ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



Questions for discussion

Nauru Kids

1. Discuss the BtN Nauru Kids story as a class. What issues were raised in the discussion?

2. Locate Nauru using Google Maps.

3. Why did Misbah and Shamim flee their home country?

4. Where were the girls before they were sent to the detention centre on Nauru?

5. Why are asylum seekers put in detention centres?

6. The detention centres are paid for and run by ______________________.

7. How do Misbah and Shamim describe life in detention on Nauru?

8. What happened to the girls when the detention centre closed?

9. How do some of the refugees feel living on Nauru?

10. What did you learn watching the BtN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Snowy Mountains Scheme

1. What was the main point of the BtN Snowy Mountains Scheme story?

2. Which list has the Snowy Mountains Scheme been added to?

3. In which year did construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme begin?

4. Briefly explain the scheme.

5. What were some concerns people had about the scheme?

6. How long did it take to complete?

7. Many of the people working on the scheme were __________________.

8. Why did the workers come from Europe?

9. What were the working and living conditions like?

10. What impact did the scheme have on Australia?

Check out the Snowy Mountains Scheme resource on the Teachers page

Animal Tourism

1. Explain the Animal Tourism story to another student.

2. Which tourism company says its’s going to stop selling tickets to experiences that are cruel to animals?

3. Why has animal tourism become a huge industry?

4. Give some examples of animal tourism.

5. Describe the mistreatment of animals being used in some tourist attractions.

6. What did World Animal Protection do to make TripAdvisor change their policies?

7. Why do some people involved in the industry argue that animal tourism is ok?

8. What do you think about animal tourism?

9. What do you understand more clearly since watching this story?

10. How did this story make you feel?

Vote in the Behind the News online poll.

Aboriginal Astronomy

1. Briefly summarise the Aboriginal Astronomy story.

2. Most people think that Stonehenge was a prehistoric planetarium used to observe and map the stars. True or false?

3. About how old do they think Stonehenge is?

4. In which state is the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement and how old do scientists think the site may be?

5. What is a constellation?

6. The Yolngu people know the saucepan as…

7. What does it tell the story of?

8. Describe the Emu in the Sky constellation.

9. How did Indigenous people use the sky as a calendar?

10. What constellations do you know? Share what you know with another student.

Check out the Aboriginal Astronomy resource on the Teachers page.

Jousting

1. In your own words, describe what jousting is.

2. Where does Phil live?

a. House

b. Castle

c. Tent

3. What are the sticks used in jousting called?

4. What do the knights wear?

5. When did jousting begin?

6. Jousting was a sport for ____________ people.

7. What did the knights have to do wo win a joust?

8. Who won the jousting competition at the medieval fair?

9. Illustrate an aspect of the story.

10. What was surprising about this story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Teacher Resource

Snowy Mountains Scheme

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1. What was the main point of the BtN Snowy Mountains Scheme story?

2. Which list has the Snowy Mountains Scheme been added to?

3. In which year did construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme begin?

4. Briefly explain the scheme.

5. What were some concerns people had about the scheme?

6. How long did it take to complete?

7. Many of the people working on the scheme were __________________.

8. Why did the workers come from Europe?

9. What were the working and living conditions like?

10. What impact did the scheme have on Australia?

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Class Discussion

Discuss the BtN Snowy Mountains Scheme story as a class. What questions were raised in the discussion (what are the gaps in their knowledge)? The following KWLH organiser provides students with a framework to explore their knowledge on this topic and consider what they would like to know and learn.

|What do I know? |What do I want to know? |What have I learnt? |How will I find out? |

| | | | |

Students will develop their own question/s for inquiry, collecting and recording information from a wide variety of sources (internet, books, newspaper and magazines).

