School Visits

Army Museum Tasmania is especially interested in visits by school groups and would recommend that teachers or schools contact the Museum to make arrangements well before the planned visit.

Whilst the opening hours are at present limited we are able to make special arrangements for school groups. As part of the planning we like to know,

  • Age of the Students
  • Number of students in the group
  • Learning objectives

Most young people today are very aware of Australia’s involvement in wars from 1901 until the current day and also have a good understanding of our convict heritage but few people generally are aware of the part the soldiers of the British Regiments played in the development of our nation from 1788 – 1870 when the last Regiment left, or the contribution to self defense made by each of the Australian Colonies in the period 1850 – 1901, when the Colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

Displays in the museum focus on and interpret many aspects of Tasmania’s military history and, post 1901, our involvement in the Australian Army both in peace and war.

All our earlier Governors were British Army Officers, the officers of the Regiments in addition to their military role also held positions such as Judge Advocate, Magistrates, and Superintendent of Works. Ordinary soldiers supervised convict work gangs, guarded convicts at night and day and pursued them when they escaped. They also took part in the frontier wars against Tasmania’s Indigenous population, who, as their lands were increasingly assimilated after 1820 for farms, reacted by attacking settlers.

Our museum allows students to explore many Tasmanian themes at one of Australia’s most significant historic precincts, Anglesea Barracks.

We have available two books intended for primary school use; Simpson and His Donkey and Sandy the Waler. Both may be copied and used as colouring books or read to students. High School teachers will also find an Work book (5mb) that will encourage students to search for information.

Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) have produced a number of excellent educational resources that have been provided to schools. These resources have been commissioned by DVA and written by professional educators.

The direct link to the resources on the DVA website is

http://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/

Check out your school’s Resource Centre to see if they are readily available.
Additional information in relation to the site can be found on the Home Page. Below find some suggested readings to prepare students for their visit.

SUGGESTED READINGS

British Regiments

The Colonial Garrison 1817 – 1824, Clem Sargent, 48th Regiment in NSW and VDL

The Army in Australia 1840 – 1850, M Austin, detailed coverage of all regiments in this period

The Remote Garrison, Peter Stanley, Overview of British Regiments 1788 – 1870

Tasmanian Colonial

Van Diemen’s Land, James Boyce, Tasmanian development 1803 – 1850

The Fatal Shore, Robert Hughes, Convict experience

Probation in Paradise, John Thompson, Probation system on Tasman and Forestier Peninsular

Levee, Line and Martial Law, Graeme Calder, Dispossession of Tasmanian Aborigines

Tasmanian Volunteers

Tasmanian Light Horse 1844 – 1943, Doug Wyatt

Tasmanian Colonial Artillery 1803 – 1903, Doug Wyatt

Lion in the Colony, Doug Wyatt, covers all Volunteers 1859 – 1901

The Australians at the Boer War, R Wallace

Australian Army

The Australian Army a history, Jeffrey Grey

The Story of the Twelfth, L Newton, Tasmania’s WW1 12th Battalion history

The Forthieth, F Green, Tasmania’s WW1 40th Battalion history

Doomed Battalion, P Henning, Tasmania’s 2/40th Battalion, Captured on Timor and Japanese POW

Of Storms and Rainbows, Graeme Evans, Tasmania’s 2/12th Battalion, Middle East and New Guinea