Here at Sovereign Hill we are getting ready for Christmas with some colonial-style decorations, even our animals are getting into the spirit. Some photos are included below and you can see more on the Sovereign Hill Facebook page.
No plastic decorations or flashing lights in the 1850's.
Posted in History Teaching, Sovereign Hill
Tagged Colonial Christmas, teaching history, Victorian celebrations
On Friday (28/10) we were fortunate to have Mr Craig Deayton as the speaker for our annual Weston Bate Lecture. Craig spoke about his research on the 47th battalion from the First World War undertaken for his book Battle Scarred. His research was an eight year labour to seek out stories beyond the official records and as a result his book has been acclaimed for its honesty and descriptive detail.
The 47th Battalion was formed in Egypt in March 1916 and made up of predominately Tasmanian and Queensland soldiers. The battalion served on the Western Front and holds the sad honour of being one of the shortest lived units with one of the highest fatality rates (only two other units were higher). Craig showed the image below to highlight this devastation, it shows the 73 remaining men from the original unit that numbered over 1000 men.
Remnants 47th Battalion (1914-1918) Hastiere, Belgique. AIF (Photo from the Australian War Memorial)
Burke and Wills Memorial Fountain
Yesterday, Sovereign Hill, together with our project partners: City of Ballarat, Heritage Victoria, DEECD and the Royal Society of Victoria received a commendation at the Victorian Community History Awards for our project around the Burke and Wills Memorial Fountain in Ballarat. We were thrilled to receive the recognition for this collaborative project and would like to encourage schools to use this as a model to get involved with their local history.
Value of Local History
Often Local History is forgotten within the broader context of national history, but this need not be the case. This project, which centred around the research, retrieval and reinternment of a time capsule, shows that there are often strong links in local history to the national story. The connection between Ballarat, gold and the Burke and Wills expedition is very strong. There are many other examples around Victoria of local stories, identities and monuments connecting to our national history.
Studying local history with students can lead to students identifying more strongly with the material. It can often be more immediately relevant and offer more opportunities for active involvement.
Posted in History Teaching, Sovereign Hill
Tagged Ballarat, burke and wills, local history, teaching history, teaching resources
One of the most iconic images of Sovereign Hill is that of the marching redcoats. Daily they draw large crowds to their marching and firing demonstration. They are exciting and entertaining to watch. They can also prompt a thought-provoking question to students – why are they here?
The 40th Regiment at Sovereign Hill
Posted in History Teaching, Sovereign Hill, Victorian Gold Rush
Tagged gold rush, museum learning, teaching history, theatre
Sovereign Hill Education Blog 