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Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the people that worked on the project.

|Define: What do I want to know? |

|Key questions to research |

|Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own: |

|What is the Snowy Mountains Scheme? |

|Who was involved in the construction? |

|Why were migrants brought in to work on the scheme? |

|What were conditions like for the workers and their families? |

|What impact has the scheme had on Australia? |

|Locate: Where do I find the information? |

|What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a |

|reliable source is. |

|Select: What information is important for the investigation? |

|Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information. |

|Organise: How do I make sense of the information? |

|Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. |

|Record the information found for each question. |

|Present: How do we let others know about this information? |

|Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include: |

|A `Did You Know’ Fact sheet |

|Create an Infographic |

|An oral history report |

|Design a poster |

|Create a photo story |

|Evaluate: What have we learnt? |

|Students reflect on what they have learnt about the Snowy Mountains Scheme during their investigation. Students will reflect on their |

|learning and respond to the following. |

|What I learned... |

|What I found surprising... |

There are weblinks at the end of this activity to help students with their research. The following videos showing archival footage of the scheme may also be useful.

National Film and Sound Archive - Snowy Mountain Scheme

ABC Splash – Archival vision of the Snowy Mountain Scheme

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The Workers and their Families

Students will investigate in more detail the people that worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Begin by responding to the following questions:

• How many people worked on the scheme?

• What percentage were migrants?

• Which countries did the workers come from?

• Why was work hard to find in Europe at the time?

• What were working and living conditions like for workers and their families?

• What impact did workers and their families have on Australian society?

Further Investigation:

Research an interview with a migrant who worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Describe his experiences, noting the positives and negatives.

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Postcard writing

Students will imagine what life was like for migrants working on the Snowy Mountains Scheme and write a postcard to a family member explaining their experiences (including what they are doing, the living conditions and how they feel). Students will use their research findings to support their writing. Include photographs, drawings and or maps to decorate the front of the postcard.

Students can download this Write a Postcard template to assist them with their design.

Journal writing

Students will imagine they are a migrant worker on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Write a journal describing what the working and living conditions were like.

• Explain why you moved from Europe to work on the Snowy Mountain Scheme. What is your job on the scheme?

• How do things feel about living in a different country?

• What are some of the challenges or dangers?

• What are your daily activities?

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Visual Literacy

Below are photographs depicting events in the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Ask students to look at then respond to the following questions:

• What is happening in the image?

• Where do you think it was taken?

• How do you think they might be feeling?

• What question/s would you like to ask the people in the image?

• Create a caption for each image.

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|[pic] | |

|Source:Powerhouse Museum (link to image) | |

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| | |

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| | |

| | |

| | |

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| |Source: National Archives of Australia (link to image) |

|Source: Migration Heritage Centre (link to image) | |

| |Source: National Museum Australia (link to image) |

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National Archives of Australia – 60 years of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme



ABC Splash – Snowy Mountains Scheme



– The Snowy Mountains Scheme



National Museum Australia – Snowy Scheme collection



National Film and Sound Archive – Snowy Mountains Scheme



ABC News – Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme added to National Heritage List



Teacher Resource

Aboriginal Astronomy

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1. Briefly summarise the Aboriginal Astronomy story.

2. Most people think that Stonehenge was a prehistoric planetarium used to observe and map the stars. True or false?

3. About how old do they think Stonehenge is?

4. In which state is the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement and how old do scientists think the site may be?

5. What is a constellation?

6. The Yolngu people know the saucepan as…

7. What does it tell the story of?

8. Describe the Emu in the Sky constellation.

9. How did Indigenous people use the sky as a calendar?

10. What constellations do you know? Share what you know with another student.

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After watching the BtN story, respond to the following questions:

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Class discussion

Begin with a discussion about what students know about astronomy.

Clarify their understanding or terms such as astronomy, astronomer and constellation.

Have they seen or heard about any constellations?

Students discuss in pairs or as a class what they know about Aboriginal astronomy. Record their responses on a concept map.

The following questions may be helpful in guiding the discussion:

• Why are Aboriginal people called the first astronomers?

• How did Aboriginal people use the sky as a calendar?

• How did the stars help Aboriginal people understand their universe?

• It is important to learn about the Aboriginal night sky?

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Aboriginal Astronomy

Students will look at examples of Aboriginal astronomy and the Dreaming stories about them.

