VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: The Assembly in Athens

In Athens over 2000 years ago citizens had a big say in making government decisions. The system was a direct democracy. All, no matter how rich or poor, were expected to vote - but women, slaves and immigrants were not counted as citizens.

Visual 2: "

On the day of Assembly, slaves were used to round up the citizens with cloths marked with red dye - to distinguish the non-voters.

Visual 3: Painting of Pericles

Pericles was one of the greatest leaders of ancient Athens. He made a famous speech about the form of government. "It is true that we are called a democracy because the administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few". It was the first time that any country had experienced a democratic form of government.

Visual 4:

Another very old system of government is absolute monarchy. The Pharaohs of ancient Egypt were absolute monarchs. They held complete power and decided everything for their subjects.

Visual 5: Sculpture of Egyptian pharaoh

This is Thutmose111, the greatest of all the pharaohs. About 3000 years ago he restored Egypt's power after a period of decline. He conquered their neighbours and made them his subjects.

Visual 6: Parliament House, Canberra

Australia today is an example of a representative democracy. The people themselves don't vote on laws but elect others to go to Parliament. Everyone over 18 can vote. Voters decide who will govern on behalf of the people. There are many other countries that also use this system.

Visual 7: A prospective voter?

To become a representative of the people, most need to join a political party and try to win the most votes in an election. But people can also decide to stand by themselves and they are called Independents.

Visual 8: Ben Chifley

In Australia you don't have to be born into a certain family to rule. Ben Chifley was a train driver before he became Prime Minister of Australia.

VISUALS

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Visual 1: London Bridge full of traffic

Traffic jams have been around for a long time. One hundred years ago this London street had a terrible problem. People needed rules.

Visual 2: Early steam powered cars

As cars became more popular the problems got worse. The British Government passed a law that cars should travel slowly. A man with a red flag had to walk in front to warn people of a car coming.

Visual 3: Old fashioned motorised vehicles

As roads became busier and cars faster, this law needed to be changed. A new law raised the speed limit to 22 kilometres per hour. The people celebrated by having a car rally

Visual 4: View of street with trams and cars

In Australia, cars were also becoming very popular. The first laws were passed in South Australia in 1904 because the roads were too dangerous.

Visual 5: Open topped cars - women with scarves and men with caps.

In the 1920s, people set up car clubs, which provided social activities and help when cars broke down. The members of these clubs also protested to the government when they thought that the new laws were too strict.

Visual 6: Road signs from 1995 ACT Traffic Book

Today we see signs like these all around the country. They are important because they explain the laws to drivers. There is not much point having laws if no one knows what they are.

You can see now why society needs laws to make it flow smoothly.

VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: Flags of Commonwealth; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags

All countries have a flag they use as their national symbol. In Australia we have the Australian flag. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are also used on some occasions.

Click on the flags to learn more about them, and click Play when finished.

Visual 2: The Australian Coat of Arms

The Commonwealth Coat of Arms is another official symbol. It is used on important documents, like passports or letters from the government. It can also been seen on buildings like Parliament House, and on our 50 cent coin. The Coat of Arms contains many important Australian symbols. Explore the screen to discover what they are and click Play when finished. (The spots highlighted are: Golden wattle; the kangaroo; the emu; the badges of the six states; and the Commonwealth Star.)

Visual 3: Green and gold stylised symbol

In 1984 the Australian government decided on our national colours - green and gold. All our sporting teams wear green and gold when they compete against other countries. You might also see the green and gold symbol on foods, clothes and other products made in Australia.

Visual 4: Painting of Cpt Phillip raising the flag at Sydney Cove

Some important days are celebrated with a public holiday. Australia Day, on January 26^th, is one of these. It marks the landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. The first Australia Day was celebrated in 1818, but it didn't become a holiday until 1838 - 50 years after the arrival.

Visual 5: Photo of protesting Aborigines

On the first Sunday in July each year, National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Observation (NAIDOC) is celebrated. This has now become a permanent event to promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures around the nation.

Visual 6: Australian coins and notes

Each of our coins has an Australian symbol on it - most of them famous Australian animals. Our bank notes carry pictures of a famous Australian building - like Parliament House Canberra - or a famous Australian. On the reverse side of all coins and the $5 note, there is a picture of Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.

VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: Drawing of a child being bandaged.

The Red Cross is an international community group that helps people in dangerous war zones or when there is a national disaster, like a cyclone or an earthquake. Check around the screen to find out more about the Red Cross. (There are two areas highlighted, with information about volunteers and about the need for volunteers to obey the rules of the Red Cross Charter.)

