Community and Remembrance
• Who lived here first?

• What are the mysteries of Lake Mungo?

First contacts
• Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
• What was life like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people before the arrival of Europeans?
• What was the nature and consequences of contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and early explorers, settlers and traders?

• Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains
• Who ‘discovered’ Australia?
• What happened in a frontier conflict near Broome in 1864?
• Coniston massacre — What happened at Coniston in 1928?

The Australian Colonies
• What do we know about the lives of people in Australia's colonial past and how do we know?
• What were the significant events and who where the significant individuals that helped shape the Australian colonies?

• Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains
• What was life of a female convict really like?
• The Eureka Rebellion — could you have stopped it from happening?
• Was Ned Kelly a hero or a villain?

Australia as a nation
• Who were the people who came to Australia? Why did they come?
• What contribution have significant individuals and groups made to the development of Australian society?

Please note that these case studies, included in the Secondary section of the website, are also relevant to the Year 6 curriculum and suitable for use with teacher guidance and direction.

• What happened to ‘Smithy’?
• Coniston massacre — What happened at Coniston in 1928?
• Great Depression — Testing images of the Great Depression
• Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme — A melting pot of different nations?
• How have Indigenous people's citizenship rights changed over time?

Investigating the ancient past
• How do we know about the ancient past?
• What emerged as the defining characteristics of ancient societies?
• The nature of the sources for ancient Australia and what they reveal about Australian past in the ancient period, such as the use of resources

• What are the mysteries of Lake Mungo?

Movement of Peoples
• What were the changing features of movements of people from 1750 to 1918?

• What was life of a female convict really like?
• The Eureka Rebellion — could you have stopped it from happening?
• Who ‘discovered’ Australia?

Making a nation
• The extension of settlement, including the effects of contact (intended and unintended) between European settlers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains
• The Eureka Rebellion — could you have stopped it from happening?
• What happened in a frontier conflict near Broome in 1864?
• Was Ned Kelly a hero or a villain?

The Industrial Revolution (1750–1914)
• The population movements and changing settlement patterns during this period
• Investigating changes to the cities and landscape in European countries and Australia as the Industrial Revolution continued to develop

• Myths and Mysteries of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains

World War I (1914 - 1918)
• What was the significance of World War I?

• World War 1 — Did World War 1 unite or divide local communities?

World War II
• The impact of World War II, with a particular emphasis on the Australian home front...
• Investigating the impact of World War II at a local and national level (for example significant events such as the Bombing of Darwin...)

• Why did the government lie about the bombing of Darwin?
• What are the mysteries of Maralinga?

Rights and freedoms (1945 - present)
• Background to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for rights and freedoms before 1965, including the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations
• The significance of the following for the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: 1962 right to vote federally; 1967 Referendum; Reconciliation; Mabo decision...

• Coniston massacre — What happened at Coniston in 1928? (helping to set context)
• How have Indigenous people's citizenship rights changed over time?

The environment movement (1960s - present)
• Significant events and campaigns that contributed to awareness of environmental issues

• World War 1 — Did World War 1 unite or divide local communities?
• What happened to Juanita Nielsen?

Modern World and Australia: Overview
• The inter war years between Worid War I and World War II, including the Treaty of Versailles, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

• Great Depression — Testing images of the Great Depression

Migration experiences (1945 - present)
• The waves of post-World War II migration to Australia...
• The contribution of migration to Australia's changing identity as a nation...

• Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme — A melting pot of different nations?
• Vietnam — Can you be a Vietnam War ‘myth buster’?