Tasmanian Secondary Assessment Board
Tasmanian Certificate of Education
External Assessment
2002
HS833 AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Time: Three Hours
On the basis of your performance in this examination, the examiners will provide a rating of A, B,
C or D on each of the following criteria taken from the syllabus statement:
Criterion 3
Recall specific factual knowledge relevant to Australia's history.
Criterion 5
Use evidence to support interpretations of the past.
Criterion 6
Communicate in a clear and coherent manner.
Criterion 7
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of historical debate.
Criterion 10
Demonstrate an ability to analyse historical information.
Questions:
12
Pages:
7
Attachment:
Source Material for Section C
©
Copyright for part(s) of this examination may be held by individuals and/or organisations other than the Tasmanian
Secondary Assessment Board.
HS833 Australian History
BLANK PAGE
Page 2
HS833 Australian History
CANDIDATE INSTRUCTIONS
There are THREE sections to this paper.
Candidates must answer THREE questions, ONE question from each section.
In Section!C there is no choice of question.
Answer each question in a separate answer booklet.
It is suggested that candidates should spend no more than one hour on each Section.
Remember, read the criteria being assessed before you write your answer.
Page 3
HS833 Australian History
SECTION A
Answer ONE question from this section.
Use a separate answer booklet for this section.
This section assesses Criteria 3, 5 and 6.
Question 1
“From what we know already we can conclude that five millennia ago Aboriginal Australians were
ingenious, flexible and capable of reshaping the patterns of their economic and social life.”
(Dingle, T. Aboriginal Economy, McPhee/Gribble/Penguin, 1988, p. 54.)
With reference to the above statement outline the main features of traditional Aboriginal society.
Question 2
By analysing 19th century and/or early 20th century Aboriginal resistance to European occupation,
assess the reasons for this resistance ultimately being unsuccessful.
Question 3
Examine the issues involved in relations and conflicts between the Australian Aborigines and the
early settlers. Refer to either Tasmanian or mainland Australian incidents of conflict from the
nineteenth century.
Question 4
According to historian Russel Ward (1958) “national character is not…entirely a figment of the
imagination of poets, publicists and other feckless* dreamers. It is rather a people’s idea of itself
and this stereotype, though often absurdly romanticized and exaggerated, is always connected with
reality…”.
With reference to the above statement, examine the events and issues in Australia’s history that
have shaped the national identity.
*feckless – ineffective, worthless
Section A continues opposite.
Page 4
HS833 Australian History
Section A (continued)
Question 5
Examine how changing attitudes towards racial issues prompted by post World War Two
immigration and the ‘populate or perish’ catch-cry transformed Australia’s national identity.
Question 6
The Bush and ANZAC legends are no longer relevant to Australia’s identity in the 21st century.
Outline the characteristics of these legends and assess the validity of this statement.
Page 5
HS833 Australian History
SECTION B
Answer ONE question from this section.
Use a separate answer booklet for this section.
This section assesses Criteria 3, 6 and 7.
Question 7
Historian Geoffrey Bolton (1993) suggested that Whitlam “knew the needs and frustrations of the
new working-class in Australia’s suburbs.” What social changes did Whitlam and his Labor
Government introduce between 1972 and 1975 to assist these 'working-class people’? To what
extent, if any, is there a link between Whitlam’s legislation in this regard and his political downfall?
Question 8
“It was only in 1969 that N.S.W. ceased the practice of separating Aboriginal children from their
parents, and not until 1972 that the clause allowing the exclusion of Aborigines from primary
schools was cut out of the teacher’s handbook.” (Bolton, G. The Oxford History of Australia. The
Middle Way 1942-1988, Melbourne: OUP, 1993)
Discuss the changes in government policy and social attitudes towards Australian Aborigines that
have occurred since 1967. Have these changes been effective in assisting the Aboriginal
community?
Question 9
The Vietnam War proved to be one of the most divisive issues in 20th century Australia. Explain
why this conflict caused so much adverse reaction in the Australian community, to a far greater
extent than our participation in previous conflicts.
Question 10
Historian Anne Summers (1975) wrote “the experiences of women in Australia are closely tied to
family life.” Similarly historian Stuart Macintyre (1993) suggests social policy since the turn of the
20th century has reinforced a woman’s domestic responsibility within the family.
Discuss the changes to equal rights in government legislation and the impact on Australian women
in the 20th century.
Question 11
After one hundred years of Federation, is there a need to change the Australian constitution, in light
of constitutional issues in the 20th century? Refer to specific examples to support your argument.
Page 6
HS833 Australian History
SECTION C
Refer to each of the Sources A – G in the attachment to answer Question 12.
Answer ALL parts of the question.
Use a separate answer booklet for this section.
This section assesses Criteria 5 and 10.
Note:
•
In answering Question 12, an explanation of how the answer was reached must be provided.
•
Each part of Question 12 has been given a points value to indicate the relative importance of
each part.
•
Parts of Question 12 will assess Criterion 5 and parts will assess Criterion 10.
Question 12
(a)
Compare Sources A and B. What are they saying about Australians?
(b)
What are the main points expressed in Sources A, C and D? Are their arguments convincing?
Do they rely primarily on fact or opinion?
(5 points)
(c)
What does Source E suggest about Australian attitudes to those in power?
(d)
How would an historian use Source F? What might be some of the problems historians could
encounter using political cartoons and contemporary sources?
