dignitaries against Federation. as possible. Tom Roberts was also Drawing on all that you have learnt asked to paint the event. Both artists about Federation, answer the follow- produced large paintings in very dif- ing question. ferent styles. Nuttall’s painting aims for clarity, while Tom Roberts’ painting Your answer should be in the form of is more evocative and impressionistic. an essay. You should make refer- ence to both primary and secondary Write a description of either Charles sources. You should use footnotes or Nuttall’s or Tom Roberts’ painting endnotes and a bibliography. of the opening of the first Federal Parliament. How did Federation influence the de- velopment of an Australian identity?

The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 intended ‘to place certain restrictions on immigration and to provide for the removal from the Commonwealth of prohibited immigrants’. The Act became known as the White Australia policy because it promoted a homogenous population by favouring applicants from certain countries.

A dictation test was introduced to process applicants. The test was carried out by Australian Customs officers and could be conducted in any European language nominated by the Officer. If a person failed the test, they were refused entry into Australia or, if they were already here, imprisoned for six months and generally ordered to leave. Discuss he play in Australia’s story as an immigrant nation? Begin your research In 1919, the Prime Minister, William Do you think Australia still thinks of at .. Restriction Act as ‘the greatest thing we have achieved’. After the outbreak of What is the meaning of the term hostilities with Japan during WWII, Prime assimilation? Why can it be used to Minister John Curtin reinforced the phi- POST WORLD WAR II describe the experiences of those losophy of the White Australia policy. MIGRATION migrants who came to Australia after the Second World War? The White Australia policy was used to After the Second World War, the Austral- keep people from Asia, the Pacific and ian government set out to build Aus- Africa until the 1970s. tralia’s population through British and Research European migration. Although the government urged Australians to welcome What is the significance of the slogan Student activity the migrants, they often experienced ‘populate or perish’? racial prejudice. What was the purpose of the Immi- gration Restriction Act 1901? The revised Migration Act 1958 intro- Extension duced a simpler system of entry permits What was considered to be its justifi- and abolished the controversial dictation After the Second World War, a popular cation? test. A review of the non-European policy immigration slogan was ‘the child, the in 1966, allowed for migrants to be ac- best immigrant’. Children were regarded Who was Egon Kisch and why does cepted on the basis of their suitability as as an attractive category of migrant be- Tony Robinson tell his story? settlers, their ability to integrate readily cause they were seen to assimilate more and their possession of qualifications easily, were more adaptable, had a long Tony Robinson takes the dictation positively useful to Australia. working life ahead and could be cheaply test. What does he prove? housed in dormitory style accommoda- In 1973, the Whitlam Labor government tion. Most of the child migrants that legislated that all migrants, of whatever came to Australia were from the United origin, be eligible to obtain citizenship Kingdom. after three years of permanent residence. Child migration schemes received criti- cism from the outset, yet continued until Student activity the 1960s. Formal apologies were made by the Australian Government in 2009 Why did migrants want to come to and the British Government in 2010 but Australia after the Second World many former child migrants and their War? families are still coming to terms with their experiences. Who was Arthur Calwell? What role did

