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Digital Classroom

Explore Australia's history at the National Library's Digital Classroom, aligned with the Australian Curriculum. With over 10 million items, we support diverse learning styles, fostering inquiry-based learning for students to analyse sources and draw conclusions about the Australian story.
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A marathon runner smiles and holds his fists up as he runs

Michael Jensen, Robert de Castella winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games Marathon, Brisbane, 1982, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136995791

Sport and Australian culture

Module

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education for Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 students. Students will engage with a rich selection of sources and be challenged to draw their own conclusions about the role of sport in Australia’s culture and history.

Health
Humanities
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Sport and recreation
A large poster showing a naked man preparing to throw a discus. Behind him is a Union Jack on a green background. There is a red strip along the bottom of the page with the words "Australia's 150th Anniversary Celebrations. Sydney 1938". In smaller writing next to the man is text saying "British Empire Games 5 to 12 Feb 1938

Australian National Travel Association, Australia's 150th Anniversary celebrations, Sydney, 1938 : British Empire Games 5-12 Feb. 1938, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135690109

The Commonwealth Games

Topic

The first recorded games between Empire athletes coincided with the coronation of King George V in 1911.

Health
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Sport and recreation
A gold medal standing upright on a white cotton surface. The medal shows a figure holding a trumped and a wine amphorae. Behind the figure is a bust on a stand. In raised lettering around the edge of the medal are the words 'Olympiska Spelen Stockholm' The year '1912' is also present.

Olympic gold medal won by Miss Fanny Durack at Stockholm, 1912, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139311257

Women in sport

Topic

Today, at the Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games, tennis tournaments and a host of other sporting events, men and women can compete at elite levels. But this has not always been the case for sports and recreational physical pursuits.

Health
Humanities
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Sport and recreation
Black and white image of a poster titled 'First Australian Team of Cricketers that visited England, 1868'

Photoline Printing Co., First Australian team of cricketers that visited England, 1868, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-141855333

First Nations people in sport

Topic

The first Australian cricket team to tour overseas was an Aboriginal one.

Health
Humanities
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
First Australians
Sport and recreation
Black and white photo of British migrant women waving on the deck of a ship

London News Agency Photos Ltd, British women migrants aboard passenger ship, London, ca. 1920s, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138115134

Migration and sport

Topic

With new people and cultures come new ideas and practices. These could be new foods, new religions, new art forms or even new sports.

Health
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Sport and recreation
A campaign poster for the 1967 Australian referendum, featuring a close-up photograph of a young Aboriginal child with a serious expression. The text on the poster reads: 'YES for Aborigines. Write YES for Aborigines in the lower square. May 27th. Authorized by Faith Bandler, 13 Kens Road, Frenchs Forest.'

Faith Bandler and Jerry Rind, Yes for Aborigines : write yes for Aborigines in the lower square May 27th, 1967, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136875607

The 1967 Referendum

Module

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: History for Year 10 students. It engages students with a rich selection of sources and challenges them to draw their own conclusions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ struggle for civil rights in Australia.

Humanities
Year 10
First Australians
Government and politics
A black and white photo showing how two half shells and the round pieces cut out of them

Frank Hurley, [Cut shell] showing the method of cutting shells commercially, 1921, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-149364077

Torres Strait Islander conservation

Module

Engaging students with a rich selection of sources and challenges them to draw their own conclusions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ approaches to custodial responsibility and environmental management in different regions of Australia.

Humanities
Year 10
First Australians
Geography
Woman sitting on a stool looking thoughtful in front of a red banner with the words 'The Sell: Australian Advertising 1790s to 1990s'
The Sell: Australian Advertising 1790s to 1990s

Module

Examples of advertising and media drawn from the National Library of Australia’s exhibition The Sell: Australian Advertising 1790s to 1990s and looks at their influence over time.

Arts
English
Humanities
Year 10
Art, drawing and illustration
Australian history
Literature and writing
Law books stacked on a desk
Trailblazing women lawyers

Module

Explore the stories of Australian women who broke barriers in the legal profession in this learning module.

Humanities
Year 10
Australian women
Law and legislation
fan depicting king parrot eating an Arnott's cracker

[Food industry - biscuits and cakes : trade catalogues ephemera collected by the National Library of Australia], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-84640628

Iconic brands and early ads

Topic

Advertising campaigns for iconic Australian brands and early ads.

Arts
English
Humanities
Year 10
Art, drawing and illustration
Australian history
Literature and writing
Colourful Billy Tea advertisement

(1930). The famous Billy Tea : with the distinctive flavour, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138235161

Cup of Tea?

Topic

British tea culture, imported with the arrival of the British in Australia in 1788, has been adapted by Australians into something distinct from its roots. One of the key early differences is the use of the ‘billy’, a lightweight metal can used most commonly for boiling water or cooking over a campfire.

Arts
English
Humanities
Year 10
Art, drawing and illustration
Australian history
Literature and writing
simpson washer flyer

Simpson (Firm) (issuing body.) (1950). Hooray! It's washday! - my day off!. [Australia] Simpson

Selling modernity

Topic

The postwar era saw advertising reflect notions of the ideal Australian home, of masculinity and feminine beauty and of health.

Arts
English
Humanities
Year 10
Art, drawing and illustration
Australian history
Literature and writing

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