Visual 2: A group of people and the symbol of Landcare Australia

In Australia, lots of community groups take part in Landcare projects. They help to look after our land and our water. Click around the screen to find out why people get involved. (Reasons include:

• I like making decisions about what to do for the land
• I want to look after native plants and animals
• I want somewhere nice to go and don't want the land mucked up
• Because the land is where our food comes from
• We get minerals from the land, but we must learn to clean up afterwards)

Visual 3: Scouts/Guides and their symbols

Scouts and Guides are community groups set up especially for young people. Like all community groups, Scouts and Guides aim to make society better. They also have rules to help them achieve their aims. Click around the screen to hear the promises they make. - eg for Scouts: "I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and the Queen of Australia , to help other people and to live by the Scout law."

Visual 4: Clean up Australia Day drawing

People join community groups for different reasons. Click on the people here to find out what they did.

Ian Kiernan: "After a round the world yacht race, and seeing the amount of rubbish in the ocean, I started a group called Clean Up Sydney Harbour."

A volunteer: " There were 40,000 volunteers and we collected 5,000 tonnes of rubbish".

Visual 5: Clean Up Australia (the Barrier reef)

The campaign to Clean Up Australia has spread around the world. Now millions of people are cleaning up their own communities. It shows how a group started by one person can have a big influence in making our society better.

You can see how individuals and groups can make a difference to the communities we live in. It takes hard work, but the rewards are great. Click on the Game button to see if you can help some people in need.

VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: King Charles I

King Charles I became Britain's king in 1625. He believed that his power came from God and that his actions should never be questioned. His subjects should always do as he demanded. The King ignored parliament as much as he could and he often ruled for long periods without it. When parliament would not do what he wanted, he dismissed it.

Visual 2: Petition of Right

In 1628 the parliament passed resolutions against some of the things that Charles had been doing. These resolutions were set out in a document called the Petition of Right. On the visual these rights can be seen as:

• No taxes without parliament's agreement
• No imprisonment without cause
• No forcing people to have soldiers stay in their homes

No military rule in peace time

Visual 3: Painting of John Hampden

In 1629 King Charles dismissed parliament and ruled by himself for eleven years. Without parliament to raise taxes, he had to look for other ways to get money. One of the ways was to make people in coastal towns and cities pay for the King's navy in wartime. As there was no war going on at the time, and the whole country was asked to pay, this caused an uproar. Many refused to pay, including the parliamentarian, John Hampden.

Visual 4: Drawing of the House of Commons

By 1641 Charles had run out of money and parliament forced him to admit that he had to rule through parliament. But both the parliament and the king wanted to control the army. This disagreement led to a major argument between them. Parliament produced a document called the Grand Remonstrance which listed all the things that people believed were wrong with the way King Charles was ruling his kingdom.

Visual 5: Map of England

This document demanded that Charles give up all his powers and to govern with the agreement of parliament. England became divided about who should have the most power - king or parliament. In 1642 a Civil War began. Click on the map to learn more about the Civil War. (There are four towns to click, but any one of them will bring up the history of the Roundheads versus the Cavaliers.)

Visual 6: Drawing of an execution

On 20 January 1649 Charles was found guilty on a charge of treason and sentenced to death by beheading. The parliament had won.

Visual 7: The Queen outside Parliament House, Canberra

The struggle over who rules - monarch or parliament- is no longer an issue. Britain and Australia still have a monarch, but it is the parliament which rules.

VISUALS

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Visual 1: Sailing ships docked at Sydney wharves

The governments of the colonies charged different amounts of money when people wanted to bring goods into their colonies to sell. Some business people wanted federation so these different charges could be removed. But other people were worried that federation could make things more expensive. Click on the ship to learn more about transport between the colonies.

(The printed information mentions that improved transport and communications were bringing colonies closer together. Different railway track widths were a problem).

Visual 2: A map of Australia in 1901

New South Wales was the oldest colony with the biggest population. Many of its people didn't want to be united with five other colonies and be controlled by them. Nor did they want a future capital of Australia to be outside NSW. Click on the map to learn how the new government would work.

(Information covers the two Houses of Parliament and how the influence of the large states in the House of Representatives would be offset by equal representation on the Senate).

Visual 3: A drawing of ships at sea

Each colony had its own army and navy. Most people agreed that there should be one army and one navy to defend Australia. A single system for the armed forces would be of great benefit for all the colonies. If you are gathering arguments FOR and AGAINST federation, you might like to stop here and check your notebook to see if you have enough information. Click Play when you are ready.

Visual 4: Photo of delegates at meeting about federation

Now that you've heard the arguments, the big question was how to sort out all the different points of view. Should the colonies unite and how should they do it? This is a meeting of people from each colony that took place in Melbourne in 1890. Meetings like this took place for ten years before a final decision was made. Click on the men to find out more about these meetings.

(One of the most important meetings was at Corowa NSW, where it was decided that the people in all colonies should vote on whether they wanted federation).

Visual 5: Record Board of poll results in WA

People actually got to vote twice on whether they wanted federation. The first time, in 1898, there weren't enough Yes votes. But the second time there was a clear majority of people who wanted federation. The colonies of Australia could at last unite to become a single nation - the Commonwealth of Australia.