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 37 Oranges and Sunshine (2010) tells the relatives of Vietnamese Australians to A MULTICULTURAL story of Margaret Humphreys, a social leave Vietnam and migrate to Australia. A AUSTRALIA worker from Nottingham, who reunited third immigration peak in the late 1980s thousands of families, brought authori- can be explained by a family reunion ‘To anyone who lived in Australia at the ties to account and worldwide attention scheme initiated by the Australian Gov- time of the Second World War, the mul- to what is now regarded as an extraor- ernment. ticultural face of any modern city would dinary miscarriage of justice. The film is be incomprehensible. Since the mid- currently being screened in Australian dle of the twentieth century, more than cinemas and is rated M. Student activity seven million people have immigrated to Australia’s sandy shores.’ – Tony Rob- On Monday 16 November 2009, then When do people become refugees? inson Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a National Apology to the Forgotten Why did Vietnamese people seek Australia is a nation of immigrants and Australians. The video and a transcript asylum in Australia? is often referred to as a multicultural of his speech can be accessed online at society. . experience with Tony Robinson. He has told the story in greater detail in Student activity his recently published memoir The Happiest Refugee. Write down a definition of what you REFUGEES understand by this term. Brainstorm Visit his website at . a multicultural society. Share your tion of living patterns in both the north responses with the rest of the class. and the south. At the end of the war in What contribution has Anh Do made to 1975, nearly one-half of the population Australian society? Your task is to create a detailed time lived in urban areas, many in refugee line that depicts Australia’s journey camps on the edges of the major cities. Tony Robinson tests Anh Do’s from white to multicultural. In addition to migration within the coun- knowledge of Australia. try, a substantial number of Vietnamese You may choose the format of your fled to other countries. Some people Why? timeline. You should use both words were so desperate to leave Vietnam that and images to depict this passage they travelled to Australia in dangerous, Do you think you would pass the Austral- in time. You may use sound. This is overcrowded boats, suffering terrible ian Citizenship exam? your chance to be creative but keep conditions on the way. in mind that the timeline must be Visit the Australian Government Depart- historically accurate. Up until 1975, there were fewer than ment of Immigration and Citizenship 2,000 Vietnam born people in Australia. website at and take the online practice tests. events that you will include on the its share of Vietnam-born refugees under timeline. Spend some time research- a refugee resettlement plan. On April 26, What did you think of Anh Do’s ing each event. What information will 1976, the first boat, a seventeen metre citizenship question? you use to explain this event? fishing vessel carrying five Vietnamese, landed in Darwin Harbour. This method What question would you like to see on Create a digital story about an indi- of entry was confined to just over 2000 the Australian Citizenship exam? vidual’s experience of migration. Vietnamese. After the initial intake of refugees in the late 1970s, there was a A digital story uses multimedia tools second immigration peak in 1983 and Discuss and visual and audio resources 1984, most likely a result of the 1982 from personal archives. Most digital agreement between the Australian and Is Tony Robinson right in wondering stories are approximately two to five Vietnamese governments that allowed whether Australia is willing to accept minutes in length. Digital stories are outsiders? Robinson asks Australia’s a unique and powerful way to tell a taxi drivers for their opinion. Ask story. You will need to construct a your family and friends this question. storyboard, write a script and source Share their responses with the class. photographs and other keepsakes Where do you stand? to compose the story. Then there are other decisions. Who will narrate the story? What sounds and music will be part of the digital story? What is an appropriate title? Not to forget a dedication and end credits.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 38 When you interview the subject of PRODUCTION VALUES your digital story, give the person RECREATING HISTORY time to talk and allow for moments of silence as they reflect. Listen at- Tony Robinson Explores Australia recre- tentively and respect their privacy. ates scenes from history in different ways. Follow up on interesting answers with another question. Take notes Discuss or record your subject’s responses. When you have constructed a story- Working as a class, make a list of the board and draft of the script, ask the ways this episode recreates historical person for their comments and make events. appropriate changes. How effective are the recreations of Further information about digital sto- historical events? ries can be found on the website of the Australian Centre for the Moving Im- age and by Student activity searching online using the term ‘digital stories’. Review the subjects that you have researched for this episode. Choose a story that interests you and make Student activity a three-minute documentary. Before THE EXPERTS you begin shooting, write an inten- To what extent, does the effective- tion that provides a description of ness of the episode rely on Tony Tony Robinson consults experts as he the subject, your purpose and your Robinson’s skills as a presenter and researches how Australia became a audience and compile a storyboard. a narrator? nation. They are: o Elizabeth Rushden – Author and Historian SCRIPT AND DIRECTION THE SOUNDTRACK o Kieran Hosty – Maritime Archeologist What makes a good script? A film’s soundtrack is made up of sounds and music, with composer and sound o Pauline Reid – National Trust Histo- designer working closely to achieve the rian Discuss mood that best fits the subject. It’s worth closing your eyes at certain points in the o Marilyn Lake – Historian Which scenes worked the best for episode to fully understand the many you as a viewer? Why? layers of the soundtrack. o Yvonne Radzevicius – Child migrant Which production elements in the o Anh Do – Comedian episode appealed to you? Student activity

Robinson injects humour into the script. Describe the way sound is used in Student activity one sequence of the episode.

What role do these experts play in Student activity the telling of Australia’s story in this episode of Tony Robinson Explores Identify some comic moments Australia? Did you ﬁnd these moments amusing?

Is the humour appropriate?

USING A PRESENTER

Tony Robinson is the presenter and narrator of Tony Robinson Explores Australia.

