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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.
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Two boats with rope hanging between them filled with men, women and children coming from Vietnam

Michael Jensen, Vietnamese boat people, Darwin, 1977, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-149648567

Australian migration

Module

Discover how migration has shaped Australia’s diverse identity through stories from the first colonies, the gold rush, refugees and more in this learning module.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
A detailed historical map of Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, depicting early settlement areas, marked camps, and referenced landmarks such as gardens and marine camps. Includes a list of ship names from the First Fleet and geographical details.

Francis Fowkes, Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, in the County of Cumberland, 1789, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230578175 

The Colonies

Topic

Explore how the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, bringing convicts, soldiers, and settlers to Gadigal Country, marked a turning point in Australia’s history that initiated profound changes to the land and its peoples.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
A detailed 1867 wood engraving illustrating Chinese miners engaged in ground-sluicing near Beechworth, Victoria. The scene captures a forested landscape with miners working along a wooden sluice system directing water through rocky terrain. The foreground features a still water pool, while the background shows cascading water and dense trees.

Nicholas Chevalier and Frederick Grosse, Chinese people ground-sluicing, near Beechworth, Victoria, 1867, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135653408

Gold and exploration

Topic

Explore the impact of migration during the gold rush and how people from around the world shaped Australian cities and industries and transformed the nation with this teaching resource.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
A colorful vintage poster promoting Australia as the "Land of Tomorrow." The illustration features a vibrant rural scene with a man riding a horse in the foreground, surrounded by sheep and blooming trees. In the background, a farmhouse with a red roof is set amidst rolling green hills, with a farmer driving a tractor and a windmill spinning. Smoke rises from the house's chimney, adding to the idyllic countryside feel. The words "Australia" and "land of tomorrow" are prominently displayed.

J. G & Australia. Department of Information, Australia land of tomorrow, 195- , nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137199963

Selling the dream

Topic

Understand how advertising to attract migrants and visitors is linked to Australia's immigration policies with this teaching resource.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
Small red christening gown with black buttons down the centre

Christening gown worn by members of the Kwong family from the Papers of the Kwong family, 1891-2001, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3006822

Becoming Australian

Topic

Explore the different ways and reasons that people came to Australia and stayed through the personal migration stories of Kwong Mui Ying, Lorenzo Abrogar Gamboa and Thomas Frankovitz.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
Three young girls smile and sit together inside a wooden boat cabin. A customs officer stands outside near a vessel labeled "Customs." Two bowls rest on a barrel near the cabin.

Michael Jensen, Three girls in cabin on the boat from Vietnam, Darwin 1977, nla.gov.au/catalog/3209932

Refugees

Topic

Examine the journeys and challenges of refugees to Australia and reflect on government policies related to asylum and detention in this learning resource.

Humanities
Year 6
Migration and immigration
Image of a page in a journal listing names of female convicts on the ship Lady Penrhyn

Arthur Bowes Smyth, Journal of Arthur Bowes Smyth, 1787, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-233364776

First Fleet

Topic 

Explore the journey of the First Fleet and its role in shaping Australia's early colonial history. 

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration
Family of aboriginal people sitting by a bay surrounded by trees.

Joseph Lycett, Family of Aborigines taking shelter during a storm, 1817, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138500126

First peoples

Topic 

Explore the rich cultural heritage of Australia's First Peoples through the art of Joseph Lycett, a convict artist who captured the rituals and customs of Indigenous communities. 

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration
sketch and depiction of the settlement at Sydney Cove Port Jackson.

Francis Fowkes, R Cribb Neele & John Samuel, Sketch & description of the settlement at Sydney Cove Port Jackson in the County of Cumberland taken by a transported convict on the 16th of April, 1788, which was not quite 3 months after Commodore Phillips's landing there, 1789, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230578175

Early settlement

Topic 

Explore the early settlement of Sydney Cove through Francis Fowkes' 1789 map and other historical sources. 

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration
A pencil drawing of a large opossum with trees in the background.

Peter Mazell, James Cook & John Webber, An opossum of Van Diemen's Land, 1784, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136182204

Strange creatures

Topic 

Explore the excitement and wonder of the First Fleet as they encountered Australia’s unique flora and fauna for the first time. 

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration
A group of men are gathered around a fallen tree in an outdoor setting. One person is seated on the ground, while others stand and hold spears. Two individuals engage in manual labor. A ship is anchored near the shore in the background, with sheep grazing on the grassy landscape. The sky is partly cloudy, and there are trees and a small structure in the distance. This scene depicts a moment of cultural interaction and shared labor during a historical period of exploration and colonisation.

Thomas Baines, Thomas Baines with Aborigines near the mouth of the Victoria River, 1857, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134296782

Early interaction

Topic 

Investigate the complex interactions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers in Australia through Thomas Baines’ evocative painting.

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration
Pencil drawings depicting Aboriginal peoples and native Australian flora and fauna

Mickey of Ulladulla, Corroboree with native animals in the distance near Ulladulla, New South Wales, approximately 1885, 1880, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135517021

Early communication

Topic 

Examine the relationship between Indigenous peoples and European settlers in Van Diemen’s Land through the use of pictograms for communication.

Humanities
Year 4
Australian history
Migration and immigration

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