Grade 5/6 Step Back in Time at Sovereign Hill

This term, our Grade 5/6 students have been exploring the Australian colonial period and early migration as part of our Knowledge Building curriculum. To strengthen their learning, students recently visited Sovereign Hill and participated in the Aboriginal People and the Goldfields education program.

Throughout the day, students developed a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of Aboriginal people during the Gold Rush period. They explored the impacts of 19th-century European colonisation on Ballarat’s Aboriginal people and made meaningful connections to their classroom learning.

Students also had the exciting opportunity to watch a live gold pour demonstration, bringing their learning about the Victorian Gold Rush to life. The visit provided an authentic and engaging historical experience, allowing students to step back in time and deepen their understanding of this important period in Australian history.

"At Sovereign Hill I learnt how to pan for gold and most of our classmates found gold! It was a very fun experience." - Najeeb H

"We discovered the gold rush and participated in activities such as gold panning, visiting old stores and watching a gold pour demonstration. It was a very fantastic memorable day!" - Mia  N

"At Sovereign Hill, we had an opportunity to explore the area, buy items we desired and learn about the history that happened in the past and work with other classes to find gold. I would say this is worth a visit!" - Oscar T

"At Sovereign Hill we did many fun activities such as gold panning, visiting old stores and many more. Also, we were taught many things like how British people conquered Aboriginal people, fire stick farming and how Aboriginal people stayed warm." - Jenaaly B