6 events from WA history every child should learn.

Last week British historian Simon Scharma listed 6 events from British history every child should learn and American journalist Michael Tomasky quickly responded with a list of his own. The prospect of distilling the history of a nation into a few key events is daunting but it got me thinking. As a WA history blogger I was inspired to take up the challenge and propose a list of our own.

In keeping with Scharma I wanted to select events that seem particularly relevant to the challenges of our time. Being able to empathise with those in the past is powerful; it is at these moments of 'relatability' that the past is suddenly brought to life.

I also wanted to create a list that might inspire fresh debate and discussion in the classroom. Much of history is about power and while it is impossible to separate history from politics (and if you tried kids could see right through it) - critical thinking can help neutralise this. The point is not to tell kids what to think, but to give them the freedom to think for themselves.

With so many events to choose from where to begin? Perhaps with the advertising campaign that started it all? James Stirling is not generally credited as a PR guru however his promotional campaign for the new colony was so successful that it created 'Swan River Mania' in 1820’s England. The reality for new settlers was very different and in a few short years they were united in a battle for survival. The arrival of convicts in 1850 was another major turning point in our history. They were never part of the plan for this 'genteel' colony - in fact - until the latter half of the 20th century it was common for Western Australians to hide their convict heritage! However without them the future would have been bleak - their labour was used to build many of the first major roads and buildings.

Our isolation had always defined us – even today we are the most isolated capital city in the world. It is revealing that the first settlement in WA was not the Swan River colony in 1829, but a military base at Albany four years prior. Isolation has been a source of pride but also insecurity; perhaps it is from this legacy that sinking of the HMAS Sydney during World War Two resonated so deeply with us then and now.

And what of the current debates surrounding political refugees in WA? Some of the first refugees to arrive on our shores were intellectuals from Central and Eastern Europe fleeing persecution from the Nazis in the 1930s. Their arrival too heralded fiery debate – they looked different, spoke differently and worshiped different religions. Despite facing intolerance they injected new life into the Perth cultural scene founding opera societies, starting modern art movements and introducing new ways of thinking. After considering these events (and many more) I finally arrived at the list below.

6 events every Western Australian child should learn...

1. First Settlement
40,000 – 60,000 years ago
Genetic evidence suggests that all of us are descended from a single group of 10,000 Africans and that humans reached Australia long before they reached Europe - even though Australia is further away from Africa. Indigenous Australians arrived on our north-west coast 40,000 – 60,000 years ago. They possess the world’s oldest continual culture and when faced with today’s environmental challenges there is much they can teach us.

2. European Exploration
Early 17th Century
Rumours of a mythical ‘great south land’ had been circulating Europe for over 2,000 years but despite (or maybe because of) grand expectations - many early visitors were unimpressed. The Dutch of the early 17th century viewed our treacherous waters as an endurance obstacle course on the way to Asia, rather than an attractive destination. The 18th century bought curious French and British explorers who, while happy to visit, were less than enthusiastic about the huge job of setting up a colony and living here! It was the threat that the French might colonise WA that finally prompted Britain to establish a settlement in Albany, then Perth.

3. Yagan’s Peace Talks
1833
When the first settlers arrived at the Swan River they encounted a complex Noongar society. Initial relations were peaceful however miscommunication and battles over scarce resources soon resulted in violent conflicts between settlers and indigenous Australians. During his lifetime, Yagan was not only a respected Aboriginal resistance leader and patriot - but arguably the colony’s first celebrity. In 1833 the Perth Gazette newspaper likened him to a European ressistance hero, reporting that Yagan was ‘now generally known as ‘The (William) Wallace’ . Despite being a wanted man, Yagan met with Lieutenant Governor Frederick Irwin in 1933 and negotiated a short-lived peace between the Noongar and European settlers. In the past, controversy surrounding Yagan’s death has tragically overshadowed his leadership and achievements.

4. Our first mining boom
1890’s
While the nature of any economic ‘boom’ is short-term they can have lasting legacies - our first mining boom changed us forever. The Gold Rush of the 1890’s brought thousands of immigrants from overseas and the Eastern states – in a few short years our population increased by 400%! Individual fortunes were won and lost but the effects can still be seen over 100 years later – not only did it lead to the creation of much needed railways, roads and telegraph communications, it also resulted in new art galleries, zoological gardens, grand hotels and theatres. The boom also saw one of the greatest global engineering feats of its time – C. Y. O’Connor’s ‘golden pipeline’ pushed technology to its limits to provide water to the Kalgoorlie goldfields.

