Information for Teachers
Water, and the lack of it, has always been a defining concern to Victorians. The drought that has lasted for the past 14 years, plus the environmental impact of global warming, continue to put water at the centre of peoples’ thoughts and government initiatives.
Sorrento was initially chosen as a place of settlement on Port Philip Bay in the 1830s because of its fresh water springs. However, the springs proved inadequate and the settlement was abandoned. Later, in 1835, John Batman chose the present site of Melbourne because the Yarra River provided a more reliable source of water.
Water Stories uses original PROV records to discover the development of the first water storage, the Yan Yean Reservoir, the creation of the four parks that surround the city (Fitzroy, Exhibition, Flagstaff and the Botanic Gardens), the development of an innovative sewerage system for the city at Spotswood and Werribee, and the transformation of the Yarra River from a pristine source of drinking water into a shunned and polluted sewer, and then its slow return to being a central focus for the city.
Water Stories includes original records, maps and photographs that provide ways of visually understaning how and why Melbourne’s water supplies, rivers and landscapes developed.
Relevant Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) links:
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The following activities are most suitable for students in Years 6 – 10
Outcomes
Students will:
- discover how primary documents are evidence of history;
- investigate original State Government records from the PROV collection;
- analyse the impact of people and attitudes to water and the environment; and
- identify key forces for change and continuity over time.
Activities
Students could choose a number of the themes and further investigate and study them. The following provides some activities for students.
Dams, Pipes and SewersSmellbourne
Werribee Farm
Yan Yean Reservoir
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A Garden CityFitzroy, Exhibition, Flagstaff and the Botanic Gardens
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The River Yarra
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Additional ResourcesCulture Victoria aims to deliver access to Victorian cultural collections through:
e.g. Melbourne and Smellbourne e.g. Built Envvironment Trove is a discovery experience focused on Australia and Australians. It supplements what search engines provide by returning results across a broad range of media including books, maps, photographs, newspapers, videos, music, journals, articles, archived websites, and datasets. e.g. search result for ‘smellbourne’
The following is a list of resources about water and landscapes in Australia: History of Melbourne’s Water Supply on the Melbourne Water website. Just add water, National Archives of Australia exhibition – Document studies for secondary students. Michael Cathcart, Water Dreamers: How Water and Silence Made Australia, Melbourne, Text Publishing, 2009. Jay Arthur, The Default Country: a Lexical Cartography of 20th Century Australia, Sydney, UNSW Press, 2003. Maude Barlow, Blue Covenant – The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water, Black Inc., Melbourne, 2007, gives a global perspective on current issues surrounding the availability of water, read an excerpt of chapter 5. PROV Rainwater Harvesting Project – find out how PROV is collecting water from its huge roof area for use in the local area. CSIRO, Water for a Healthy Country, a research program addressing one of Australia’s most pressing natural resource issues, the sustainable management of our water resources. Australian Government, Department of Climate Change. Science Alert (Australia and New Zealand), Long history for water shortage. Climate Action Network Australia, Climate Change and Water In Australia. Australian Government, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Water for the Future, a long-term framework to secure the water supply of all Australians. |
