Batman's first meeting with Buckley, HL van den Houten, oil on canvas, 1801-1879
Exploring the life of a historical figure awakens us to the social and cultural context in which they lived. This activity uses the life of William Buckley – runaway convict, respected member of the Wauthaurung community and 'wild white man' – as a model for understanding this period of Victoria's history, and the reasons for Buckley's enduring historical significance.
This activity is linked to the Discovering people inquiry unit and is aimed at students in Years 5 and 6.
- Watch the first part of The extraordinary tale of William Buckley.
- Ask students if they had previously heard of Buckley. What do they already know of his story? Create a shared KWHL chart to gather information.
This research activity requires the use of web-based resources. Students will need access to the Internet to complete these questions.
- Describe William Buckley's geographical journey.
- Use Google maps to chart Buckley's journey.
- Was transportation of convicts common at this time? Was it part of a larger movement of people? What were the reasons for this?
- Consider the landscape of 19th-century Victoria before European settlement. What did it look like? Who lived here? How did they use the land?
- Explore the context of William Buckley's life in the penal settlement. Why did he want to escape?
- What key relationships and skills did Buckley develop during his time with the Wathaurung people?
- After students have answered these questions, ask them to summarise the life and times of William Buckley in dot points. Share these summaries with the class, and discuss points of similarity and difference. Compile a definitive class version.
- Using the class summary of Buckley's story, ask students to design a poster based on his life using an online tool like Glogster.
- Consider these questions: what was Buckley's impact on early-Melbourne society? Does his story hold any lessons for us today?
- Watch the Extraordinary tale of William Buckley parts two, three, four and five. Challenge students to retell the main events in the life of Buckley as a comic strip. (If your school network does not allow access to YouTube, either download the video in advance or access it via Scootle instead.)
- Look at the oil painting The first settlers discover Buckley as well as its Library catalogue entry. Contrast the painting's depiction of this key moment with that depicted in the Extraordinary tale of William Buckley video. Ask students to evaluate the images and record their obsevations on the comparing images template.