5. Federation
1901
It’s time to look at federation differently. Far from being dull and boring, this event defined us unlike any another. While we joke about secession, it was by no means inevitable that WA would ever join the Commonwealth. The federation debate also indirectly led to WA being a leader in women's rights! We were one of the first places in the world to give women the vote in 1899 - women in Britain and USA waited another 20 years (1918 and 1920 respectively). Though we had an innovative suffragette movement, it was no coincidence the vote was awarded just before the federation referendum. Women were viewed as a conservative influence and less likely to want to join the commonwealth. However - in the end the huge influx of immigrants from the mining boom (especially those from the eastern states) led to a yes vote for federation.

6. The end of World War One
1918
Despite technology allowing us to connect with the world in new and innovative ways, it is easy for us today to feel detached from the reality of war. While the rest of the world commemorates World War One on the day it ended (Armistice Day), we are unique in Australia as we also commemorate Anzac Day – the day we first went into battle. Over 10% of WA's population enlisted to fight in WW1 and the conflict left no family untouched. The end of the war brought joy and optimism however many who returned found it difficult to adjust back to civilian life. Looking back today the causes of this conflict seem heartbreakingly complex however attempts to understand the effects of any war cannot succeed without first learning why we were there.

Does the past have a future?

While taking a break from exam study yesterday I read a thought-provoking article by historian Simon Schama in which he outlined his vision for history in British schools. Insightful and inspiring, it reminded me why I started studying history in the first place (and how neglected this blog has been during exams).

Schama argues that sanitised, spoon-fed history curriculums patronise kids and underestimate an enthusiasm for complex stories proven by the popularity of books such as Harry Potter, The Dark Materials Trilogy, Twilight and Lord of the Rings. Perhaps we should ask if they stay in the best-sellers lists despite hefty word counts and challenging themes - or because of them. The truth is certainly stranger than fiction. Is it time we started telling history differently?

In a Facebook culture firmly focused on the next 'status update', Scharma suggests that ‘unless (children) can be won to history, their imagination will be held hostage in the cage of eternal Now’. I would argue that the dangers of being seduced by the ‘eternal Now ’are in no way limited to children. The 24hr news cycle has come to offer us a relentless drumbeat of action and reaction. With our minds set in the present, the perhaps future may soon become obsolete.

In his article, Scharma listed six key events from British history that he believes every child should learn, along with the reasons why. It made me wonder - how do you even begin to list the most important events in a community’s history? Do you select those events that had greatest impact at the time; or ones that have become more important in retrospect? Is it more important to know the about events that have made us who we are; or to select those that may help us become who we should be?

While we may never reach consensus on a single list of events that have defined us; perhaps we can all agree that to claim our future, we must first reclaim our past.

How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet

A glorious quote from Douglas Adams about the ways people have approached new technology throughout history...

"I suppose earlier generations had to sit through all this huffing and puffing with the invention of television, the phone, cinema, radio, the car, the bicycle, printing, the wheel and so on, but you would think we would learn the way these things work, which is this:

1. everything that’s already in the world when you’re born is just normal;
2. anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;
3. anything that gets invented after you’re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it’s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really."

Walking around lucky.

“A man's gotta make at least one bet a day,

else he could be walking around lucky and never know it”

Anon

History is rife with dreamers and gamblers. Indeed, gambling and dreaming have always been deeply intertwined. With imagination the only limit, perhaps the dreaming is almost as addictive as the exhilaration of a win?

Recently a team of Australian academics have been investigating the power of these dreams, and the effect they had on a community in Harlem, New York in the 1930’s. Last week I attended a free public lecture at UWA in which Professor Shane White revealed some of the incredible stories they have been preserving in their Digital Harlem archive and blog.

Since the beginning of the 20th century Harlem has been a centre for African American culture – a vibrant business and residential hub with strong traditions of literature, film and music. In the time period between the world wars, a wild craze would hit this community and spread like a fever to every corner of Manhattan. The craze was ‘Numbers’ - a simple lottery game that would quickly create a complex industry.

Every day tens of thousands of people would place a bet on a three digit number. The way a daily random number was generated was truly ingenious – with figures selected each morning from statistics displayed at a local financial institution, the New York Clearing House. At this time, most African Americans were completely excluded from the US banking system, finding it difficult to open a bank account and almost impossible to get a loan.

