Digital resources tagged with ‘Constructing Australia’

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.

Aboriginal people and the colony of NSW

On January 26, 1788 the British arrived at what is now known as Sydney, New South Wales, with the intention of taking possession of the land in the name of the British Government and the King, and of staying.

Bligh, Macarthur and The Rum Rebellion

On January 26, 1808 troops from the New South Wales Corps march on Government House to place Governor William Bligh under arrest.

Building the Bridge

In 2007 Australia celebrated 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.

Democracy and the Colony of NSW

In 1819 British Commissioner John Thomas Bigge investigates accusations that the colony of NSW has become a land of opportunity for convicts under Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Francis De Groot’s Sword

When right-wing agitator Francis De Groot upstaged the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and sliced through the ceremonial ribbon, the antique sword he wielded cemented its place as an Australian national treasure.

Gold Rush in the West

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

Governor Bligh - Hero or Coward?

Governor William Bligh destroys important documents as he hides from the New South Wales Corps troops who storm Government House and place him under "arrest". It is January 26, 1808.

Governor Bligh arrives in NSW

In 1806 William Bligh, accompanied by his daughter Mary Putland arrives as the new Governor of the colony of NSW.

NSW 1819 - convict gulag or place of opportunity?

In 1819 the life of the working class in newly-industrialised England is harsher than the life and opportunities open to the children of convicts in the colony of NSW.

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.

Stuart Crosses the 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.

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.

Sydney's Harbour Bridge Finally Completed

For 6 years the two half arches gradually draw closer together. A dream is realised when the heaviest and biggest bridge arch in the world is finally completed.

The Bridge Workers

The construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was a massive investment for the NSW government. The cost was not only in monetary terms but also the destruction of significant areas of Sydney’s heritage and the loss of lives.

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.

Two convicts steal a place in history

Two soldiers in colonial NSW steal a piece of cloth, with the intention of getting caught.

William Wentworth - "currency lad"

William Wentworth, the colonial born son of a convict, is destined to become a loud, charismatic press baron, publicist, barrister and patriot.