23 April – 2 August 2015
Kunmanara Hogan, Tjaruwa Woods,
Yarangka Thomas, Estelle Hogan,
Ngalpingka Simms and Myrtle
Pennington, Kungkarangkalpa (detail).
Acrylic on canvas, 2013. © the artists, courtesy Spinifex Arts Project.
Organised with the
National Museum of Australia
Logistics partner
The public programme is supported by the
Australian High Commission

We recommend the following three guidelines in planning your students’ visit to the exhibition:

Provide a focus that students should keep in mind as they explore the exhibition and which you can follow up afterwards

Do some preparatory work in school to develop the focus of the visit and familiarise students with the content of the exhibition

Allow students some scope to explore to find objects that interest them
Curriculum Links
The exhibition offers opportunities in the following curriculum areas and for cross-curricular work:
Art and Design: Decorative objects, patterns, colour, animal and plant motifs, natural materials, painting and drawing.
PSHE and Citizenship: Other cultures, celebrations, ceremonies and human rights.
Geography: Human and physical geography, time, seasons, landscapes, changing features and natural resources.
This resource is designed to support your visit to the ‘Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation’ exhibition.
It is aimed to be cross-curricular and gives you the opportunity to work the exhibition into teaching within the National Curriculum. To accompany this resource we also have a downloadable image bank and worksheets that can be adapted to suit your needs.
Indigenous Australian society today is a product of a continuing culture dating back over 60,000 years that reflects a complex spiritual relationship to the natural world and an intimate knowledge of diverse environments that were carefully managed. The impact of European colonialism was profound, leaving a legacy that is still contested.
In advance
Decide on a focus for the visit and a follow-up activity. Go through these with the students.
Some examples of possible overarching questions are given to help you.
Use the cross curricular ideas on the next page and the exhibition image bank to provide general background to the exhibition and to familiarise students with some of the content in the exhibition. If you are using activity sheets, go through them with the students in advance. Our activity sheets are available to download and you can adapt them for your needs.
On the day
Divide the class into small groups, with an adult assigned to each group.
Encourage adults to allow students to linger at objects which interest them and to discuss what they see sharing things they find out as they go round. Remind students to behave calmly and politely. Photography is not allowed within the exhibition, but students may take photographs of r elevant objects in the Museum’s permanent galleries.
Afterwards
Discuss the students’ thoughts and responses to the exhibition. Use what the students have gathered in the exhibition for the follow-up activity back at school.
Shield mangrove wood, bark
Botany Bay region, New
South Wales, 1779

I t is often a good idea to have an overarching question for students to keep in mind during their visit to the exhibition. Here are some possible examples:
Which did I think, and why, was the most interesting object in the exhibition?
What did I learn about Indigenous Australia that I did not know before?
What sources of evidence does the exhibition include?
How useful did I find these for learning about people in the past?
What have I learned about from objects in the exhibition?
What else would I put in the exhibition to make it interesting/informative?
The exhibition is divided into four sections. The
Introduction, Understanding Country,
Encounters in Country and Out of Country .
Understanding Country provides an introduction to Indigenous Australia, meaning both Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait
Islanders. It covers the diversity of languages and culture, relationships to land, world views, religion and knowledge.
Encounters in Country section tells the history of Indigenous Australia since British settlement.
Stories of conflict, collaboration, dispossession and resistance are told through objects. Wider themes and events in Australian history are explored through the personal stories of
Indigenous Australians and the European explorers and settlers that arrived on their land.
These stories lead up to the present, covering
20th century rights movements and the role of contemporary art in demonstrating ownership of land and the joy of returning to country. This section contrasts Understanding Country and explores the deep and long lasting impact of
European settlement on Indigenous Australia.
The final section, Out of Country , reflects on the travel, of people and objects, between Australia and the United Kingdom. Out of Country uses
British Museum objects to tell the story of
Indigenous Australians who made the journey to
Britain as well as exploring the role of museums and the contemporary meanings of historic objects.
There are many different cultures such as
Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders and other migrant groups across Australia and the theme in this exhibition looks at how two groups have lived together. Use the exhibition to explore topics within citizenship such as: Human rights and international law, diversity of languages, culture, celebration and ceremony, world views, relationships to the land, religion and knowledge.

Spotlight Objects:
See page 5, 6, 7 and 8 for Citizenship in the powerpoint that accompanies this resource.
Follow up Activity:
Set up a debate in your classroom around topics raised within the exhibition such as land right issues and human rights. Example questions such as:
Who has the right to have a voice? Whose voice matters? What do you do with views you don’t agree with? Is it right to take control of other countries? Discuss in groups and ask students to take on various roles and voices.
Explore at the idea of celebration and ceremony within the exhibition. Compare an object of cele bration such as the ‘Crocodile mask’ with an object that is recognised in your culture as celebratory.
The island of Australia is home to some of the oldest landscapes and one of the longest continuous cultural traditions on our planet. Its first first people, arrived from the north at least
60,000 years ago. Use the exhibition for students to develop contextual knowledge of Australia, understanding key processes that have given rise to its changing geological and physical features.
Contrast Australia’s changing environment, resources, landscapes and history to Great
Britain, European countries and other islands.
Spotlight Objects:
See page 9, 10, 11 and 12 for Geography in the powerpoint that accompanies this resource.
Follow up Activity:
Ask students to find Australia on a world map.
Compare Australia to other islands in different continents and hemispheres; explore environment, weather, animals and landscapes.
Use the exhibition to explore how Indigenous
Australians use materials and resources in their environment. Ask students to explore how and why Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people lived successfully for a long time and compare the civilisation to another country.
Indigenous Australia lends itself well to art and design. Elements of the exhibition looks at the development of craft techniques passed down through generations and how Australian
Indigenous peoples used their environment and natural resources as canvases to create objects and art works. Use the exhibition to evaluate and analyse objects and artworks using the language of art, craft and design as listed below. Use the theme of nature and environment to develop a range of art and design techniques such as: colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.
Spotlight Objects:
See page 1, 2, 3 and 4 for Art and Design in the powerpoint that accompanies this resource.
Follow up Activity:
Use Indigenous Australian paintings in the exhibition to create your own inspired art work back at school. Use the colours within the exhibition and think about what they represent such as: yellow (the sun), brown (the soil), red
(desert sand) and white (the clouds and the sky).
Using the themes and techniques passed down through generations, invite students to share art based techniques in a forum.
Ask students to create an artwork using natural materials as tools.