(The "More Information" box shows the Yes and No results from each state).

Visual 6: The Federation Pavilion

On the first of January 1901, the official ceremony for the beginning of the new nation took place at a pavilion in Sydney. Queen Victoria's proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia was read. Lord Hopetoun was made our first Governor-General and Edmund Barton became our first Prime Minister. Click on the Pavilion to see the ceremony.

(This brings up a film clip from the National Film and Sound Archive that was taken on the 1/1/1901).

Visual 7: A railway station

This is Port Augusta in the north of South Australia. It is 1917 and this train is on its way across the continent - the first train on the new transcontinental railway linking WA with the east of Australia. This was one of the major benefits of Federation. Click on the train to learn more of the benefits of federation.

(Mention is made of free trade, common postage stamps and flags).

Visual 8: 1998 Constitutional Convention delegates

With the year 2001 approaching many Australians began to think about changing the Constitution so that Australia could become a republic. A Constitutional Convention was held in 1998 which decided Australia should be a republic. The people will have a final say at a referendum. Whether we are a republic or not, in 2001 Australia will celebrate its 100^th birthday as a nation. This spectacular Federation float ( a new visual appears) is just a sample of the things you will see at the Centenary of Federation Parade on 1^st January 2001. Click on the float for more information.

( A description of the symbolism of the float's features - pavilion, animals and flags).

Now it is time for you to step back in history to 1901. You have been given the job of writing the front page story that tells the rest of the country about the federation celebrations that happened the day before. Click the Game button.

VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: Sydney Town in 1810

Military governors represented the King and the British government in Australia. However, the great distance between these two countries meant that in reality governors had enormous power. They were used to giving orders and having them obeyed without question.

Visual 2: Painting of Lachlan Macquarie

This is Lachlan Macquarie, governor of the colony of NSW. He's going to make some big changes here - grand buildings and roads. Some of the original convicts have now served their sentence and have been released from prison to begin a new life. They're called emancipists. Free settlers are also coming from Britain to set up farms. Explore the screen to learn more about their legal rights.

(Because of military rule, settlers and ex-convicts had few of the rights enjoyed in Britain).

Visual 3: Francis Greenway

This is Francis Greenway. He used to be a convict here but now he's free and he does good work as an architect. Governor Macquarie wants ex-convicts like him to have the same opportunities as free settlers. But the free settlers did not agree with this. Explore the screen to learn why.

(It mentions that free settlers complained to the British Parliament about Macquarie and their lack of rights).

Visual 4: Ellis and Jeffrey Bent

Governor Macquarie also wanted lawyers who were ex-convicts to have a chance to practice law in the colony. Judges Ellis and Jeffrey Bent disagreed with this because they felt that he was trying to tell them how to run their courts. Explore the screen to learn more about this argument.

(Complaints by both sides led to Britain recalling the Bents and ordering Macquarie to no longer use freed convict lawyers).

Visual 5: Paintings representing the emancipists, Macquarie and the free sttlers

Macquarie's style of government began to make more and more people angry because they felt they had no say in the running of the colony. Explore the screen to find out why these people were unhappy.

(Emancipists wanted the same rights as free people. Free settlers felt they had no say, and shouldn’t have to pay for the government, among other things, or to accept ex-convicts as equals).

Visual 6: John Bigge

Worried by these complaints, the British Government sent Commissioner John Bigge to NSW to investigate. After collecting evidence and talking to many people, he wrote a report which criticised many things about Macquarie's rule. The colonists were happy as Bigge's report resulted in the powers of the Governor being reduced and the court system being made more independent. Today, over 200 years later, the Australian legal system is still an important part of our society. That all are treated equally and that no-one is above the law is a right taken for granted in our democracy. Click on the Game button and see how democratic principles influence our legal system.

VISUALS

COMMENTARY ON VISUALS

Visual 1: Charles Perkins

In 1965 a group of university students led by Charles Perkins went on a freedom ride to towns around NSW. They did this because they wanted to make the conditions faced by Aboriginal people better known.

Visual 2: News item about segregation

These Australian students were influenced by the freedom rides in the United States, which had happened a few years before in 1961. Groups of black and white Americans travelled by bus to try to stop discrimination against black Americans.

Visual 3: Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jnr became the leader of the Civil Rights struggle in the US. He believed in non-violent forms of protest such as freedom rides.

Visual 4: The Freedom Ride bus

When the Australian students began their bus journey, they were given advice about tactics. They were reminded to demonstrate peacefully and let the newspaper, radio and television people spread the message.

Visual 5: Route of the Freedom Ride

This is a map showing the route taken by the Australian students in February 1965. There's Sydney. That's where they started from.

Click on the Game button and we'll follow their journey.