What would you have learned at a Tasmanian public school in 1869? Mostly, just reading, writing and arithmetic, from a teacher not much older than yourself, in a class of 40-60 students, and in a textbook that your grandfather might have read in Ireland thirty years earlier. The texts might have been boring and out of date, but the reasons why are fascinating. That’s because the public school curriculum in 1869 was deliberately designed to be bland and uninteresting, in order to avoid social conflict. What follows is the story of a journey – from the idea that education needed to reform and contain children, to the radical idea that children in public schools should be inspired to learn, and to become curious and informed citizens. Read on to discover more!
For an audio introduction to this story, check out our interview with ABC Radio!
The Soldier Land Settlement Scheme was created to help settle returned soldiers on the land after the First and Second World Wars.
“The Returned Soldiers’ Settlement Act, 1916,” and the amending Acts of 1917 and 1918, make provision for the Settlement on land in the State of Tasmania of any returned soldiers with satisfactory discharges, and who have had previous farming experience, desirous of following this occupation. – Government Printer 1919
Libraries Tasmania has a variety of historical records about soldier settlement, many of these available online.
By entering a person’s name you can search the Tasmanian Names Index for applications to lease land under the act from 1917 until 1929 as well as applications for selections of free crown land from 1917 to the 1940s.
The Closer Settlement Board was responsible for implementing the Soldier Settlement Scheme and their records are a rich source of information about it.
One soldier who applied for land as part of this act was William Albert Graham, and his descendants still live on the land today.
William enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force at Claremont on the 19/01/1916.
On his return from the war he applied for the Soldier Settlement Scheme on the 15/03/1919.
On William’s application he mentions that he was “wounded with shrapnel but am getting alright”
William’s grandson David Graham talks about when his grandfather enlisted, and the time that he was wounded near the Hindenburg line. The date on the lease for William’s land was the 1st of May 1919.
His grandson David talks about William and the land where his family still live.
On the evening 11th of November, 1918, everyone in Tasmania was holding their breath. At any moment, news of the Armistice – the official end of the War – was expected. Every minute must have been agony. In an era where news could flash from one end of the world to the other in mere seconds, when men had taken to the skies, when pictures could move, and while men were still dying in the mud of Flanders, this waiting was torture. But it was all you could do – stand outside the newspaper offices, bite your nails, and wait, wait, wait. This story is about the moment that the wait stopped, and a roar of joy erupted before the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent.
At the foot of Mount Wellington stands the remains of a forbidding institution. Nearly two centuries ago, the walls of the Cascades Female Factory housed hundreds of women, children and babies. Some of these convict women were waiting to go to new masters, others were being punished. Now you can help to tell their stories through our newest digital volunteering project, transcribing the Register of Female Convicts at the Cascades Female Factory, 1833-1834.
The next time you’re in Franklin Square, consider this: you’re standing on an air raid shelter. In 1942, the ground beneath your feet was dug up by Civil Defence Force volunteers – ordinary Hobart residents protecting their neighbours, families, and friends from enemy attack. All around Tasmania, people were digging shelters – in their backyards, at their children’s schools, and in public parks. It’s an amazing story of spirit and pluck in a time of darkness.
At the end of National Volunteers Week, we wanted to take a moment both to thank our volunteers, and to highlight a new collection that tells stories of volunteering in Tasmania’s historic and wild places. These are the photograph albums of Trauti and David Reynolds, which document their volunteer and conservation work around Tasmania over many years. Thanks to their generous donation, these albums are now digitized and available to everyone.
Books travel. Throughout their lives, they are passed from hand to hand: given, borrowed, stolen, buried, discovered. Like all travelers, they also gather stories. This is the story of the Raratongan Bible, Te Bibilia Tapu Ra, in the Australian Collection of the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office. It begins on a Pacific island and ends in Tasmania, and its story is fascinating. Interested? Read on!
Have you ever driven past the Alexandra Battery in Sandy Bay and wondered what it was for? Have you ever heard rumours of a planned Russian invasion of Tasmania in the 19th century? As Anzac Day approaches, we’d like to share the story of the Southern Volunteer Artillery Regiment with you. Thanks to our new corps of online volunteers, we can now tell this amazing story in a new way, preserve it for future generations, and maybe even link it to your own family history. Intrigued? Want to get involved? Read on!
In 1908, Cyril joined the New Town Harrier club continuing until he went to war in September 1915. He even appeared in the first race of the season held at Moonah on Saturday 26 June 1915. It was a two mile handicap race in which Cyril finished in fourth place.
Cyril returned to running for New Town after the war. In later life, he became an administrator in the club. In 1912, Cyril began an apprenticeship as a furniture upholsterer with Whitesides & Sons which ran a furnishing warehouse at 166 Liverpool Street, Hobart.
Going to war
Together with his unit, the 12th Australian Infantry Battalion, Private Cyril John Allen embarked at Melbourne on board HMAT Hororata A20 on 27 September 1915. You can follow the progress of Cyril’s battalion by reading the 12th battalion diaries from 1914 to 1919.
Cyril was awarded the Military Medal in June 1917 and promoted to the rank of corporal. In 1918, Cyril was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served as Acting Quartermaster-Sergeant (AQMS).
A certificate was issued to “Cyril John Allen MM2905 – Sergeant – 12th Battalion. Served with honour and was disabled in the Great War. Honourably discharged on 7.8.19”.
Cyril served as a machine gunner in the same platoon as his good friend, Gunner Tom Williamson. In 1917, Tom was killed a few yards away in the trenches. While still at the front, Cyril wrote a consoling letter to Tom’s mother.
Returning home
Cyril returned to Australia on board the SS Suffolk in June 1919. On the first day home from the war, Cyril is pictured in an open-air car which might be a 1917 E-X-45 Buick Tourer. It sports an Australian flag from a side panel. Squeezed into the seat is Cyril, his mother, and the driver, Mr Craige, who was influential in the New Town Harrier Club.
A Belgium family
Between 1918 and 1970, Cyril received many letters, photographs and postcards from a family in Chatelet, Belgium, with whom Cyril was billeted during the first world war.
Furrier business after the war
Cyril went into business as a furrier in New Town, Hobart, Tasmania. His business imported animal furs of many types and made them into coats and other clothes.
In July 1972, Cyril received a number of appreciative letters from students at Chigwell Primary School for a talk he gave about animal furs.
Methodist
Cyril and his family were active members of the New Town Methodist Church. Prior to the second world war, Cyril was superintendent at Albert Park Methodist Sunday School. He continued to support the Methodist Church into the 1960s and 1970s with donations.
World War II
Cyril served in Australia in World War II. In the late 1930s, Cyril is pictured with full medals on display on ANZAC Day.
