1818: Charles
Charles enjoys farm work while his older brother John avoids it. When Charles meets the runaway convict Liam and helps him, the boys face choices about loyalty, class expectations and what it means to be ‘refined’, as both boys will soon be sent to England to learn how to become refined young gentlemen.
1810s Decade Overview
The 1810s saw expanding British invasion, convict labour shaping rural economies, and growing social divisions between gentry and working families. From 1810 to 1821 New South Wales moved from a penal outpost toward a more structured colonial society under Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Major public works, growing free settlement and expanding legal and commercial institutions reshaped towns, transport and civic life.
1810: Lachlan Macquarie became governor, beginning a program of reform, public works and support for emancipated convicts.
1813: The first crossing of the Blue Mountains by European invaders opened inland routes for pastoral expansion.
1813: The Benevolent Society was founded, the colony’s first charity to assist vulnerable people.
1814: The Native Institution was established at Parramatta, the first government school for Aboriginal children and an early example of assimilationist policy.
1814: Jeffrey Bent arrived, the first civil court judge in New South Wales, marking development of formal legal institutions.
1816: The first public hospital opened in Sydney, improving public health infrastructure.
1816–1821: Charles Throsby explored south‑east New South Wales, guided by Aboriginal trackers, contributing to inland knowledge and pastoral routes.
1817: The Bank of New South Wales opened in Sydney, the colony’s first bank and a milestone for commercial life.
c. 1810s: Convict and free migration increased; free settlers grew in number and began to outnumber convicts by the decade’s end, changing social composition and labour markets.
First Nations focus - Impact and resistance - efforts to assimilate First Nations peoples intensified through mission stations and institutions that aimed to teach European ways and supply cheap labour. These policies caused deep trauma and tension and were widely resisted. First Nations communities continued to maintain cultural practices, knowledge systems and custodial responsibilities to Country despite dispossession and disruption.
Provocation question
How do rules about class, manners and work shape who we include or exclude in our communities?
Clip 1: Fencing
Unlike his posh older brother John, Charles is enjoying building a fence on the farm. At the end of the fence line he encounters Liam, a convict who is on the run. Liam asks Charles to bring him some food and boots.
Tuning In
Stories about work and meeting strangers can be surprising and revealing. As you watch, think about:
- How Charles feels about work compared with John
- The moment Charles meets Liam and how he reacts
- What the fence and boots tell us about class and survival.
As a class, discuss:
- What expectations do families have about work and manners?
- How might those expectations make it hard to be friends with someone different?
- When is it right to help someone who is breaking the rules?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
Work together to explore how class expectations, labour and kindness shape choices. In small groups, brainstorm:
- Who does what work on the farm and why?
- What does “being refined” mean in this story?
- Why might someone run away and what risks do they face?
Create a Roles & Consequences Map using images, words and arrows to show:
- The farm roles (Charles, John, parents, convicts)
- How those roles shape expectations and choices
- The immediate consequences of Charles helping Liam
Share your map and explain one change that could make the farm fairer.
Making Connections
Charles chose to help someone who might be in trouble. Think about a time you had to decide whether to help; what did you consider?
Charles helps Liam even though it is risky. Imagine you are part of the scene and explore the choices people make.
Work in a group of four or five. Each person takes a role: Charles, a parent, the farmer neighbour, Liam (or a spokesperson for someone in need) and a facilitator.
Rehearse a short town meeting. The group explains why Charles made his choice, listens to different concerns, and agrees on one fair outcome that balances safety and compassion.
Use evidence from the clip, show at least two different perspectives, and suggest a clear and realistic solution.
Clip 2: The Convict
Charles brings Liam some bread but only agrees to bring boots if Liam agrees to help him finish the fence. Liam tells Charles the story of how he ended up as a convict and of his dreams for the future.
Tuning In
Hearing someone’s story can change how we see them. As you watch, notice:
- How Liam tells his story and what details he chooses
- How Charles listens and what that listening does to his thinking
- Moments that show trust beginning to form.
As a class, discuss:
- How does hearing a person’s past change our judgments?
- What makes someone a trustworthy listener?
- How can stories help repair misunderstandings?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
Work together to explore how personal stories build empathy and shift attitudes.
In small groups, brainstorm:
- What parts of Liam’s story are most important for understanding him?
- How does cooperation help people learn about each other?
- What questions would you ask to learn more respectfully?
Create a Life Story Timeline for Liam showing key events, choices and turning points.
