Digital Classroom | National Library of Australia (NLA)
Search

What can we help you find?

Not sure where to start or need help? Ask a Librarian

Digital Classroom

Explore Australia's history at the National Library's Digital Classroom, aligned with the Australian Curriculum. With over 10 million items, we support diverse learning styles, fostering inquiry-based learning for students to analyse sources and draw conclusions about the Australian story.
Clear filter
Showing 13 - 20 of 20 results
Sort by:
A water colour painting of men firing rifles from a tent at a tribe of First Australians on an outback plain.

Hodgkinson, W. O. (William Oswald), 1835-1900. (1861). Bulla, Queensland, 1861 [picture] / W.O. Hodgkinson. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147606769

Frontier conflict

Topic

This image, depicting frontier conflict, is contained in an album compiled and originally owned by Miss Eliza Younghusband.

Humanities
Year 5
Australian history
First Australians
Gold Digging Boardgame

(1855). [Board game titled: Race to the gold diggings of Australia] [realia]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139615708

The promise of gold

Topic

Race to the Gold Diggings of Australia is a boxed, children’s board game produced in England around 1855. It is the earliest known board game that has Australia as its theme.

Humanities
Year 5
Australian history
First Australians
Display of an old stained, sepia coloured envelope, a sepia coloured letter and a portion of the Eureka stockade flag.

(1854). Portion of the flag flown by the miners at the Eureka Stockade, 1854 [realia]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139600656

Flag of the Southern Cross

Topic

Housed in a blue-bound folder, in a collection at the National Library of Australia, is a fragment of blue fabric that represents the pursuit of Australian democracy. The folder contains a portion of the Eureka Flag flown at Ballarat, Victoria, during the 1854 Eureka Rebellion. The folder also houses an accompanying explanatory letter dated 13/1/1912 from Fred (F.J.) Riley to his father, Fred Riley.

Humanities
Year 5
Australian history
First Australians
A photo of a tattered old blue book.

Burke and Wills Expedition (1860-1861) & Burke, Robert O'Hara, 1821-1861 & Wills, William John, 1834-1861 & King, John, 1841-1872 & Hawkins, F. H & Roberts, D. W. (1860). Papers relating to the Burke and Wills Expedition, 1860-1861 [manuscript]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-229121922

Inland adventures

Topic

The Burke and Wills Expedition (also known as the Victorian or the Australian Exploring Expedition), was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria. It was the first expedition to cross the Australian continent from south to north.

Humanities
Year 5
Australian history
First Australians
A campaign poster for the 1967 Australian referendum, featuring a close-up photograph of a young Aboriginal child with a serious expression. The text on the poster reads: 'YES for Aborigines. Write YES for Aborigines in the lower square. May 27th. Authorized by Faith Bandler, 13 Kens Road, Frenchs Forest.'

Faith Bandler and Jerry Rind, Yes for Aborigines : write yes for Aborigines in the lower square May 27th, 1967, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136875607

The 1967 Referendum

Module

This resource is aligned with the Australian Curriculum: History for Year 10 students. It engages students with a rich selection of sources and challenges them to draw their own conclusions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ struggle for civil rights in Australia.

Humanities
Year 10
First Australians
Government and politics
Black and white photo of an Aboriginal girl dressed in white clothing

(1910). A real Australian native girl, Australian Aborigines' Mission, La Pérouse, New South Wales, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137118878

Timeline: Events that led to the 1967 Referendum

Topic

Timeline of events from 1901 to 1967

Humanities
Year 10
First Australians
Government and politics
Black and white image of a poster titled 'First Australian Team of Cricketers that visited England, 1868'

Photoline Printing Co., First Australian team of cricketers that visited England, 1868, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-141855333

First Nations people in sport

Topic

The first Australian cricket team to tour overseas was an Aboriginal one.

Health
Humanities
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
First Australians
Sport and recreation
A black and white photo of a bearded man with collar length hair and a large metal peace medallion hanging down his front, holds a burning piece of paper up high, while several people watch and take photos.

Tim Aickin, A protester burns his draft card, standing in front of Jim Cairns, Vietnam War Moratorium Day, Melbourne, May 1970, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138060747

Direct action

Topic

Direct action can be separated into two categories: civil resistance and civil disobedience.

Humanities
Year 8
Australian history
Democracy
First Australians
Protest and dissent

Need help?

Our librarians are here to guide you.

Ask a librarian