The Night We Made the Flag by author Carole Wilkinson is a historically based story about the night the Eureka flag was made on the Ballarat goldfields. It is beautifully illustrated by Sebastian Ciaffaglone. The book has lovely end covers depicting the Southern Cross in the night sky, like the constellation that inspired the design of the flag.
The Australian Geographic is a great resource for explaining Australian landscapes, plants, animals, industry and people to students and teachers wishing to develop their content knowledge. This magazine-style journal contains a poster in each edition as well as high quality photographs, excellent maps from award-winning mapmakers and detailed technical illustrations. All of which are useful visual resources for in any school classroom, especially when it comes to explaining the science behind particular concepts.
Steve Parish’s A Wild Australia Guide series of books cover a range of Australian wildlife from birds and butterflies to mammals and moths. Written by a variety of expert authors it contains a range of information including identification, habitat, behaviour and diet. There are 20 guides with a recommended retail price of $14.95, however most school libraries stock at least some of the titles. The photography titles are also available as PDF ebooks.
To the Goldfields! is sadly now out of print. But as many libraries still have it on their shelves (and we hope they keep it!) we thought it was worth mentioning. This picture book tells the story of James, a nine year old boy who travels to the Victorian goldfields with his family.
Posted in Books for Teaching History, Victorian Gold Rush
Tagged 1850s lifestyles, books, gold rush, teaching resources
Scatterheart sits itself between the First Fleet and the Gold Rushes, but it’s delightful fictional story encompasses the themes of fear and hope in the journey to an unknown land that are common to both periods of history. Lili Wilkinson tells the story of Hannah Cheshire, a well-born London girl who we meet in the midst of her confusion and despair over her sudden change in circumstances. It interweaves her present predicament with reflections of her life past.
Posted in Books for Teaching History, History Teaching
Tagged books, immigration, teaching resources
Rereading sections of Robyn Annear’s wonderful gold rush history is like reacquainting oneself with a beloved long lost friend. Even better, it evokes a witty conversation where all your best thoughts and lines are voiced with perfect timing. Some of Annear’s repartee may make the reader laugh out loud. After quoting a frazzled dispatch from Governor La Trobe explaining the difficulties of the early gold rush Annear writes:
Posted in Books for Teaching History, Victorian Gold Rush
Tagged 1850s lifestyles, books, gold rush
It’s the Year of Reading and we’re celebrating by sharing our favourite books for teaching (or just enjoying) history! This post introduces Doug Bradby’s Seriously Weird History series.
There were a wide range of lollies and sweets being produced during the Victorian era. When the gold rush began in Ballarat, it wasn’t long before confectioners arrived and established their businesses here. By 1857 there were a total of 18 people in Ballarat making confectionery. As was common to the time, around half were also bakers or cooks.
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