STILL STROPPY BEGGARS

CURRICULUM LINKS OVERVIEW From the search to identify the ‘great southern land’, through colonial trials Tony Robinson Explores Australia would Tony Robinson, who has previously and tribulations and right up to the be a valuable resource for middle and presented Time Team and Ned Kelly establishment of the dynamic modern senior secondary students of English, Uncovered, embarks on a case study Australia, Tony Robinson covers a History, Geography (integrated humani- of Australia’s past, from the earliest huge amount of ground as he reveals ties) SOSE/HSIE, Media and Film Stud- explorers to white settlement, Indig- the key events and major inﬂuences ies. enous Australians, multiculturalism and that deﬁne Australia – and Australians Australia’s role in two world wars. – today.

Filmed on location around the country GENRE in November and December 2010, in this exciting and fast-paced six-part Tony Robinson Explores Australia is series Robinson is joined on his mam- a documentary series. Television has moth journey by some of Australia’s gradually become the primary source of foremost historians and writers, includ- knowledge for the great majority of the ing Tim Flannery, Thomas Keneally, population – most of us still get our news Eric Wilmott and Geoffrey Blainey. from television sources, for example.

Television has provided directors and producers with another format via which their material can be shown to a mass audience.

Discuss:

% What do we mean by documentary?

Discuss what viewers can expect from documentary (in the cinema and on

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 40 television) and the relationship between best work, but it became the new documentary and reality (or actuality). standard for history-related television documentaries. Students are to generate their own definition of documentary. % The Blue Planet: From an underwa- ter lake to close-up photography of % What is the difference between film sharks and a blue whale, to a fasci- and television? nating trip into the black abyss, this is David Attenborough’s documentary % Discuss the pros and cons of both on the life of our planet. His first was television and film. the historic Life on Earth, followed by series such as The Life of Mammals, Look at the following link. View the Planet Earth and of course The Blue excerpts provided: . things about The Blue Planet is its stirring score, and the feel it gives for % History of Medicine: thirteen parts, the epic drama of the oceans. shown in 1978 on the BBC and on PBS stations in America. Jonathan Miller, in the series, used a combina- Discuss: tion of visual images and lecture-like presentations to not only trace the % What do these series have in com- history of medicine, but to explain mon? the working of the human body in entertaining ways. % Does there seem to be a formula?

% Victory at Sea: One of the earliest tel- % What works and what doesn’t? evision documentary series and one Ask students to note down their of the first dealing with World War % What would you do to improve the thoughts on each example. Two, Victory at Sea used extensive visual outcome? archival footage – up to that point % What is the purpose of the series? unseen by the public – taken during the war to illustrate the long naval Student activity: % What different approaches can you struggle that helped bring Allied vic- identify (use of narration, direct ques- tory, from the Battle of the Atlantic Consider the following list as the four tioning, observational etc.)? to the island-hopping campaigns in distinct (but sometimes overlapping) the Pacific. What helped make the purposes of documentary: % What do you notice about the edit- series even more memorable was the ing of the extract? How is narrative participation of composer Richard % to record, reveal, or preserve constructed? Rodgers, who wrote the stirring theme music. % to persuade or promote % What do you think are the benefits and limitations of the different ap- % The Civil War: Ken Burns’ well- % to analyse or interrogate proaches they have identified? known and highly acclaimed series made a star out of author Shelby % to express. Following this discussion, challenge Foote, whose commentary is one of students to revisit their definition of the most enjoyable and fascinating Can students think of other documentary documentary, written at the start of the aspects of each episode. Touching, series that fit into these categories? lesson. poignant, fascinating, The Civil War is viewed today as not only Burns’ % How might these different motives % How might they adapt their definition intersect? after watching and discussing the clips? % Are there any other purposes that the documentary series might seek to % Can they argue for their definition in fulfil? front of the class?

