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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 torn buff coloured page with the words 'Draft of A Bill to Constitute the Commonwealth of Australia', with handwritten notes at the top and bottom of the page.

Sir Edmund Barton, Papers of Sir Edmund Barton, 1827-1940, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-225140407

Documenting Federation

Topic

Sir Edmund Barton (1849–1920) was Australia’s first prime minister, playing a key role in shaping the Constitution.

Humanities
Year 6
Australian history
An oval shaped bronze medal. The oval is made of a belt buckled at the bottom. At the top is a stylised royal crown. In the centre of the oval is a monogram made up of an intertwined "V.A." Behind the monogram is pattered red glass. Around the oval in raised letters are the words 'For gallantry in saving life on land'. The medal is held by a ribbon of red and white vertical stripes

Albert Medal presented to Aya-I-Ga, also known as Neighbour, for gallantry, 1911 [realia], 1912, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139608611

Neighbour and his bravery

Topic

Aya-I-Ga, known as Neighbour, risked everything to save a life and became one of Australia’s bravest heroes. 

Humanities
Year 6
Australian history
A colour pencil hand drawing of Murray Island with hand written notes.

Bryan Keon-Cohen, Greg McIntyre,  Queensland Supreme Court and Australia High Court, Papers of Bryan Keon-Cohen [manuscript] : the Mabo case, 1981-2000, 1981, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-224077217

Edward Koiki Mabo

Topic

In 1992, a decade-long legal battle over Indigenous land rights came to an end.

Humanities
Year 6
Australian history
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

Fanny Durack

Topic

One of the most significant events at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics was the admission of women into the Olympic swimming competition.

Humanities
Year 6
Australian history
Sport and recreation
A stylised, abstract architects model of the Sydney Opera House. The model shows a hemisphere with triangular segments removed, another hemisphere shows the segments replaced to create a smooth surface.

Jørn Utzon, [Architects model for the geometry of the Sydney Opera House shells] [realia], nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139591596

Designing the Sydney Opera House

Topic

Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918–2008) bold vision reshaped Sydney’s skyline and inspired the world.

Humanities
Year 6
Architecture and design
Australian history
painting of ship at sea

Samuel Atkins, (1794), HMS Endeavour off the coast of New Holland, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135273911

Indigenous responses to Cook and his voyage

Module

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Modern History for Senior Secondary students, with specific reference to content descriptions for Unit 2: Movements for Change in the 20th Century, and specifically those that fall under the examination of ‘Recognition and rights of Indigenous peoples’.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
This illustration from 1865 showing Captain James Cook's arrival in Australia. Cook is depicted with his crew raising the British flag as they take possession of the land on behalf of the British Crown in 1770. Indigenous people are shown in the background observing the scene. Ships are anchored in the bay, while a variety of people, including soldiers and sailors, are engaged in various activities.

 Samuel Calvert and JA Gilfillan, Captain Cook taking possession of the Australian continent on behalf of the British crown, AD 1770, under the name of New South Wales, 1865, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135699884

Essay: Unkept promises

Topic

Mark McKenna is one of Australia’s leading historians, based at the University of Sydney.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
A black-and-white photograph of a statue of Captain Cook on a tall pedestal. The statue shows Cook standing with one arm raised and holding a rolled document in the other hand. Trees and part of a lamppost are visible in the foreground.

Frank Hurley and Thomas Woolner, Captain Cook's Statue, Hyde Park, Sydney, 1, 1910, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160162538

Essay: ‘I’m Captain Cooked’: Aboriginal perspectives on James Cook, 1770-2020

Topic

Professor John Maynard is a Worimi man from the Port Stephens region of New South Wales.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
A large book open at a midway point. The paper is yellowed and stained. The writing is written in highly decorative cursive. The book is being held open on a stand which sits atop a richly varnished cabinet with draws and a fold out desk surface.

James Cook, John Hutchinson, Samuel Wallis and Henry William Ferdinand Bolckow, Journal of H.M.S. Endeavour, 1768-1771, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-228958440

James Cook's Endeavour Journal

Topic

Lieutenant James Cook’s 753-page account of the voyage of His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour (also known as HMS Endeavour) from 1768 to 1771 is the story of one of history’s greatest journeys of discovery.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
handwritten papers

Joseph Banks, Papers of Sir Joseph Banks, 1745-1923 (bulk 1745-1820), nla.gov.au/nla.obj-223065342

Hints offered to the consideration of Captain Cook

Topic

Preserved in the National Library of Australia’s Manuscripts Collection, along with Cook’s handwritten journal, are another set of instructions.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
handwritten letter

James Cook and Great Britain Admiralty, Cook's voyage 1768-71, 1768, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-229102048

James Cook's secret instructions

Topic

James Cook’s famous Endeavour voyage was originally commissioned by the Royal Society of London as a scientific mission. When the Admiralty (Royal Navy) became aware that the Society was planning to commission a sea journey to the Southern Hemisphere to collect scientific data, its members saw an opportunity to become involved. However, their motivations were very different to those of the Royal Society.

Humanities
Senior Secondary
Explorers
World cultures and history
Black and white photo of an Aboriginal girl dressed in white clothing

A real Australian native girl, Australian Aborigines' Mission, La Pérouse, New South Wales, 1910, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137118878

Events that led to the 1967 Referendum

Topic

Timeline of events from 1901 to 1967

Humanities
Year 10
First Australians
Government and politics

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