Emu in the Sky

Ask students to look at the photographs below showing the Aboriginal Emu in the Sky constellation. Draw their attention to the dark dust clouds, not the stars. The first image has the emu engraving at the Elvina engraving site near Sydney.

Questions for students:

o What can you see in the picture?

o Where in the night sky can the Emu in the Sky be found? Students can have a go at looking for it.

o Emu in the Sky has featured in Aboriginal storytelling for thousands of years with many different language groups have their own interpretation of the Emu. Research and retell one or more of the stories.

Source: ABC Science (link to image)

Source: ABC Science (link to image)

The Canoe in Orion

Ask students to look at the constellation Orion and answer the following questions:

o What can you see in the picture?

o What is the constellation known as in Australia?

o Where in the night sky can the Canoe in Orion be found? Students can have a go at looking for it.

o What do the Yolngu people in Northern Territory know it as?

o Retell the traditional Yolngu story about the three brothers in a canoe.

Source: ABC Science (link to image)

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Become an Amatuer Astronomer

Students will become familiar with the finding constellations in the night sky. Begin by explaining to them that the stars move across the sky as one. Stars rise in the east and set in the west, just like the sun and moon do. The following animation shows stars moving through the night sky over a 24 hour period. The area of sky we see at night is determined by how far north or south of the equator we are.

Ask students to brainstorm a list of constellations that they know. Do they know how to find them?

Stargazing Activities

Learn how to find your way around the night sky, spotting stars, planet and galaxies. The ABC Science Sky Tour has winter and summer tours or take a virtual tour.

Learn how to Measure the sky with your hands. Astronomers measure distances in the sky in degrees. Students follow the step-by-step instructions to learn how to use their hands to measure the sky in degrees.

Explore the night sky using interactive software. The Stellarium is a free planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D.

Google Sky allows students to explore planets. Turn the `Sky’ button on in Google Earth to change to sky view.

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ABC Science - Beginners guide to the night sky



ABC Science – Australia’s First Astronomers



Emu Dreaming - Australian Aboriginal Astronomy



ABC News – The world’s oldest observatory? How Aboriginal astronomy provides clues to ancient life



BtN: Episode 29 Transcript 25/10/16

Hello, I'm Nathan and this is BtN.

Coming up today,

• Why one travel website is refusing to promote elephant rides or tiger selfies anymore.

• How these rocks might prove that Aboriginal people were the world's first astronomers.

• And ever wanted to live in a castle and knock people off a horse for a living? Maybe jousting's for you.

You can see more of that crazy sport later on. But first.

Nauru Kids

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

As you'd know a few weeks ago we launched the BTN Welcome Book. The aim of it was to help welcome all refugee and migrant kids that come to Australia to live. But not all refugees that want to come to Australia are accepted. That's a fact a lot of people have been talking about after a report came out about two kids that wanted to come here but were settled on an island called Nauru instead.

This is Misbah, she's 13, and her friend Shamim who's 17. Both fled their home country in South-East Asia when it became too dangerous for them.

MISBAH: In Burma the Muslim people and Buddhist people are fighting and the Buddhist people doesn't want Muslim people to stay in Burma that's why they doesn't like us, so they kill, they kill mostly the Muslim people.

That's why the girls, along with some of their family members, got on boats run by illegal people smugglers and headed for Australia.

MISBAH: On the boat it was so dangerous and even my little sister she was crying, she was like, "Oh I'm so scared of this swimming pool." She was like she thought that that there was a swimming pool and my mum was crying too. But when we get to Christmas Island we are so happy that we are here, we are safe, and we, I was thinking that I would get to meet my father again.

They arrived at Christmas Island, which is an Australian territory a long way off the coast of Western Australia. There they applied for asylum, which means they asked for a safe place to live.

The Australian government puts all asylum seekers in detention while it works out if they are in genuine need of protection. For asylum seekers that arrive by boat that usually means being placed in a detention or processing centre far away from Australia. These centres are paid for and run by the Australian government and the people sent to live in them can be there for anywhere between a few months and a few years. Misbah and Shamim didn't stay on Christmas Island for long.