Students are to ﬁnd samples of docu- Documentary series are often narrated mentary series and show extracts to the by one lead personality. Tony Robinson class. Explores Australia is narrated by Tony Robinson.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 41 Student activity: he gamely ventured into a contested class who followed them, but somehow chapter of our history with Ned Kelly I think that combination of visionary, You are a journalist and you have been Uncovered for the ABC. capable, working-class people and an asked to write an article on Tony Robin- intellectual elite that aspired to create a son for a weekend TV guide. The article But he’s approaching his new show with new world by and large worked.” is to be no more than 400 words in the same ignorance Captain Cook had length. when he first landed in 1770, he says. Even the racism behind Federation, “The difference is he had real ignorance, namely the White Australia Policy, % Who is Tony Robinson? whereas mine is clouded by Kylie and “however bad its consequences might Jason videos and Picnic at Hanging have been … nevertheless the reason % Is he an authority on history? Rock and Mick Jagger as Ned Kelly. “I it was done was utopian. We celebrate want to engage in what Australia is.” the Athenians as the fathers of democ- racy but they were fascists compared to The program, Robinson says with those who espoused the racism behind BEFORE VIEWING characteristic vernacular, is not Robert Federation.” Hughes or Tom Keneally explaining what The premise of a film or series is the happened. “It’s me saying, ‘I don’t un- If anything, he feels his ignorance – fundamental concept that drives the derstand this shit, explain it to me’.” though discussions about the Battle of narrative. Vinegar Hill, the Myall Creek Massacre But as he often does in his shows, and the fall of Singapore suggest he is Robinson undersells his knowledge and far more conversant with Australian his- Student activity: authority. tory than the rest of us – is an advantage in the making of the show. Read the article below. The central question for the series, he says, is how a convict settlement “I feel ignorance has an advantage Tony Robinson explores pioneer Aus- transformed itself into a series of well- because I don’t know what’s difficult ter- tralia in this latest TV show ordered, wealthy colonies and from there ritory,” he says. into a country that is one of the top 15 Tony Robinson strides through the lobby economies in the world today. “I don’t know what’s PC. I know now that and cafe of a hip South Yarra hotel with there are an awful lot of areas where for briskness, ease and purpose. After Robinson says he always regarded such an upfront, honest culture, people months of filming under the Austral- transportation as an unspeakable evil tread very lightly. ian sun, the diminutive Londoner has a “meted by the British ruling class on glowing complexion. these poor ignorant, penniless dupes “If I ask people how many Aboriginal who went to a country where they would friends they have there’s always a silence As he approaches 65, he could well be a be bitten by snakes and die of heat”. of about 15 seconds before they give me poster boy for healthy lifestyles. There’s an answer. The answer will be intelligent, the trademark hooded eyes but not a While there is no doubt transportation considered, profound but, boy oh boy, trace of the grotesqueness or pottiness created a lot of suffering for the indig- are the cogs going before the answer that define his roles in Blackadder and enous population and the environment, comes out.” the knockabout host of The Worst Jobs convicts “weren’t the mindless tossers in His-tory and Time Team. I’d imagined them to be”. So how did he deal with those sensitive and contested topics? “With affection,” He’s in the home stretch of the fast, Rather, he says, they were literate, he says, “I’m not here to stitch anyone seven-week shoot of Tony Robinson working-class people, while many of the up.” Explores Australia, a six-part series on senior and junior officers of the First Fleet the history of Australia from European were enlightened utopians imbued with An only child, Robinson credits his father settlement to today. the philosophies of the Age of Reason. for teaching him to argue and “be the biggest pain in the arse at school”. The island continent has a particular “Like most political dissidents, they affinity for Robinson. Several years ago, might be a complete pain in the arse but “He imbued in me this 18th-century no- they are great organisers … They would tion that you could deploy rhetoric and never have been able to create that kind intellect in order to challenge the status of state back home because of 2000 quo of anything,” he says. “What am I years of history but over here they were doing when I’m 13 or 14? I’m having the able to create a template for a very egali- most terrible rows with my dad because tarian kind of state that worked around he taught me to argue.” things like the family, equality, justice. But it’s an approach that has served “There were a lot of self-serving bas- Robinson’s numerous forays into history tards, just as there are in any political and factual TV well.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 42 “I left school when I was just 16. I have been surrounded all my life by smart- arse, academically minded people who have often talked in a language that I found inaccessible. Like most Austral- ians, I’m a stroppy bastard and have always resented that.

“Emotionally, I’ve always wanted to tell stories; that’s probably my way of keeping the darkness at bay.

“The stories I’ve wanted to tell have always had that element of deconstruction …”

He says he once discussed with actor Victoria Wood the unlikelihood of them playing Romeo and Juliet.