In a twist of irony an institution that excluded African Americans would provide the basis for a brand new black-owned, black-run business. The Numbers game would soon generate tens of millions of dollars every year and become one of the community’s major employers. ‘Numbers men’ were also often able to give loans to those who had been denied them before.

As the Great Depression took its toll, the dreams of Harlem grew. At its height approximately half of Harlem’s population were betting regularly in this illegal lottery. With a 1 in 1000 chance of winning the odds were all too tempting and runners working on commission could earn $20-$40 per day taking bets. But the real winners were the bankers. The Kings and Queens of Harlem could make $10,000 a day – however if a popular set of numbers came up they stood the risk of having to pay out far more than the income generated from the days takings.

Each morning in Harlem there was a hum in the air before the numbers were announced at 10am. This was more than a lottery; it was a social event, a love affair with numbers that permeated the hearts and minds of Harlem residents. Your three lucky numbers could be extracted from any source; birthdays, the scripture number from a church sermon, the page number from a book. It was said that the luckiest number was the three digit shield number of policemen who had arrested your local runner the day before...

An entire industry sprang up based around dreaming. Many were convinced that their lucky numbers would appear to them in their sleep and ‘Dream Books’ were published to help people interpret the meaning of their dreams. Here you could find symbols, events and objects - all attributed with a three digit number.

Policy Pete's Dream Book (1933) thanks to the Digital Harlem Blog.

For bankers, a danger occurred when a large amount of people would pick the same lucky number. There was always a chance that this number could come up, and in 1931 this actually happened causing many major players to go bankrupt. With the end of prohibition (and huge profits from bootlegging) in sight, white gangsters took their chance to take over this lucrative black industry. Numbers continued however the golden days were over.

An ocean away, the Great Depression stirred the dreams of Western Australia too. Optimists here turned to the ‘four-legged lottery’ to lift their fortunes. On Saturday afternoons illegal bookmakers in suburban pubs and (for those in the know) barber shops would take bets. Like Harlem, it soon became a lucrative industry however took an early hit in 1931 when the Western Australian Government set up the Lotteries Commission as a direct competitor.

Today there are legal lotteries in both the US and Australia in which proceeds are sent back into communities. The way lotteries are run may have changed, but perhaps the dreams have stayed the same.



The University of Western Australia’s Institute of Advanced Studies regularly organise regular free public lectures with speakers from around the globe. It’s an incredible opportunity to get inside the mind of some inspiring thinkers and you can view upcoming lectures here.

Perth’s lost city.

In 1831, 400 people left everything they had ever known to follow a British entrepreneur to one of the most isolated places on earth.

Instead of a brave new world, the 400 were stranded on the Western Australian coast for over a year in a chaotic makeshift city that came to be known as Clarence Town.

Lost for 150 years, the site was recently rediscovered by a local archaeologist and is revealing new information about our colonial past.



The Swan River Colony was always intended to be Australia’s first private settlement. Convict labour was definitely not part of this vision; in fact, until the latter half of the 20th Century many Perth families would strenuously deny their convict roots. But where to access cheap labour to build this new British outpost?

An answer was found in indentured servants – workers bought over from Britain in exchange for a period of labour (generally 3-7 years). Though the agreements were generally entered into voluntarily, the backbreaking work and harsh conditions were a high price to pay.

Thomas Peel was one of the colonies’ major investors and planned to bring over 400 indentured labourers. In exchange, he had been promised 1,000 square km of prime land - however there was a catch. To claim the land Peel had to arrive before November 1829. Unfortunately Peel was six months late so by the time he arrived the land had already been claimed.

Panicked, Peel threatened to take his entire cohort back to England and protracted negotiations began for a new allocation. While these continued all men, women and children were stranded on the coast, where they inadvertently created one of Perth’s first towns. The site itself was completely unsuitable with little water, basic shelter (the lucky ones created canvas tents, with others forced to dwell in barrels and boxes) and dwindling supplies.

After over a year living in slum conditions, the government stepped in to release all labourers from their contracts. Peel balked – his dreams for a grand town in his name were all but shattered – causing Governor James Stirling to write:

‘Had the Magistrates given a contrary order and compelled your people to remain in your service they would have acted illegally, for such an order would have been equivalent to Sentence of Death by Starvation.’

The settlement was abandoned.

Peel died in Mandurah in 1865 and it is said in his later days he would ride his horse throughout the colony in full (but tattered) English riding gear. Once the colonies’ main investor, he ended his life as a local eccentric with illusions of grandeur. Indeed his folly was so famous it even caught the attention of Karl Marx who used his tale of woe as an example in Das Kapital.

