HIST106

Sarah Langley
S00125859
Option 3: 750 words (equivalent) plus piece
This creative piece, a board game for students in grade 6-8 entitled
A Journey Through Time, is inspired by the Melbourne Museums
exhibition First Peoples and draws from the content presented in
the HIST106 course. It explores aspects of the story of the
colonialism of Australia and provides an insight into the Aboriginal
emotional and physical experience. The facts presented include
negative events that have happened in the past, events that have
occurred that promote change and a variety of Aboriginal cultural
elements.

The imagery evident in this creative piece is reliant on the choice of

word selection rather than actual physical images. The use of
Aboriginal words such as Ngarrakeetong for family and
Wominjeka to welcome players reflects the powerful imagery
created by words in the Museum exhibition. The inclusion of these
Aboriginal words in the piece alongside the English translation
intends to provide an avenue for players to recognise a bridge
between the two cultures and to form a connection to Aboriginal
culture. In doing so it is hoped that when they read the information
presented they will potentially be more empathetic and feel as
though they themselves are on the journey through time. This
experience alludes to that of Luisa Briggs presented in the Museum,
this woman providing a link between the two cultures (Melbourne

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859
Museum). This intended innate connection was one of the powerful
aspects of the Museum exhibition.

The powerful imagery created by the text extends throughout the

game with bold, and at times confronting, words such as conflict
and assimilation been used, both of which radiate negative
connotations. They allude to the content presented in both the
lectures and readings, with disease causing crisis amongst
Aboriginal people and Broome (2010) writing of extensive and
escalating violence on the frontier (p 42). They have been included
to make students aware of cultural indifference, cultural
misunderstandings and power struggles, particularly over land
(Broome 2010, p.37 & HIST106, Lecture 3).

Such negative connotations also apply to the references made to

disease and alcohol. Broome (2010) writes that disease was the
major cause for Aboriginal deaths after Settlement (p 63) and that
the resulting death toll was a contributing factor to the power
gained by the Settlers over Aboriginal people (HIST106, Lecture 4).
In comparison to these negative connotations, positive imagery is
projected by documents such as the Native Title Act, which shows
the progression from conflict over land and British dismissal of
Aboriginal ownership (Watson 2009) to the recognition of Aboriginal
ties with the land. Broome (2010) provides an example of the

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859
significance of this when he quotes Woodward: to deny Aboriginies
the right to prevent mining on their land is to deny the reality of
their land rights. (p. 232) This juxtaposition of imagery that is
connected through a general topic reflects the journey/narrative
aspect of the Museum exhibition and the content presented in it.

In terms of moving forward, an important aspect of both the

exhibition and the course content was activism by Aboriginal people
and political efforts from figures such as Gough Whitlam and Kevin
Rudd. Examples of have been drawn from both of these and as a
result an image of the effort of two parties resulting in a positive
outcome is projected. For instance, 1966 saw the Gurindji people
walk off on Wave Hill Station in protest of a lack of equality, poor
work conditions and denial of ownership of traditional lands (Broome
2010 p. 228 & HIST106, Lecture 9). They emphasized their spiritual
connection to the land to justify they right to own it (Broome 2010,
p,2 28). Years later Gough Whitlam addressed the issue of
ownership of land and recognized the lack of equality surrounding
this when he said:
We will legislate to give Aborigines land rights- not just because
their case is beyond argument, but because all of us Australians
are diminished while the Aboriginies are denied their rightful
place in this nation. (HIST106 Lecture 9)

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859
Snippets of culture are also present in the game. In particular, the
Bunjil the Eagle Creation story, in which humans were created from
the earths resources, demonstrates the spiritual aspect of
Aboriginal culture (HIST106 Lecture 2 & Melbourne Museum) and
links to why Aboriginal people maintain a spiritual connection with
the land and hence why they so fiercely and violently contested
British settlement (Watson 2009 & Broome 2010, p. 37). Culture has
been included so that while players are going on a journey of key
events, they also are experiencing cultural aspects which may make
them more empathetic and understanding of Aboriginal peoples.

In terms of why this imagery and facts were included in the creative
piece, it is important to remember that they provide examples of
Australias cultural history, what was done to try and rectify
events/achieve equality so that players are aware that these things
are not just events; they are part of a whole journey of history and
rich culture that needs to be acknowledged in order to achieve
reconciliation. People must have an understanding of the wrongs
committed by past Australian governments whilst being aware of
positive things that were done in taking a step towards equality. An
awareness of Aboriginal culture is also important, hence its inclusion
in the game.

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859
Essentially, the journey undertaken when one plays the board game
opens up many different journeys that provide players with both
positive and negative stories and an avenue to explore the
emotional aspects of experience by Aboriginal people, just as the
journey presented in the exhibition did. Using this format players
confronted with different experiences and develop their moral
conscience when they are told to move forwards or backwards
according to whether or not the event/encounter was positive or
not. This is again similar to the exhibition in that it challenges a
viewer to dig deep within their conscious and consider why
something was unfair.

References

Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre, Melbourne Museum: First Peoples

Broome, R. (2010). Aboriginal Australians- A history since 1788

(4th ed.). Crows Nest: Allen&Unwin

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859
HIST106 Lecture Week 2: 60 000+ Years of Australian History
[Powerpoint]. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=502558

HIST106 Lecture Week 3: The Myth of Peaceful Settlement

[Powerpoint]. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/618167/mod_resource/conten
t/1/Lecture%20Outline%20Week%203%20-%20The%20Myth
%20of%20Peaceful%20Settlement.pdf

HIST106 Lecture Week 4: Humanitarianism or Control?

Protection, Missions and Reserves [Powerpoint]. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/618173/mod_resource/conten
t/1/Lecture%204%20-%20Outline%20-%20Missions%20and
%20Reserves.pdf

HIST106 Lecture Week 9: Civil Rights and Native Title

[Powerpoint]. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/618189/mod_resource/conten
t/1/Lecture%2009%20%20-%20Outline%20-%20Civil%20Rights
%202.pdf

Watson, I. (2009). Aboriginality and the Violence of Colonialism.

Borderlands, 8(1), p1

HIST106
Sarah Langley
S00125859