Workshop title: 1800s Australian gold rush emigration
Age range: KS2
Available as: 3 individual 2hr sessions, or a full-day workshop
Can be extended by a further 1 or 2 sessions.
Location: Appledore School - woodland classroom and woods
In a series of 2 hr outdoor sessions, this workshop explores the personal experiences of Victorians emigrating to Australia in the mid-1800s, driven by the lure of the gold rush. These sessions are designed to enrich key stage 2 classroom-based schemes of work that focus on the Ford Madox Brown painting The Last of England.
The Australian Gold rush offered enticing opportunities for some of the individuals and families living in mid-1800’s North Devon communities, but the reality of life in Australia could be harsh and didn’t always deliver the promised riches. Using a combination of discussion, teamwork, local history, resource and skill cards, personal accounts, role play, costume, traditional craft work and natural resources gathered on our woodland site, small teams work together on practical tasks to highlight some of the issues around make a living in Australia.
Topics covered in group discussions include the reasons for choosing to emigrate, local ship building, the sea journey, trading, mining, gender roles in mining life, the harsh experiences facing immigrants and the impact on the indigenous population.