SHAMIM: When they told us about you going to Nauru, and then I was like oh we're going to Norway it's so good. Like Norway is so beautiful. Mum, Granny, why are you crying, this is, we're going to Norway.

But Nauru's a long way from Norway. It's a tiny, remote island just six kays long, four kays wide and one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Misbah and Shamim say life wasn't easy in detention here. Everyone lived in tents in really hot conditions and kids were called by their boat numbers not their names. Charity workers say the kids became really sad.

JUDITH REEN, SAVE THE CHILDREN: You could see the light drain out of their eyes. You could see them go flat. Sadly, you know, students would come in and I just remember one particular girl lying in the beanbag and just weeping for three hours.

While in detention the kids on Nauru still get to go to school. At first they attended a school at the centre. But one day, the government closed that school and sent all the kids to a Nauruan one instead. Misbah and Shamim say the Nauruan kids and teachers didn't want them there and that they experienced some really bad things.

MISBAH: I really wanted to learn, I really wanted to be an educated person so I always tried my best to go to school, but I did try in here too, I did try my really, really best to go to school but I don't feel safe in there.

Shamim and Misbah were eventually found to be refugees in need of a safe place to live. But instead of coming to Australia, they were settled on Nauru.

Australia's government says all asylum seekers on Nauru will be settled there if found to be refugees and when that happens it's up to the Nauruan government to look after them and keep them safe. On Nauru, refugees are free to move around the island, but some say they don't feel safe there. It's also really hard for them to move somewhere else.

MISBAH: I asked my mum that let's go back but she said 'no it's not possible - if we go back we will get killed'.

For Shamim and Misbah the future is uncertain, but for now they say they just want the chance to be kids.

SHAMIM: I don't care what country it is. But I just want to study good and have a good time and healthy and safety and happy. I just want to be same person like everyone.

This Week in News

To other news now, and lots of people have been talking about Iraq this week because there is a big battle going on there right now to take back an important city from extremist group Islamic State.

Mosul is the second biggest city in Iraq and two years ago it was taken by IS fighters. Now Iraq's military is leading a force of more than 30 thousand soldiers to take it back.

Other countries like the US and Australia are supporting them too. But many aid groups are worried about the welfare of people that live in Mosul whilst the fighting continues.

¶Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have gone head-to-head in their final debate before the US presidential election in two weeks!

Both candidates had to answer questions on things like the economy, immigration and whether they're fit to be president. Of course, things got heated!

¶HILLARY CLINTON: Well that's because he'd rather have a puppet as President of the United States.

DONALD TRUMP: No puppet, no puppet.

Trump caused controversy by suggesting the election is rigged and that he might not accept the results if he doesn't win. That's made a lot of people angry but his supporters are standing by him.

¶And in Queensland scientists have confirmed the discovery of a new type of dinosaur!

They've named it the Savannasaurus Elliottorum. And it belongs to a family of really big sauropods known as titanosaurs. They existed here about 95 million years ago and are the biggest animals to have ever walked the earth!

STEPHEN POROPAT, DINOSAUR MAN: Savannasaurus is one of the most complete sauropod dinosaurs, so a long necked dinosaur that has ever been found in Australia, and it's only the 20th Australian Mesozoic dinosaur to have actually been given its own name.

The fossilised bones were discovered by a farmer in Central West Queensland back in 2005. But it's taken more than a decade for volunteers to dig them all up and confirm that it's a new kind of dinosaur.

Heritage Hydro

Reporter: Jack Evans

Next up, it's been announced that the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme has made the National Heritage List. It's one of the most complex projects ever undertaken in Australia. Here's the story of how it came to be.

On the 17th of October 1949 huge blasts marked the beginning of one of the world's biggest engineering projects, the Snowy Mountains Electric Scheme. The government's plan was to use all the melting snow up here by directing all of that water into rivers

and through huge turbines. That's called hydroelectricity. Some of the water was also directed inland to help water farmers’ crops too.

At the time some people thought it was pretty controversial to build a power station in the middle of the Kosciuszko National Park. Environmentalists were concerned about the impact it might have on the environment but the project still went ahead and it took 25 long years to complete. Roads were bulldozed through the ranges, mountains were dug into a series of connecting tunnels and wide gullies were turned into dams.

