Significant Individuals in Australian History
Submitted: Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 12:42
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ExplorOz Team - Michelle
My 10yr old daughter has this subject for a school project. They were asked to come
home and have a chat with parents to choose a person. I rattled off a few names and summaries and she chose Len Beadell. Got to be happy with that. She has travelled on just about every one of Len's roads, been photographed at most of the trees, monuments, junctions etc and has been to
Maralinga, Emu etc, so she can connect with his work and meaning of what he did. They had to go back to school and tell the teacher who they'd chosen and then in class they started brainstorming their ideas to start planning their talk. The teacher didn't know who was Len Beadell and then we found there was very little information on the internet or in the school library. Luckily for the ExplorOz
shop (and overnight courier service) I was able to buy the
DVD and
Book. Now to summarise into a 3 minute talk!
Reply By: Mick O - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:07
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:07
A sad indictment on the way we regard our own history is regarded in our education system. While I can almost forgive them not knowing about Len Beadell, I find it somewhat incredible that a person may finish High School in this country without having heard of
Bourke and Wills, Leichhardt, Stuart or
Gregory. It's almost as if Australia began with the ill fated Gallipoli landings! While this may have contributed to shaping our National identity I believe the things that truley made us Australian were developed on the backs of many good pioneers in the 140 years before this.
It was our early
explorers who actually allowed and encouraged this country to expand through their endeavours. Watkins Tench and his wanderings about Botany Bay, Blaxland, Lawson &
Wentworth, allowing the breakout through the Blue Mountains, The
Gregory brothers of WA,
Mitchell, Sturt, Stuart, Gosse, Giles,
Carnegie, Terry just to mention a few (some not that old either). How their efforts are largely forgotten in the modern education system is beyond me.
Any way enough whinging. Good luck Michelle. Timely as I just mentioned a bit about Len building the
Gary Junction Road in my latest blog offering.
Cheers
Mick
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew & Jen - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:39
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:39
Mick O
Ah, Watkins Tench. Almost unknown.
Michelle, you might like to get hold of a copy of "The Journal of Watkins Stench" by Meredith Hooper. Although it is written for 9-12 year olds, it is a wonderful and imaginative story about a
young black rat who has arrived in a strange port (
Port Jackson)
Cheers
Andrew
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Follow Up By: SDG - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 15:48
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 15:48
Ask some high school kids the name of Captain Cooks boat.
Don't be surprised if they ask who he is.
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Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 20:14
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 20:14
The Stockmans Hall of Fame in
Longreach has a brilliant interactive display on Australian
explorers.
You push a button and it lights up the route of the respective explorer across a relief map of Australia.
It's such a pity the kids of today are not getting to know the real history of this country.
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Sunday, Apr 13, 2014 at 12:08
Sunday, Apr 13, 2014 at 12:08
Mick,
An even sadder legacy of our "education" system is its failure to address the why and wherefore of what has happened, and to put events into some sort of meaningful context that shows how and why those past events still resonate today.
Why did the
explorers do what they did, why did the pastoralists and miners spread out in their wake? Might it have anything to do with the Industrial and Scientific revolution in England and Europe, accompanied by huge social changes (think urbanisation, Irish famine, Pax Britannica,
population growth to name just a few major trends of the Victorian Era). Our current distaste for anything that smacks of English/British history serves us very poorly simply because much of what we are today in Australia had its roots in what happened far away and long ago. No wonder so many of our
young people are adrift!
Cheers,
Val.
| J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
Lifetime Member My Profile My Blog Send Message |
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Sunday, Apr 13, 2014 at 13:31
Sunday, Apr 13, 2014 at 13:31
And to follow by coming full circle back to Len Beadell whose explorations saw him push roads through vast expanses of our most remote country. He didn't do all that on a whim or because he thought it might be a good idea. He did what he did because the British wanted to
test nuclear devices. Why did they want to do that, and why did they want to do it in Australia? Some reasons: because of developments in scientific knowledge about radiation dating back at least to Marie Curie; because of the use of an atomic bomb on Japanese cities during WW2; because of the cold war between Russia and Europe and America and the need for secrecy/security... and so on.
History really only makes sense when it is seen in context, which is one reason why its often not
well taught or
well received by schoolkids.