“No one will ever cast us simply by ing the illusion of movement when the ‘great southern land’ and claim it for their accident of biology. Because I’m short series of frames is played as a continu- own. and perky but because I’ve always had ous sequence. comic timing my work was in that sector. It was not until 1770 that Englishman But I’ve always been a very interested The modern stop-motion animation style Captain James Cook, aboard the En- person.” used in Tony Robinson Explores Australia deavour, extended a scientific voyage to reflects the host’s personality, and is the South Pacific in order to further chart – http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/ supported with detailed animated travel the east coast of Australia and claim it tv-and-radio/approaching-australia-with maps. for the British. -ignorance-20110427-1dwba.htm By the late 1700s Britain was at a social Discuss: crossroads, with its jails crammed full Discuss: of petty criminals. The fastest-growing % What is a title supposed to do? class in the country was the criminal What is the premise behind this docu- class. People were being jailed for the mentary series? % How effective is this title? most minor of offences and as a solu- tion, Britain decided to use its new EPISODE ONE: Race to the % What does the title say to the audi- outpost as a penal colony. end of the world ence; what are we expecting? It was Joseph Banks who suggested that Botany Bay, named by Cook, be set up Student activity: as a penal colony. Meanwhile, the British believed that the Indigenous inhabit- THE TITLE Remake the title of the series using a ants only had sovereignty over the land different form of stop-motion animation. if they had built upon it or had engaged The titles are created using stop-motion See . could see nothing that resembled the makes a physically manipulated object kind of agriculture that was undertaken appear to move on its own. The object Keep a journal detailing the process and in Britain, they mistakenly assumed that is moved in small increments between highlight the reasons why you made dif- the Indigenous inhabitants did not tend individually photographed frames, creat- ferent decisions and what the outcomes the land. They did not link the fires that were. they had seen to agriculture.

The First Fleet of eleven ships carried about 1500 people – half of them THE STORY convicts under the captaincy of Arthur Phillip. But after eight months of sailing, Episode one begins the tale; it starts when the ﬂeet reached Botany Bay, they from the beginning of white settlement discovered that it was most unsuitable in Australia and covers the race between for a settlement, least of all because it European colonial powers to ﬁnd the had no running water.

Research your own family history.

% Illustrate your family tree.

% When did your family come to Aus- tralia and in what circumstances?

% Prepare a presentation for the class.

Discuss:

Robinson defers to some notable historians during this episode.

% Who are they?

% Why does he use other talking Phillip sent out a work party that went THE PERSONALITIES heads? north and discovered the ﬁnest harbour in the world. This became the site of Sydney. % Captain James Cook % What does this do for the authenticity of the history? The ﬂeet arrived in Sydney Harbour on % Joseph Banks 26 January 1788, just in front of a couple % Is there someone else you would of French sailing ships. % Arthur Phillip have suggested he spoke to?

% A male convict aboard the First Fleet Discuss: Student activity: % A female convict aboard the First Fleet % What do you believe were the ﬁlm- The 26 January is Australia’s national maker’s motivations for making the day. But not everyone celebrates. % Jean-François de la Pérouse ﬁlm?

% What does Australia Day mean to % William Bradley % What were the hurdles? some? % What purpose has it served? % Write an opinion piece on whether Student activity: or not we should celebrate Australia % Is the end of the episode one the end Day. Pick a personality from the list above. of the story? How is it being linked to episode two? % Design an advertising campaign to 1) % Write an opinion piece as one of the celebrate Australia Day or 2) call for above, describing the arrival at Botany % How is the series relevant to you? the abolition of Australia Day. Keep a Bay, the voyage (if appropriate), the production journal. ﬁrst impressions of the settlement etc.

% Hold a debate about Australia Day. % Write a journal. PRODUCTION VALUES

% Work in pairs and role-play an Mise en scène is a French term and interview. originates in the theatre. It means, literally, ‘put in the scene’. Many people research their family history; to be related to someone from the In ﬁlm, it has a broader meaning, and First Fleet is considered rather special. refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot, including the composition itself: framing, move- Student activity: ment of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and general visual Research the First Fleet and ﬁnd out the environment, even sound as it helps names of those on board. elaborate the composition.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 44 % Discuss the mise en scène of this York Peninsula in Queensland. Later that In true documentary style, ‘talking heads’ film. year, the Spanish explorer Luis Vaez de such as politicians, public affairs spokes- Torres sailed through the strait separat- people, political analysts, navy crew and % How does the filmmaker move being Australia and Papua New Guinea. victims are interviewed on camera. tween time? How does the filmmaker move between places? Over the next two centuries, European What effect does this have on the film? explorers and traders continued to chart Why have these personalities been cho- % What is the impact of seeing places the coastline of Australia known as New sen and how do they add to the story? as they are today? Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first British explorer to land on % Often, real-time footage is shown the Australian north-west coast. through a television screen embed- Student activity: ded in the frame. What effect does Robinson recreates scenes from this have on the viewer? What is it history in an unusual way. Student activity: adding to the story?