Nearly a hundred thousand people worked on the construction of the massive power station and many of them were immigrants from different countries.

REPORTER: And your name? And where are you from? Paris. England. Denmark. Greece. Well, we're a pretty mixed bag, I’m from Melbourne.

During the late 1940's, a lot of people in Europe were leaving their countries looking for work to start a new life. So the Australian Government started an international campaign to encourage them to come to Australia to work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. It was incredibly popular and those workers brought with them their families and their culture. But the conditions were really tough for the workers and their families had to adapt to freezing temperatures and the isolated location. When I was 14, we came to Australia and went to Adaminaby and my experience there was like I was coming to a wild west town.

Today the Snowy Mountains Scheme is still considered one of the largest and most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken in Australia. Not only did it change the way Australia sourced its energy, it also transformed our cultural landscape and helped build the multicultural nation we know today.

QUIZ

Time for our first quiz. How much of New South Wales' power is produced by the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme?

• 1%

• 10%

• 80%

The answer - 10%

Animal Attractions

Reporter: Nic Maher

Okay, while on holiday overseas many families visit an animal exhibit to see some local wildlife. For example, you might go for a ride on an elephant or you might pose for a selfie with a tiger. But tourism website Trip Advisor says it's now going to stop selling tickets to or promoting many of these experiences because it believes they're often cruel for the animals involved.

Wacky colours, spotted coats and whatever this weird looking thing is, our planet sure is packed with some unique and wonderful animals.

KID 1: I like monkeys because they're really cute.

KID 2: I would love to see any type of tiger in its natural habitat.

KID 3: I would go and see some wolves because I like how they're the ancestor of the dog

Unfortunately, not all of these cool animals live in Australia. So, sometimes you have to head overseas to see them. It's a big reason why animal tourism has become such a massive industry, whether it's taking selfies with big cats, swimming with dolphins or riding elephants.

That all might sound pretty awesome, but it can be a lot less awesome for the animals involved. It can lead to wild animals being taken from their homes, or sometimes, the animals are treated really badly.

For example, elephants can be beaten and kept in tiny cages while being trained to carry people. Tigers and lions can be drugged, to make them calmer and safer around tourists. And Dolphins can be kept in enclosures, without room to hunt, roam or play as they would in the wild.

For a long time, animal rights groups have been trying to stop tourism companies from promoting these kinds of activities.

NICOLA BEYNON, WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION: A good rule of thumb is, if you can ride it, if you can hug it or if you can have a selfie taken with it, then there's a good chance that that animal has suffered from cruelty. So, don't buy the ticket.

Nicola works for World Animal Protection. Recently, a petition of theirs led to TripAdvisor, one of the biggest travel sites in the world, changing its policies. TripAdvisor announced it would stop selling tickets to certain attractions that are often linked to animal mistreatment, like those where tourists get to touch captive, wild or endangered animals.

It also promised to put info about the issue on its website. However, the ban won't apply for domestic animal attractions, like those involving cats and dogs, certain rescue programs or things like feeding programs that are run by approved animal experts.

Animal rights groups have praised TripAdvisor for taking a stand. But, some people involved in the industry argue that some of these attractions are just a way of life, or that in poorer countries, they just give people a chance to make a living.

Others say, they give tourists a chance to learn about the animals in them and that some actually help to raise money for conservation. However, many conservationists say no matter what the reason, wild animals should stay in the wild where ever possible.

So, what do you guys reckon?

KID 3: I think it is a good thing if it's supporting conservation

KID 4: It's not okay if it's forced

KID 1: You need to know if the place you're going to, if the animals are treated well.

KID 2: I'm 100% fine with animal tourism, as long as the animals are treated with the respect we get as humans. Because, you do have to remember, they are just humans on 4 legs essentially. They can feel pain, they can feel emotion and why should we treat them like they’re just toys for our enjoyment.

Ask a Reporter

Got a question about animal attractions? Ask me live on Friday during Ask A Reporter!