Cheers,
Val.
| J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
Lifetime Member My Profile My Blog Send Message |
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Reply By: Member - Scott M (NSW) - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:51
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 13:51
Yeah - my Dad & I have had this discussion on the road over various campfires. Apart from Len & obvious
explorers, we've come the the conclusion that probably the greatest or most significant Australian from history would probably be
John Flynn.
Apart from the Inland Mission & eventually the RFDS, he was also responsible for supporting Alf Treagar with development of the pedal radio, user of airplanes for rescue, and the RFDS Network lead to the school of the air. He also had a hand in assisting in the initial governance and set up of the CWA.
Name any other Australian who did more than Flynn in bring the remote parts of our country together.
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 14:15
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 14:15
I would not say more or less, but add Alf Traeger and the pedal radio.
Like Len, another from
Adelaide town :)
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome
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Follow Up By: Member - Scott M (NSW) - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 15:24
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 15:24
Peter, agree .... however Flynn sponsored & funded Traeger ....
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Reply By: Erad - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 14:13
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 14:13
There is a National Trust property near
Launceston which has, amongst other things, a very large map hung on a wall. This map plots the major exploration
treks done by the early
explorers. Sorry, I cannot remember the property, but whereever it is, the map, or a good copy of it should be placed in the National Library and other
places of significance throughout this land.
The exploits of Burke & Wills come to light starkly when you stand at
the Dig Tree and read their story. OK - they were crazy, but they had the drive to go out and see what was there. To stand at the base of
Chambers Pillar and look around to realise that pioneers walked this country, their pack animals carrying all their supplies, whilst we drive out there in air-conditioned, softly sprung 4WD's - that makes you think about those brave souls who opened up the country for us to follow. They were all heroes - most of them remain unknown to this day.
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Reply By: get outmore - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 18:32
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 18:32
len Beadel came to the town hall years ago for his talk on his books
A few people will throw in worthy votes but one that may be a bit left of field
is
Colin Theile
ptobablly the most prolific writer of uniquely australian stories for Children/
young adults
Stories like flash flood
flip flop and the tiger snake
February Dragon (my favourite)
Blue Fin
Storm Boy
Magpie island (another favourite)
sun on the stubble
fire in the stone
albatross one
all graced our bookshelfs as kids
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Reply By: Member - Rob D (NSW) - Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 20:27
Friday, Apr 11, 2014 at 20:27
I worked at Weapons Research Establishment in Salisbury S.A. from the late 60's to mid 80's. Len Beadell was working there as a graphic artist at the time and produced a number of artworks for the projects I was working on so I worked with him on a number of occasions. His achievements were far less
well known then than they seem to be now.
I also met Alf Traeger at an engineering conference in
Adelaide in the early 70's, but to be perfectly honest, at the time, I did not know about his role in developing the pedal radio.
My public education history classes were all about British and European history with not a mention of Australian history; what a pity.
I have a keen interest in history now and in my opinion, Sir
John Monash would have to be one of the greatest Australians of all time.
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Reply By: The Bantam - Saturday, Apr 12, 2014 at 11:33
Saturday, Apr 12, 2014 at 11:33
We are now a couple of generations down the track since real Australian history has been taught in our schools....we are now teacing children and
young adults things most will have no use for in later life.....treaching art, drama, media production and industrail design may all be worthy ideas.....but less the 1% of the students studying these subjects will ever earn a living from them.
I think too a lot if this has fallen by the way side because their activities do not fall in with political correctness.
I am sure many Aboriginals will view Jacky Jacky as a trator rather than a hero that saved Kenedy's life.
I am sure very few white or black hear the whole story of Albert Namajura....one of the worlds greatest landscape painters....though it could shine much light on some issues.
I am sure it just seems to hard to tell the whole truth about some of the great figures of Australian history......because they are all flawed humans like the rest of us.
Combine what the white Australian establishment dont want heard and what black Australia find offencive, what the greenies don't like and the commercial establishment want to surpress and there is not much history left to tell.
Oh and of course our televisions are so chocked full of murder, sport, reality television and imported overseas content there is very little room for the Australian documentaries of the past like we saw from Jack Absalom, the Leyland brothers and Less hiddens Et all...all of which had slabs of history mortatred together with adventure and good information.
Sad...very sad
cheers
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