The Eureka Stockade

The history wars of Australia is an area of great controversial debate. Throughout the course of Australian history, the public has been mainly subjected to one perspective that focused on the glorifying moments of European settlement and its progress such as its involvement in world wars and the transition of the nation into a globalised continent. As a result, there is a rigid dichotomy between the perceptions of white Australians and the indigenous population on subjects such as the colonisation or invasion of Australia. History told from the perspective of Aboriginal people greatly contrasts what is written in the history books and also what is exposed or encouraged towards the public. It focuses on the dispossession of indigenous people, the massacres and the attempted eradication of culture. This view of Australian history has been labeled as 'black armband history', which was first used during an interview by a historian, Geoffrey Blainey.

Ladies and gentleman, the film Australian Rules is simply impossible to overlook as Australia’s entry into the international film everything that a proper ‘Australian’ film should, drama, romance, action and deceit. It portrays cultural differences that create segregation between the fabrics of society in a town that doesn’t possess the capacity to co-exist which is evident in urbanized Australia.

When we view the award-winning documentary Cronulla Riots, we are questioned about the values and ethics of being Australian. Everyone either young or old, male or female, Middle-Eastern or White, living on Australian soil are questioned about the embodiment of Australian values. Therefore, the documentary successfully achieved its purpose on questioning the viewers of being Australian. This can be best

Australian people and culture are often stereotyped in the media in different forms, one of them being film. The two films being examined, ‘Red dog’ (2011) and the ‘Sapphires’ (2012), are an example of the Australian identity but from different points of view. ‘Red dog’ shows the kind and positive side which exemplifies mateship and loyalty. The film ‘Sapphires’ ,which takes place in the 1950’s through to the 1960’s, shows a negative and racist view towards the indigenous people. Both the films show different aspects of the Australian identity, not all insights of the films accurately represent contemporary Australian identity as the Australian identity has changed by the evolution of people and their lifestyle.

The gold rush had a lasting impact on the political development of Australia. The uprising of the Eureka stockade formed the basis for democracy that we have in Australia today. The Eureka Rebellion was an important step towards democracy. It was an uprising against authority. The conditions on the goldfields were difficult. The monthly licensing fees that the diggers had to pay were quite harsh and unfair. A digger had to pay it even if he didn’t find any gold. The way the police collected the fee was also harsh. These people were ready to fight for change. The miners wanted better rights. They protested and pressured the government for better conditions, in hope to abolish the fees. The gold rush gave the diggers a

Australia is filled with many different aspects in which makes it the country it is today. I believe it is important to study texts that explore aspects of Australia by studying texts such as ‘The Club’, by David Williamson, a play written in 1977 about an Australian football club and movies such as “The Castle”, directed by Rob Stitch in 1997, about the daily life of an Australian family when their happiness is threatened when developers attempt to buy their house to expand the neighboring airport. Both these texts show us what Australian life was like in the past. By us looking at themes such as language, tradition and the mateship shown we are able to explore different aspects of Australia that make it what it is today.

Good morning/afternoon and welcome to the 2018 annual Australian Film Festival. The Australian films represented here today are examples of egalitarianism and the idea of a fair go for all. They depict the underdog, and their drive to succeed and achieve. In many Australian films today these two qualities are shown throughout which makes for a captivating and exciting film experience. Iconic films such as The Sapphires and Ned Kelly depict Australians fighting against injustice, personal issues and inequality, showing the value of a “fair go” and egalitarianism.

The Victorian gold rush in 1851 attracted many people from all over the world. Peter Lalor was one of them. He arrived in 1852 from Ireland, where he was a well-known freedom fighter. Peter was well educated and was used to leading men. He was straight talking, strong minded and courageous. He was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in. When the governor introduced expensive gold licenses, the miners really began to struggle. They took their grievances to the gold commissioner, but he did not want to hear about their problems. Instead, the commissioner sent

In 1858, gold was found along the banks of the Thompson River just east of what is now Lytton, British Columbia, triggering the Fraser River Gold Rush . When word got out to San Francisco about gold in British territory, Victoria was transformed overnight into a tent city as prospectors, speculators, land agents, and outfitters flooded in from around the world, mostly via San Francisco . The Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Langley burgeoned economically as the staging point for many of the prospectors heading by boat to the

Still attempting to unionize coal mining in southwestern West Virginia, tensions rose. Conflict finally erupted on August 25, 1921, when the coal miners

During the ongoing visits on ‘The Freedom Rides’ around the many towns like Bowraville, Boggabilla and Moree, the students had observed the kind of segregation and refusal of service the Aboriginal people faced in places like pools, clubs and shops. In reference to the image in source 3, the itinerary showed the expected dates for stops, demonstrations and surveys and when they would return back to Sydney which would altogether take place over 2 weeks. The students filmed and filed reports to the ABC of the kind of treatment and racism Aboriginal people received, for instance their living conditions and locations which Charlie Perkins in source 4 describes as ‘at river banks, shanties, huts or at the end of a road where there’s (a) rubbish tip’. The main reason of their filming was to show people the truth on what was happening in country towns and to not believe what the news covered Australia to be; that racism did not exist. The publicity gained from The Freedom Rides raised awareness of the racism in Australia and influenced the 1967 Referendum and other campaigns in the future with similar purposes.

Noel Pearson’s speech ‘an Australian history for us all’ discusses his approach to trying to solve some of the most systemic problems facing Australian Aboriginals today. The speakers are successful in understanding the ideas and values of the speech. Through the uses of various language techniques and context, Pearson’s speech details the struggles of the relationship between the first European settlers and Aboriginal Australians.

In 1898, when the “Old Fort” (now Great Circle) was Idlewilde Park. Unlike the Octagon Mounds this has public access all year round. Many people flocked to the mounds for the festivities. It was used as a fairgrounds. One of the events held was bicycle racing. An early photo of the racing depicts three of the bicycle race participants racing on the inside wall of the mound.8 The attendees did not have any idea of what type of history that was being trampled on and what they were slowly destroying.

The construction of Aboriginality in Australia has been achieved through a variety of processes, in various places and at various levels of society, giving rise to a complex interaction between the constructions. At the local level, the most striking line of tension may seem to lie between what Aboriginal people say about themselves and what others say about them. But crosscutting this is another field of tension between the ideas of Aboriginality (and non-Aboriginality) that people of all kinds construct and reproduce for themselves, and the constructions produced at the national level by the state in its various manifestations, the mass media, science, the arts and so on (Beckett, 1988).

“The Universe is a plot of God.” Is one of the main ideas expressed throughout “Eureka a Prose Poem” in which Edgar Allan Poe expresses his thoughts on the creation and purpose of the universe (Poe). As a writer Poe has been known to be a man of the arts, a poet. “Eureka” is truly one of its own among Poe’s works, especially since it was his last major work before his death(. A “Prose Poem” he called it. Although he was not expectant of his death, “Eureka” seems to be his last testament of what he believes is the collective universe. Not surprisingly, God has the same occupation in the universe as his, God is a writer. As a man of thought he left this earth with a final testament to the world in which he wishes to explain the universe for all those who seek the truth (Poe Preface).Eureka is not only an explanation of Poe’s understanding of life based on his experiences; but a reassurance that all creations in the universe have a reason for existence.