Head to our website for all the details.

Poll

And this issue will also be our poll this week. Let us know what you think on our website.

Should all wild animal experiences be banned?

Aboriginal Astronomy

Reporter: Jack Evans

Scientists think they may have found the world's oldest astronomical map right here in Australia. The sacred Aboriginal site is believed to have been made to map the position of the sun, moon and stars in the sky. And studies suggest it might be old enough to predate some much more famous examples from overseas.

Some say it was created by aliens, others say it was the site of ancient rituals and sacrifices. But most people in the know, reckon that Stonehenge was actually one massive star map. And while there are still some arguments about its purpose, one thing everyone agrees on is its age. Stonehenge is old - like 7,000 years old. Which would make it the oldest known astronomy site in the world. But here in Australia some scientists think that these stones could prove that Indigenous people actually created their own astronomical site thousands of years earlier than that.

The egg-shaped ring of stones is known as the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement. It's located in Wathaurung country which is near Ballarat in Victoria. These scientists say that it might be more than 11,000 years old, which would make the Wathaurung people the world's first astronomers.

The Wurdi Youang stone arrangement seems to map the different setting positions of the sun throughout the year. That would show the changing of seasons, allowing the Wathaurung people to identify when certain foods were available throughout the year. You can think of it like an ancient calendar.

But Australia's Indigenous people used the skies for more than just that, they were also used for storytelling. For example, while most western cultures know this group of stars as the saucepan. For the Yolngu people in the Northern Territory it's known as Djulpan or the Canoe. It tells the story of three brothers who went fishing. All they could catch were king fish.

But because they were from the Nulkal clan, which means King-fish, they weren't allowed to eat any of them one of the brothers became so hungry he ate one anyway. Walu, the sun woman, saw this and got angry so she created a waterspout that lifted them right up into the sky where they stayed forever.

Other Indigenous groups saw the stars differently. Instead of using the stars to map shapes, they used the dark spaces between them. Like the Emu in the sky, which is used in various East Coast Aboriginal groups and is located right next to the southern cross.

Scientists are still studying Wurdi Youang stone site to uncover more proof about its age. At the same time, they're working with traditional owners to better understand Wathaurung astronomy and the amazing world-firsts they might have achieved.

QUIZ

Quiz number 2 now.

How long does it take for the sun's light to reach earth?

• 1 minute

• 4 minutes

• 8 minutes

Answer: 8 minutes

Sport

Australia has won the Constellation Cup for the fourth year in a row! It's one of the biggest comps in World Netball which sees Australia take on arch-rivals New Zealand in a four game series. The Diamonds claimed victory in the final match beating the Silver Ferns by 4 points.

Geelong superstar Jimmy Bartel has retired from the AFL after a massive career. He's played 305 games for the Cats and in that time won 3 premierships, a Norm Smith medal and a Brownlow medal.

Bartel also spent this year growing his beard to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Adelaide's wheelchair basketball team has broken a world record for the longest game ever played - a whopping 32 hours!

The gruelling match was set up as a fundraiser for their team the Adelaide Thunder. Three years ago the club had to pull out of the national league because of money problems. They're hoping this big achievement will help them raise enough cash to return.

DAVID GOULD: All the players around the court have just been fantastic, to just keep going and keep going, they're fatigued - most people haven't been able to sleep because obviously the whistles are going, the music is going. But you know we just keep going. We just want to get that record.

¶And over the weekend India was crowned the world champions of Kabaddi. It's a sport most Aussies have probably never heard of but despite that there was an Aussie team there representing us anyway.

Basically it's kind of like a mix between tag and wrestling. And it's really popular in some parts of the world like India and Bangladesh.

¶Unfortunately the Aussie team didn't get too far in the comp but it looks like a lot of fun once you work out what's actually happening.

Jousting

Reporter: Nic Maher

Finally today, can you imagine if it was your job to put on 30 kilograms of armour and try to knock other people off the back of their horse? That's the medieval sport of jousting and there is one man in Australia that lists it as his occupation. We met him to find out what it takes to become a champion in this ancient sport.

