A: Aboriginal Australia - aftermath

Read more about kinship terms, moieties and skins HERE.

Skin system (taken from: http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/en/Heritage-and-Culture/Aboriginal-culture/Lifestyles-and-traditions/Aboriginal-kinship/)

Kinship terms (taken from: http://www.ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/kinship2.php)

 

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998 - one year after the tabling of the report Bringing them Home, May 1997. The report was the result of an inquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

Read more about STOLEN GENERATIONS

A (part 1): Aboriginal Australia

In the class this week we'll be talking about the first inhabitants of the continent. We'll try to understand the special connection they have with the land, the way they understand the world, the complexities of their society, and the special family ties they have.

We'll also discuss the topic of so called Stolen Generations.

Please get yourself ready by reading/watching the materials below.


1. Dreaming.

Dreaming is essential to Aboriginal cultures. It explains the special bond the people have to their land. Below you will find three short clips taken from Australian Screen - an amazing website which archives the best of Aussie TV and film.

Curator’s notes

by Romaine Moreton

Dog Dreaming is a documentary about the journey of two ancestral dogs across the land that became a Dreaming story. In the land that belongs to the people who speak Mengerrdji, two dogs – the male dog called Adjumalar and the female Womarr – named sites as they crossed the land. Jacob Nayinggu follows their path, telling us what happened to Adjumalar and Womarr as they crossed the country, and how Womarr eventually became a dreaming place at the point where she sank into the ground.
Dog Dreaming is an interesting documentary that invites us into Indigenous cultural beliefs about the land being created by ancestral beings. As Jacob Nayinggu follows the dogs’ journey, he informs us what happened to them and the significance of the sites as a result of the dogs’ passage. Here, we gain an insight into how story is a way of mapping territory, and Jacob Nayinggu can tell us what landmark – a waterhole for example – was created and the name the dogs gave it. But it is the story of Dog Dreaming that Jacob follows as he moves through the land.

- Dog Dreaming part 1
- Dog Dreaming part 2
- Dog Dreaming part 3


2. Aboriginal Flag

The Australian Aboriginal flag represents the indigenous people of Australia. It was designed in 1971 by the Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas. Australian government officially recognized it as a flag of Australia on the 14th of July, 1995.



It consists of three colors (red, yellow, and black).

The black is said to represent the Aboriginal people of Australia, the red is said to represent the red ochre of the outback, and the yellow of the sun. Other interpretations of the colors used in the flag say that the red symbolizes the blood spilled when Europeans first came to Australia.

The designer of the flag Harold Thomas was quoted as saying "I wanted to make it unsettling. In normal circumstances you'd have the darker color at the bottom and the lighter color on top and that would be visibly appropriate for anybody looking at it. It wouldn't unsettle you. To give a shock to the viewer to have it on top had a dual purpose, was to unsettle.. The other factor why I had it on top was the Aboriginal people walk on top of the land. It's an obvious fact as well. So it had.. that was the reason why the black was on top was visibly unsettling and because of how I was trained at art school, not to make things too obvious but to have a bit of a shock but also to say that the people walk on the land."

Official Australian buildings often display the Australian Flag and the Aboriginal Flag side by side. The colors of the Aboriginal flag have also become powerful symbols of pride and strength for the indigenous people of Australia.

(from: IndexOz)

3. Adelaide

And a short clip from my favourite traveller/YT poster Overlander



4. Animation in Australia and New Zealand

See if you can see the connection? What do the following have in common?
- The Lord of the Rings
- King Kong
- District 9
- The Hobbit
- Avatar

WETA Digital is one of the leading CG/FX houses in the world, along George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. Follow the links to visit their website and be sure to watch their commercials (especially "Snowball" ;-) ) and reels.


Australian animated feature films and shorts have won many awards. Here are just two examples.

- Oscar winning short: Harvie Krumpet



The odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.
- some clips from Happy Feet (click the picture below)

G'day!

Hello everyone!


So you have successfully made it here. Well done! ;-)

Please check this space regularly - I will be adding tons of materials, clips, links and pictures related to the topics of our classes.

Also please feel free to comment and add your own recommendations. They are most welcome!

Happy exploring!


So, how does it work exactly?

Well, I DO hope you listened carefully in the class, but if someone is still a little confused here is the general idea again:

1. In each class we will be talking about an array of Australia-related topics, all of which will begin with a given letter of the alphabet.

2. You will know these topics in advance, so you'll be able to find out some information beforehand.

3. In class, first I'll give a short presentation with audio/video materials, and then will be asking you some very tricky questions.

4. You will have a chance to score points (marks) for giving me answers which are not only correct but also interesting.


Still confused?

Well, then watch this clip. It comes from "QI" - a gameshow hosted by the brilliant Stephen Fry [no, he isn't Australian but he can do a very convincing Aussie accent ;-) ]. Anyway, our classes will be based on the same format as QI. Is that clear now? ;-)

Please remember to use the comments below to let me know who is in your group, and what you choose to call it.

