A journey to discover Australia
By Gabriel Brown, Year 11, St Augustine’s College
DURING the second week of school holidays, 28 students from St Augustine’s and St Monica’s colleges experienced an adventure of a lifetime: a nine-day trip to some of Australia’s most iconic scientific and historical locations in Canberra, Ballarat and Melbourne.
Beginning with three days in Canberra, we toured to some of Australia’s most important political and scientific locations, including both old Parliament House and contemporary Parliament House, the CSIRO Discovery Centre, Embassy Row, Questacon and the Australian Institute of Sport.
At each location we were given an in-depth tour of the facilities, as well as an insight into how Australia has become the country of political importance and scientific innovation that it is today.
The Mt Stromblo Observatory was my favourite as we were stepped through some of the most cutting-edge space and astronomy programs in the country.
The Australian War Memorial was also a breathtaking experience, as we learned not only about Australia’s role in the world wars, but also in more recent conflicts such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.
While at the memorial, we also attended one of its daily memorial services and walked through the sobering Hall of Remembrance.
We then entered Ballarat, a goldmine of historical importance and revolution for the Australian colonies at the time of the Victorian Gold Rush.
Entering the world of Sovereign Hill, an historical Victorian township left untouched by modern society, we took a step back in time to experience the simplicity of life on the goldfields in the 1850s.
The story of the Eureka Stockade was retold through a spectacular sound and light show, which explained the causes and the effects of the revolution that continue to be felt right to this very day.
The final leg of our trip took us to Melbourne, a city of progression and amazing sights.
We saw for ourselves the sheer size of the city, both by night and day, relaxing on the Melbourne Star Ferris Wheel by night and the immense Eureka Skydeck by day — a whopping 88 floors above the ground.
We also visited some notable museums that demonstrate how Melbourne has become the city it is today. We learned about the development of multiculturalism at the Museum of Immigration and the evolution of the colony from a penal colony in the Old Melbourne Gaol.
It was an amazing nine days.
We visited some amazing places, met some amazing people and left with a sense of where Australia fits in the world.
A special thanks once again to our teachers — Mrs Gane, Mr Jones and Mrs Tranter — for making our holidays extra special.