PHIL: When I first got here, I use to have to pinch myself every now and then, it’s sort of become almost normal for me now. Yeah, I do live in a castle but that's pretty handy if you want to joust and dress up like a knight a lot. It’s worked pretty well for me.

You heard that right, Phil here lives in a real life castle in Ballarat and is also Australia's only full-time jouster.

Jousting is when two knights fully decked out in very heavy armour charge at each other on horseback with big sticks, called lances; and they do it all while trying to hit each other as hard as possible.

Sounds pretty insane right? Well, yeah okay, it is pretty insane. Jousting started all the way back in the Middle Ages, but not on the battlefield. It was actually a sport for rich people. Knights would travel from across the land to compete for money and honour. To win a joust, you can knock your opponent off their horse, or score points by landing the best hits or breaking your lance.

The sport faded away with the Middle Ages but has reappeared over the past 50 years, with new comps popping up all over the world. Earlier this year, Phil, the jousting master, decided to take his mate Cliff under his wing.

PHIL: Cliff started here as a much better horseman than I am. But even then, he still had a lot to learn to actually joust.

The pair spent months training up for the St Ives Medieval Faire in Sydney, one of Australia's top jousting tournaments.

PHIL: Having won it before, I suppose I need to win it again.

CLIFF: If I can just present myself and do okay with it, that's a win. Anything more than that, that's a great win!

When the big day finally came around, a twist of fate saw the pair matched together in the first elimination final.

ANNOUNCER: These two brothers in arms from Victoria, they will be jousting for a place in the semi-final!

It was friend vs friend, but Cliff shocked just about everyone by beating the man who taught him everything he knows. Cliff then scored another big win to make the Grand Final.

The well struck blow forced Cliff's opponent to retire, making Cliff the underdog, the new champion of jousting! The two mates shared a big hug, at the end of a day neither are likely to forget any time soon.

CLIFF: I owe him so much. He's one of my best mates, my mentor, my teacher.

PHIL: One of us had to go, and there's no other person that I would rather lose to.

Closer

And that's it for today! But as always there is more to see on our website including teacher resources and activities for all of our stories. Stay well and bye for now.

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Episode 29

25th October 2016

Episode 29

25th October 2016

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Students will investigate the Snowy Mountains Scheme in more detail. They will explore the impact migrant groups working on the scheme had on Australian society.

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History – Year 5

The reasons people migrated to Australia and the experiences and contributions of a particular migrant group within a colony (ACHASSK109)

History – Year 6

The contribution of individuals and groups to the development of Australian society since Federation (ACHASSK137)

Stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia since Federation (including from ONE country of the Asia region) and reasons they migrated (ACHASSK136)

Geography – Year 7

The way that flows of water connect places as they move through the environment and the way these affect places (ACHASSK183)

HASS – Years 5 & 6

Develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people, events, developments, places, systems and challenges (ACHASSI094)  (ACHASSI122)

Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary sources and secondary sources (ACHASSI095) (ACHASSI123)

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Episode 29

25th October 2016

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Students will develop a deeper understanding of Aboriginal astronomy and Dreaming stories about them.

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Science – Year 3

Science involves making predictions and describing patterns and relationships (ACSHE050)

Science – Year 7

Scientific knowledge has changed peoples’ understanding of the world and is refined as new evidence becomes available (ACSHE119)

Predictable phenomena on Earth, including seasons and eclipses, are caused by the relative positions of the sun, Earth and the moon (ACSSU115)

• What did you SEE in this video?

• What do you THINK about what you saw in this video?

• What does this video make your WONDER?

• What did you LEARN from this story?

• How did this story make you FEEL?

• What was SURPRISING about this story?

Stargazing tips:

o Check local weather conditions on the Bureau of Meteorology website

o Choose a location away from street lights

o Take 10-15 minutes to let your eyes adjust to the dark

o Use a red light to preserve your vision (make one by covering a torch with red cellophane)

Further Investigations

o Explore in more detail how Aboriginal people used the sky as a calendar.

o Find out more about the Wurdi Youang stone arrangement in Victoria.

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