Themes
Wiradjuri heritage
Oral traditions
Early history of the Bathurst district

WIRADJURI HERITAGE(back to top)

Story Link
Jenny and Ida both view the landscape around them very differently because they have different backgrounds and different learning. They also have different ways of thinking about history - this is called a different perspective. For instance the Wiradjuri people experienced the Bathurst area and its' development differently to Ida's ancestors.

GUEST SPEAKER

Find out more about Wiradjuri heritage, invite a Wiradjuri guest to the school.
Invite a Wiradjuri member of the community to talk to your school about how they view the history of the Bathurst area and the land around it. As a class, work out the different questions you want to ask this person.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Find out more about the Wiradjuri landscape and cultural traditions and do a Discovery tour with a Wiradjuri ranger in a local National Park.

Visit the Bathurst and District Historical Museum
[East Wing, Bathurst Courthouse on Russell Street.]
There are many objects from the museum like the mysterious nulla nulla that Ida finds in her family's house. Visit the museum and ask the students to identify the Wiradjuri objects, especially the Wiradjuri carved tree.

Investigate what is happening in Bathurst during NAIDOC Week (National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Commemoration) in July and see how your school can participate.

ON-LINE RESEARCH
The following web sites offer useful information on Aboriginal Heritage and Culture:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Page
http://cf.vicnet.au/aboriginal/default.cfm

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Website (NATSIEW)
http://www.natsiew.nexus.edu.au

National Museum of Australia (Indigenous Australians exhibition and First Australians permanent exhibition)
http://www.nma.gov.au

Apology Australia. Reconciliation Events Calendar
http://www.apology.west.net.au/eventnsw.html

ORAL TRADITIONS(back to top)

Story link
In the story of Ida's Quest Jenny talks about how her Auntie Jenny has taught her about healing plants and about the story of Windradyne. Ida knows that her family was among the first settlers in Bathurst. They know this information because it has been passed down through their families.

Students talk to their family
To start students in pairs tell each other a story about something they know about an event or person in their family history. Encourage the students to find out more by asking an older member of their family, a grandparent, great grandparent or parent to tell them about a special story of an event that happened in their family history and why this story is important. Students then share this story to the rest of the class in 'Show & Tell'.

This activity can be built on by the end of the story when students can present this story using artefacts and images.

EARLY HISTORY OF BATHURST DISTRICT(back to top)

TIMELINE

[Filesize: 759kb]

Students arrange objects and places from Ida's Quest in chronological order and cut and paste them on the time line.

Answer