Gold and the Environment: Years 7–8
📚 About this Excursion
This is where environment meets industry. Through a critical lens, students investigate how colonisation and the gold rush altered the land — and the lives — of those who called it home.
🧑🏫 LEARN
In the Environmental Impacts of Colonisation and Gold program, students explore how the gold rush transformed Victoria’s landscapes, waterways and ecosystems. They'll examine both First Nations and colonial perspectives on environmental change and sustainability.
🔥 EXPERIENCE
See molten metal come to life at the Gold Pour Demonstration, then descend into the past with the Quartz Mine Tour — a powerful walk through Ballarat’s underground history.
🗺️ EXPLORE
Students will investigate the Diggings, trace the commercial heartbeat of Main Street, and walk through the Mining and Industry zones to reflect on the cost of progress.
🎯 This four-hour excursion is perfect for activating cross-curricular thinking across history, geography, sustainability and ethics — while bringing the gold rush to life with real-world evidence and lived stories.
About the Program
📚 About this Excursion
This is where environment meets industry. Through a critical lens, students investigate how colonisation and the gold rush altered the land — and the lives — of those who called it home.
🧑🏫 LEARN
In the Environmental Impacts of Colonisation and Gold program, students explore how the gold rush transformed Victoria’s landscapes, waterways and ecosystems. They'll examine both First Nations and colonial perspectives on environmental change and sustainability.
🔥 EXPERIENCE
See molten metal come to life at the Gold Pour Demonstration, then descend into the past with the Quartz Mine Tour — a powerful walk through Ballarat’s underground history.
🗺️ EXPLORE
Students will investigate the Diggings, trace the commercial heartbeat of Main Street, and walk through the Mining and Industry zones to reflect on the cost of progress.
🎯 This four-hour excursion is perfect for activating cross-curricular thinking across history, geography, sustainability and ethics — while bringing the gold rush to life with real-world evidence and lived stories.
Documents
Questions & Answers
Objectives
Years 7–8
History
VCHHK136
Effects of colonisation on the environment and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
VCHHK137
VCHHK137 – The social, political and environmental impacts of the Gold Rush
Years 7–8
Geography
VCGGK137
Human-induced environmental change
VCGGK138
The causes and consequences of environmental change
VCGGC103
Geographical data collection and fieldwork skills
Years 7–8
Ethical Capability
VCECU014
Explore ethical issues around land use and sustainability
VCECD015
Analyse consequences of decision-making on environments and communities
Years 7–8
Critical & Creative Thinking
VCCCTR040
Evaluate evidence and different perspectives to make informed conclusions