WW1 and Reconciliation Week Humanities incursion
On Wednesday of Week 6, The Year 9s had the privilege and the honour of sharing a room with Lorraine Hatton. There is nothing as powerful as receiving information from a primary source. The students are studying WW1, ensuring a deeper analysis of the different perspectives of experiences and how those experiences framed their worlds. Celebrating Reconciliation week in this manner left us enlightened and hopeful for the future. The students also got a sneak peek of the statue that is being created in honour of The First Nation Peoples who fought in the wars, including the Boer Wars.
Last year’s cohort listened to a 10-minute presentation at the Queensland Memorials about Lorraine’s achievements, leadership and the impact she has had on systems, as well as The First Nation Peoples.
When asked what they learnt, this is what this year’s students had to say:
· gave us a completely new and different perspective to World War 1. Very interesting
· the war was crazy and damaging
· that life was harder for them especially for Aboriginals and women
· I liked hearing about Aboriginal rights when they arrived back from the war
· that It was actually really hard for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders
· that Australia was not very inclusive at first and is still improving
· how different people’s experiences affected how they see the current world and how they deal with it
· soldiers don’t really want to talk about war unless they are with their mates on ANZAC Day
· that there is a big backstory behind indigenous rights, mainly in the war
· it was great that we got to hear her speak about her experiences with war and how the war affected her
· that people who were Aboriginal were not allowed to enlist in the war
· that the Aboriginal soldiers were treated worse than Non-Aboriginal soldiers
· that war is a big part of many people’s lives and that there is still a lot to learn from it
When asked what they found interesting, here is what the students had to say:
· that Lorraine had enlisted in the war even though she was a woman and that just amazed me how her gender didn’t stop her from doing what she loved
· how she got into the army even though they didn’t let her, to begin with
· that soldiers take their trauma differently than others
· seeing the old documents showing proof of what happened
· the fact that even after serving in World War 1, Indigenous Australian soldiers were still treated unfairly and were not given respect from Non-Indigenous Australians when they got home. A truly cruel and terrible reality.
· when she was telling us about her childhood.
· probably the stories of war and the stories of how indigenous people weren’t accepted.
· learning about the old policies.
· her talks about her experiences.
· seeing the evidence of racism of a person’s colour on legal documents.
Primrose Kombanie