This year we're going to have team names inspired by Australian birds. Your choices are:


COCKATOOS

CASSOWARIES

EMUS

MAGPIES

ZEBRA FINCHES

Eyewitness describes Ned Kelly's capture.

A LETTER has been unearthed in Scotland.

A short but pretty interesting read.

Australian Geographic's 100 Aussie icons - Australian Geographic

Australian Geographic's 100 Aussie icons - Australian Geographic

It's almost the end: X, Y, Z

1. Youth culture and youth problems

 Romper Stomper is a film which kick-started the career of Russel Crove and which tackles the difficult topic of bullying and subcultures. A raw and brutal film, but one of the most iconic in Australian cinematography.
Here is the trailer.



On a slightly brigther note - a clip from Muriel's Wedding.


And here are two movie tips. Both films are a perfect illustration of the topic of youth problems.
Both deal with the insecurities of young people: loneliness, lack of understanding, problems with defining one's identity, lure of the big world and its temptations, and so on...
Both star a very talented female - Abbie Cornish - who is well on her way to become next Cate Blanchett.
In both she co-stars with two Australian actors representing the young generation whose potential has been recognised by Hollywood.

Here are the trailers for you:

Candy (2006)



Somersault (2004)



2. Time Zones

Australia has 3 Time Zones

• EST - Eastern Standard Time
  Australian Capital Territory,
  New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
• CST - Central Standard Time
  Northern Territory and South Australia
• WST - Western Standard Time
  Western Australia

		Standard Time	Daylight Savings
1	Western Australia	+ 8.0 hours GMT	no change
2	Northern Territory	+ 9.5 hours GMT	no change
3	South Australia	+ 9.5 hours GMT	+ 10.5 hours GMT
4	Queensland	+ 10.0 hours GMT	no change
4	Lord Howe Island	+ 10.5 hours GMT	+ 11.5 hours GMT
5	New South Wales	+ 10.0 hours GMT	+ 11.0 hours GMT
5	ACT	+ 10.0 hours GMT	+ 11.0 hours GMT
6	Victoria	+ 10.0 hours GMT	+ 11.0 hours GMT
7	Tasmania	+ 10.0 hours GMT	+ 11.0 hours GMT

3. Zoos


Sydney Aquarium - Amazing - The most amazing videos are a click away

W: Australians at war

This class is all devoted to Australians at war - WWI, WWII and Vietnam.


1. The Boer War

This was the first major conflict Australians were involved in (or rather dragged into by the British) before they even became the Federation. One of the most controversial events of the war was the trial of Harry Morant and his two colleagues. The story was brought to screens in the famous Australian film, Breaker Mornat. Watch the trailer below.



Synopsis:
Breaker Morant concerns the murder trial of three Australian Army officers of the Bushveldt Carbineers serving in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Lieutenants Harry "Breaker" Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton are accused of the murder of one Boer prisoner and the subsequent murders of six more. In addition, Morant and Handcock are accused of the sniper-style assassination of a German missionary, the Rev. H.C.V. Hesse. Their defence counsel, J.F. Thomas, has had only one day to prepare their defence.

Great Australian War Drama based on a true story.


2. World War I (the "Great War")

Australian were sent to both Eastern and Western fronts.

Read this general introduction first.

Click the picture below to enter a great interactive website that will help you learn the story behind the tragic Battle of Gallipoli. As you remember it was a turning point in Australian history and an abrupt change in Australia/Britain relations. It gave rise to a strong sense of Aussie identity and resulted in development of "broad" Aussie accent.




Western Front and the controversy of "voluntary" enlisting - click here.


3. World War II

WWII for Australians meant involvement in the military operations in the Pacific Ocean arena (e.g. bombing od Darwin), but Aussie soldiers were also fighting in Europe. It was another importan time for shaping national identity.

Mateship was defined through the experience of trench warfare, concentration camps, hunger, injury, forced labour and the boredom and terror of war.

In the [Japanese POW] camps the Australians discarded their differences and became a tribe, a tribe which was always the most successful group. The core of this success was an ethos of mateship and egalitarianism which not only survived the ultimate dehumanising duress of the death camps, but shone through as the dominant Australian characteristic.
Paul Sheehan, Among the Barbarians, 1998

Mateship between soldiers helped define their manhood, and in turn, this helped define Australia as a nation.

4. Vietnam

The Vietnam War was the longest war Australia was ever involved in. Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was marked by controversy and significant levels of public opposition to conscription and concern about casualties. The Vietnam War was also the first war witnessed 'live' on television.

It was also a war in which ANZAC fought a battle against all odds, one that they should have lost - 108 people against Viet Cong's troops of 1,500-2,500. They didn't have any chance to win... but they did.

OPTIONAL MATERIAL:

Below is a truly brilliant documentary on the Battle of Long Tan. It may make a difficult listening (no subtitles) but I think it is really worth your while. Such honest and heartwrenching accounts of human bravery and mateship are rare these days.



5. Recent Australian involvement

I think Aussie attitude is best summarised in this short clip.