% How does he do this? What would Australia be like if it had first % Examine the opening and closing been claimed by the sequence of the documentary. What % How do the crowds react? Look at are the filmmaker’s intentions? facial features and body language. 1) Dutch % Discuss the role of the narrator. % How effective is this form of recrea- 2) French tion? % Other voice-overs are used. Discuss 3) Spanish. their role and effectiveness. % Would it work for every documentary presenter? Write a creative piece on this subject. % What part does music play in the film?

% Given the chance, what music would THE IDEA OF CONTEXT LOOK AND STYLE OF THE you use to narrate the story? EPISODE Research what England was like in the % As a class, discuss the challenges of 1700s. % How does the documentary begin? telling the story of the boat people.

% Discuss: What was life like for the % What do the very ﬁrst frames show? poor in Britain, and what was it like What is being suggested to the Student activity: for the wealthy. viewer? Pick a part of history that interests you. % Do the images and the voice-over Student activity: match, i.e. are the visuals resonating % What is the story that you want to with what is being said or are they in tell? Choose from: politics, arts, the city, the contrast to it? Why would this be so? country, society, the law, the military.

Present a research project to the class. It can include visual aids such as posters, or computer projects like web quests.

The ﬁrst recorded European contact with Australia was in March 1606, when Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon (1571– 1638) charted the west coast of Cape

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 45 % What would your audiences want to What are the main requirements for a know? successful script?

% What would you want to see? Is there any difference in:

% Who do you want to ask? Write a list % A script for a play to be performed in of questions that you would pose. a theatre?

% Write a short shooting script, adding % A script for a ﬁlm or television pro- any desired sound effects. Use ﬁlm- gram that is adapted from a novel? ing technique terminology. % A script for a documentary?

Taking it further: % An original script for the screen?

% Write a script and create a three- to % A script for a documentary series? four-minute documentary on a topic of signiﬁcance to you. Include interviews, % Which scenes worked the best for soundtrack, cutaways, head shots. you as a viewer? Why? Extension activity: % Which production elements in the episode appealed to you? Jack McLaren, My Crowded Solitude MUSIC (5th edn), Ernest Benn, London, 1930. % What didn’t appeal? A ﬁlm’s soundtrack is made up of sounds This is now available as an e-book; see and music, with composer and sound de- . moods. It’s worth closing your eyes at certain points in this episode to fully under- Pick a small segment of the history cov- My Crowded Solitude is Jack McLaren’s stand the many layers of this soundtrack. ered in episode one. account of his experiences establishing a coconut plantation on Cape York Pen- % Rewrite the script. insula in the early twentieth century. Student activity: % Draw a storyboard. See . Indigenous population, how he worked have? with them, the evolution of the relationship between him and the locals, and the % What genre is the music? VISUAL LANGUAGE burgeoning white Australian civilisation. % Is there any change in the genre Would it have been much different from throughout the episode? To understand the visual language of the First Fleet’s encounters with the envi- this documentary, it is important to look ronment and the local population? % Choose some other music that you closely at some of the scenes to see how think may be suited to the narration. impact and interest is created. RESOURCE Student activity: SCRIPT AND DIRECTION Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore: The Pick three frames. For each one, consider: Epic of Australia’s Founding, Harvill What makes a good script and how Press, London, 1987. crucial is it to the strength of a series? a) What we see and hear

b) How it either sets up or advances the narrative

c) Why the scene or sequence is powerful.

SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM 46 This study guide was produced by ATOM. (© ATOM 2011) ISBN-13-978-1-74295-058-7 [email protected] For more information on SCREEN EDUCATION magazine, or to download other study guides for assessment, visit . Join ATOM’s email broadcast list for invitations to free screenings, conferences, seminars, etc. Sign up now at . For hundreds of articles on Film as Text, Screen Literacy, Multiliteracy and Media Studies, visit .