Digital resources tagged with ‘colonisation’

A Telegraph Line across the Continent

The story of the struggle to cross a vast continent and build the telegraph line that would bring Australia to the world and the world to Australia.

Building the Bridge

In 2007 Australia celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a giant steel arch resembling a coat hanger that has became one of world's most recognised structures and an engineering triumph.

Captain Cook - Cook's Chronometer

On James Cook’s second voyage of discovery he takes part in a grand scientific experiment to test a chronometer that the Admiralty hopes will allow navigators to measure lines of longitude.

Challenging Colonialism -- Oliver Howes interview

Producer and director Oliver Howes reflects on French Polynesia's colonial history.

Culture Reborn

Traditional Polynesian dancing was suppressed by missionaries. It is now an important part of tourism and a means of cultural power.

Edmund Barton and the Velvet Soap Advertisement

The Velvet Soap advertising campaign is a tongue-in-cheek reminder of Edmund Barton’s hand in formulating the White Australia policy.

End of a Dream

A look at the life and death of West Papuan independence leader, Chief Theys Eluay.

Federation and Defending Our Shores

Federation was a time of jobs and opportunities. With our 12,000 mile coast Australia needed a defence force.

Gold Rush in the West

Gold, more than any other single factor, transformed the Australian colonies.

In My Father's Footsteps

In 1988, Meg Taylor began walking across the Highlands of Papua New Guinea to retrace the journey her father had made 50 years earlier.

Journalist's Diary of a Conflict

Veteran ABC journalist, Sean Dorney, looks back on his time in Papua New Guinea covering the Bougainville crisis.

Journey Back in Time

In 1938 Jim Taylor lead an epic 15 month exploratory patrol through the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

O'Connor's Dream for Water

In 1890 C. Y. O'Connor was recruited to work as Chief Engineer in the newly self-governing colony of Western Australia, where he formed a dynamic partnership with the colony's larger-than-life Premier, John Forrest.

Origins of the Bougainville Conflict

The story of how long-standing local opposition to a copper mine in Bougainville erupted into full-scale civil war.

Rebuilding Bougainville

A man from the rugged mountains of Papua New Guinea's Bougainville single-handedly set up a mini power station in his village.

Remembering Mark Worth - Janet Bell interview

Producer Janet Bell looks back on the life and work of the director of Land of the Morning Star, Mark Worth.

Rescuing the Past

The French colonists discouraged and suppressed Tahiti's traditional culture but it is now re-emerging.

Road to Progress -- Peter Butt interview

For producer and director Peter Butt, making My Father, My Country was both an adventure and a chance to discover Papua New Guinea's past.

Stuart encounters Outback Aborigines

When John Stuart crossed the interior of Australia, he did so in ignorance of the complex set of boundaries and rules for the use of shared resources that existed among the Aboriginal people.

The Forgotten People

The Indonesian province of Papua has a turbulent history and rich culture. Yet it remains largely unknown.

The West and Federation

Some sort of federation of the Australian colonies had been suggested as early as 1846. Ferocious political struggles over the shape of the new nation continued to the eleventh hour.

Todd completes Telegraph

In 1870 Charles Todd, using explorer John McDouall Stuart's maps, organised and lead three teams to lay the overland telegraph wire.

Todd's Telegraph Dream

Charles Todd dreamt of constructing a telegraph line through the heart of the continent.

Todd/Stuart challenge Burke/Wills to cross Continent

There was enormous public and media speculation about whether the Victorian backed Burke and Wills or South Australia's Stuart expedition would be the first to cross the continent's interior.

Tommy McRae & Mickey of Ulladulla

Working at the end of the 19th century, Aboriginal artists Tommy McRae and Mickey of Ulladulla drew the world around them with an extraordinary vitality and sensitivity to detail.