The citizens of Clarence Town are rarely mentioned in colonial records, indeed most could not read or write. However, recently, a team of archaeologists led by Dr Shane Burke have been working to release their unique voices from our colonial past.




















For over 50 years historians believed the town site was at Woodman Point however a treasure trove of artefacts have proven that the actual site was 8km further south. Finds have included hundreds of thousands of artefacts – including pipes, bottles, coins, thimbles, flint and limestone structures – even a piano key...




The objects left behind are revealing much about the people of Clarence Town. Once abandoned on the fringes and erased from the records, they are finally telling their side of the story.

The girl in the yellow dress.

I’ve always loved this poster and have a framed copy hanging up above my desk. Maybe it's because there's something so optimistic about the girl in the yellow dress; the promise of youth, possibilities and endless horizons. Posters such as this were created by the Australian National Travel Association – an organisation established in 1929 with the sole purpose 'to place Australia on the world's travel map and keep it there'.

This one was published by the Western Australian Tourist Bureau in 1936 and is the work of Australian artist Percy Trompf (1902-1964). His bright, cheerful artwork was extremely popular, especially during the hardships of the Depression era.

But who is the girl in the yellow dress and why would she have appealed to potential tourists? Human figures were often used in Australian travel advertising to provide some scale for the vast landscapes. They also made the wide open spaces of the outback seem far less frightening and empty.

It’s likely we’ll never know if Trompf modelled the girl on anyone he knew however the fact that she reflects a European ideal with blonde hair and ruddy complexion is no accident. In fact, if it wasn't for the distinctive Australian wildflowers (including 'Kangaroo Paw' - the floral emblem of Western Australia) the poster could be a scene from continental Europe! A fantasy girl in a fantasy land, she perhaps reveals more about wishful-thinking than reality.

Despite this, the American-style image of a smiling, beckoning girl was so successful that is still used in travel advertising today – albeit it’s her older sister this time.

The forgotten freedom fighter.

Sometimes the stories we forget reveal more about us than those we remember.

Yagan was a freedom fighter who lobbied for peace between Australia’s first peoples and the first British colonists. His exploits and efforts to bring peace to the Swan River Colony made him a celebrity in his time, however today his legacy is little known.

The son of a Noongar elder, Yagan was in his early twenties when colonists arrived in 1829 and quickly proved himself a bold and charismatic leader. In 1831 he was declared an outlaw after seeking revenge against an settler who murdered one of his tribesmen - one of the first examples of Aboriginal resistance in the Swan River Colony. Over the months that passed, Yagan’s exploits became legendary as he evaded authorities.

His trust in settlers, many of whom he considered friends and relatives, resulted in his eventual capture in September 1832 however he soon escaped. In an act of incredible bravery, instead of going into hiding Yagan boldly walked into Perth and negotiated a treaty between the Noongar and European settlers.

Yagan’s celebrity grew and the Perth Gazette newspaper made frequent mention of his doings, praising his good nature. Settlers went so far as to compare him to a Scottish resistance hero, William Wallace.

The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal, Saturday 20 April 1833

Peace was shattered when a visitor to the colony murdered a group of Noongar women and children. This unprovoked slaughter sparked a series of revenge attacks and the incarceration and execution of Yagan’s father. Once again, Yagan was an outlaw and once again his good nature was his undoing.

Three months later a teenage boy, who Yagan considered a friend, shot Yagan to claim a reward. The Gazette reported his death with ‘mingled feelings of gratification and regret’ later calling his death ‘treachery’. Yagan’s head was preserved and sent to England where it was studied and displayed an anthropological curiosity - before finally being forgotten in a distant archive and buried in an unknown grave.

Since the early 1980’s attempts were made by the Noongar community to locate and repatriate Yagan’s head. After being located in Liverpool in December 1993, permission to exhume it was granted by the British government in 1997. The return of the head by a delegation of Noongar elders was highly symbolic to Noongar people and one which was likened by some to the repatriation from Gallipoli of Australia's Unknown Soldier. Yagan’s traditional burial took place this year, more than 170 years after his death.

Australian historian Henry Reynolds once asked ‘ if we are to continue to celebrate the sacrifice of men and women who died for their country, can we deny admission to fallen tribesmen?’. Unless we come to terms with frontier conflict and our part in it, Yagan will be doomed to be remembered for controversy rather than his extraordinary courage and stance against injustice.

This failing will be ours and we will be lesser for it.