Episode 1: The oldest classroom

Red ochre used in painting. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.

How did First Nations people learn before books, school and the internet?  

What are some of the teaching places on Country? Can a cave or a beach be a classroom? 

What’s the role of rock art, like engravings, stencils and prints, in the ‘oldest classroom’? 

What are the different kinds of classrooms First Nations kids learn on today? 

Students at La Perouse Primary School in Sydney tell us what they know about how their ancestors learnt on Country. 

Wayne Brennan and host Axel Clark visit a very old rock shelter on Dharug and Gundungurra Country, in the Blue Mountains of NSW.

We hear about different kinds of rock art, learning when you’re ready and ways of passing down knowledge.

Merrikiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs invites us into her classroom at Yirrkala Bilingual School in North East Arnhem Land.

• Download The Oldest Classroom transcript as Word

• Download The Oldest Classroom transcript as PDF

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Voices 

• Wayne Brennan is an archaeologist at the University of Sydney, a Gamilaraay person and Blue Mountains custodian.

• Merrikiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs is the Principal of Yirrkala Bilingual School, a Yolngu woman and leader.  

Use this episode in class

• Play all the way through (23 minutes) or play half the episode (11 minutes) and pause.

• We'll tell you when you've reached halfway, and recap the episode.

• Get the Curriculum guide and Scope and Sequence for your state or the Australian Curriculum.

• Use the 4 page Learning Materials worksheet PDF with your class

More learning resources

National Museum of Australia

• Digital Classroom: Petroglyphs and pictographs

• Big Idea 2: We can learn about Aboriginal culture in ancient Australia from archaeology

Reconciliation Action Plans

• Reconciliation Action Plans and schools by Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education

ABC Education

• Increasing educators’ cultural capability is a critical step in improving outcomes for First Nations young people

Learning on Country at Yirrkala Bilingual School

Learning on Country: From the Facebook page of Yirrkala Bilingual School

Learning on Country: From the Facebook page of Yirrkala Bilingual School

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Music

Thannoid and Highway 94 by Blue Dot Sessions.

How to cite this episode:

Clark, A., Curtis, J., Wright, C., & Jorgensen, B. (2024, June 11). ‘The oldest classroom’. Hey History! (Season 1). UTS Impact Studios. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11557916