(4 points)
(e)
Australians have liked to think of themselves as rebels. Some historians suggest this stems
from our convict past. Refer to Source G. Why have some rebels such as Jack Donahoe and
Ned Kelly been seen as heroes in the national identity?
(3 points)
(f)
Which Source or Sources do you find most unreliable? Why?
Page 7
(3 points)
(2 points)
(5 points)
Tasmanian Secondary Assessment Board
Tasmanian Certificate of Education
External Assessment
2002
HS833 AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
ATTACHMENT
SOURCE MATERIAL
FOR SECTION C
PLEASE REFER TO THIS ATTACHMENT WHEN
ANSWERING QUESTION 12
Pages:
6
HS833 Australian History – Attachment
SOURCE A
Australians never have much time for politicians, but then, they are not unique.
However, while American voters may have believed Bill Clinton was a *philandering
dissembler, they maintained a respect for the office of president and their political system
generally. Australians have a broader scepticism about authority linked to a tradition of
egalitarianism. Whereas Americans address their leaders, even after they leave office, as
“Mr President”, Australians are more likely to call them by their first name and use
unflattering nicknames, such as “Toby Tosspot” (Edmund Barton), the “Little Digger”
(Billy Hughes), “Pig Iron Bob” (Robert Menzies) and “Little Johnny” (Howard). “The US
took its origins from a political system,” says LaTrobe University reader in history John
Hirst. “I don’t think Australians have related to the political system as central to their
identity.”
Source:
Mike Sketee. “Cynics & politicians” in The Weekend Australian, March 24-25, 2001.
*philandering dissembler – one who conceals an extramarital affair under a false appearance.
Page 2
HS833 Australian History – Attachment
SOURCE B
AUSTRALIANS UNWILLING TO SALUTE
From The Australian Front, 1917.
Officer: ‘Why do you not salute?’
Anzac: ‘Well, to tell you the truth, digger,
we've cut it right out.’
When we heard a fairy voice of a British officer say ‘Hey you men, why don’t you salute?’
We told him we were Australians, but the officer said he did not care who we were we
would salute before we passed that way, so we said we would go another way. We went
nearly half a mile rather than salute him.’ D. Youdale, died 1916.
Source:
Australian Readers. Discovering Democracy. Carlton: Curriculum Corporation, 1999.
SOURCE C
The national civics survey indicates widespread ignorance and misconception about the
structure and function of Australia’s system of government, about its origins…only 19 per
cent of people have some understanding of what Federation meant for Australia’s system
of government…Only 40 per cent can name the two Federal houses of parliament…Why
is this so?…There is a general feeling of cynicism towards politicians and alienation from
politics, especially among women. Politics and government are seen as uninteresting and
lacking in relevance.
Source:
“Whereas the people…” Civics and citizenship Education Summary of the Report of the
Civics Expert Group December, 1994, AGPS-article published in Kaye Healey (ed.) An
Australian Identity. Balmain, N.S.W., The Spinney Press, 1995.
Page 3
HS833 Australian History – Attachment
SOURCE D
There is a general mood of scepticism that pervades Australian attitudes to religion,
politics, and indeed all ultimate values…It means that Australians are less likely to take
fanatics seriously, and therefore the nation is unlikely ever to be swept along by extremist
politics. It means that the leading political figure is not idealized to the degree that many
American presidents have been celebrated as *virtue incarnate: it is difficult to imagine an
equivalent to the Kennedy cult taking root in Australia.
Source:
John Carroll (ed.) Intruders in the Bush. The Australian Quest for Identity, Melbourne,
Oxford University Press, 1982.
*virtue incarnate – to be saintly or god-like in character;
to be morally righteous.
SOURCE E
Perhaps Australia has had no greater, nor more complex lesson in the concepts of power
and authority, than that gained from the Vietnam War. This war, and the protests that it
provoked, raised many questions about power and authority in Australian society. The
government’s introduction of conscription (forced military service) raised questions about
the authority of government to force people to fight on its behalf. Protests against
conscription raised questions, in turn, about the rights of people to protest when they
believe a law is unjust and illegitimate.
Source:
Jan McArthur, ‘Power and Authority’ in Libby Tudball (ed.) Australian Perspectives.
Milton, QLD, Jacaranda Press, 1991.
Page 4
HS833 Australian History – Attachment
SOURCE F
John Howard
Peter Reith
‘Pigs at the trough.’
Source: Mike Sketee. “Cynics & politicians” in The Weekend Australian, March 24-25, 2001.
Source G is over the page.
Page 5
HS833 Australian History – Attachment
SOURCE G
…the first bushrangers were more ‘Australian’ than anybody else. Nearly all of them
were convict ‘bolters’ of whom many were Irish, including Jack Donahoe, the most
famous of them all in the early period. A few were native-born youths and the very
existence of all depended upon their being more completely ‘independent’ of the
authorities, more adaptable, resourceful, and loyal to each other…(p. 146)
In the eyes of the bush-workers, and of a great many other colonists, bushrangers derived
added prestige merely from being, so to speak, the professional opponents of the police.
It may be doubted whether the police force of any English-speaking country, except
Ireland, has ever been more thoroughly unpopular than were those of most Australian
colonies in the last [19th] century. (p. 154)
Source:
st
Russel Ward, The Australian Legend. Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1958 (1 ed.).
Page 6