This morning, the Year 5 students visited the exhibition First People, Convicts and Migrants at Hyde Park Barracks Museum. Along their guided tours, they learnt about the lives of all three of these groups and explored how each of them experienced displacement and resilience.
On the ground floor, students talked about what it must have felt like to be a young Irish migrant during the famine coming to Australia in search of a better life—perhaps a bit scary, but also hopeful, they decided. On the first floor, they interacted with objects found in the Barracks that were left behind by convicts: small pieces of clay, cutouts of work uniforms, and handmade musical instruments. Finally, on the second floor, they learned about the impact of early settlers on the Aboriginal people who originally inhabited this land.
This was an excellent opportunity for the children to add to their understanding as part of their History Unit, Australian Colonies.