Add a short Interview Script where Charles asks two respectful questions that help Liam feel heard.
Present your timeline to the class and read the script aloud.
Making Connections
Listening to someone’s story can change how we think. Hearing Liam’s story changes Charles’s view. Turn that listening into a short audio interview.
Work in pairs or small groups to produce a short podcast that helps listeners better understand Liam. Each person takes a role: host, Liam speaking in first person, and researcher or producer.
Plan and record a 3-4 minute podcast segment. Begin with a 30-45 second introduction that sets the scene. Follow this with a two minute interview that includes three main questions and short follow-up questions. Finish with a 30-45 second reflection explaining what changed in understanding Liam. Use evidence from the clip and include one historical fact from this decade.
Ask clear questions that build empathy, use accurate details from the clip, and end with a reflective closing that links to the class discussion.
Clip 3: Being a Lady
Charles' mother educates him on the difference between Sarah and 'a lady'. Charles steals some of his mother's clothes in order to create a disguise for Liam, but is surprised when Liam uses the disguise to gatecrash Sarah's wedding.
Tuning In
Disguises and rule‑breaking in the 1810s raise questions about identity, respectability, and social order. As you watch, notice:
- How expectations about behaviour, appearance, and manners are taught and enforced within the household
- Why Charles chooses to borrow his mother’s clothes in this period, and what personal and social risks that decision carries
- How neighbours and authorities respond when established social rules are challenged
As a class, discuss:
- What do early 19th‑century rules about manners and appearance reveal about who was accepted and who was excluded?
- In the context of the 1810s, when might breaking a social rule be seen as a moral or compassionate act, and when might it be judged as dangerous or unacceptable?
- How did communities in the 1810s typically respond when individuals failed to meet social expectations, and what did those responses aim to protect?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
Work together to explore ethics, identity and community repair. In small groups, brainstorm:
- What motives might justify breaking a social rule?
- What harms can follow from disguises or deception?
- How can a community balance consequences with repair?
As a class, create an Ethics Chart listing: motive, action, immediate consequence, and possible restorative steps.
Then draft a short Restorative Response Plan (RRP) - three steps the community could use to repair harm while recognising why the rule was broken. Share your chart and explain why your restorative steps are fair and achievable.
Example of a Restorative Response Plan, applied to the Charles and Liam scenario
Step 1 - Acknowledge and Listen: Charles explains why he disguised Liam; Liam says how being disguised made him feel; neighbours share concerns.
Step 2 - Repair and Restitution: Charles apologises publicly; he helps return any items or fixes any upset caused; he helps organise a community task (e.g., help at the wedding cleanup).
Step 3 - Restore and Reflect: Group meets after tasks are done; Liam and Charles say how they feel now; class agrees on one rule about safety and honesty at community events.
Making Connections
Disguise and rule‑breaking force us to weigh kindness against consequences. Charles and Liam break social rules to help each other. When is breaking a rule okay, and when does it cause harm?
Choose a creative way to explore moments of tension, such as a comic strip or storyboard.
Work on your own or with a partner to create a 6‑panel comic. Your panels should show these moments in order: a rule being broken, the discovery, the community’s reaction, an apology or attempt to repair the harm, restitution and a repaired relationship.
Add short captions to explain why characters act as they do. Include one speech bubble that shows a restorative step being taken.
Make sure your story has a clear beginning, middle and end. Show how actions lead to consequences and include at least one restorative action.
Australian Curriculum Links
|
|
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
Knowledge and Understanding - History |
causes and effects of changes to the local community, and how people who may be from diverse backgrounds have contributed to these changes |
the experiences of individuals and groups, including military and civilian officials, and convicts involved in the establishment of the first British colony
|
|
|
Understanding – Civics and Citizenship |
why people participate within communities and how students can actively participate and contribute to communities |
diversity of cultural, religious and/or social groups to which they and others in the community belong, and their importance to identity |
how citizens (members of communities) with shared beliefs and values work together to achieve a civic goal |
|
Skills – Questioning and Researching |
develop questions to guide investigations about people, events, places and issues locate, collect and record information and data from a range of sources, including annotated timelines and maps |
develop questions to guide investigations about people, events, places and issues locate, collect and record information and data from a range of sources, including annotated timelines and maps |
develop questions to investigate people, events, developments, places and systems |
develop questions to investigate people, events, developments, places and systems
|
Skills - Interpreting, analysing and evaluating |
analyse information and data, and identify perspectives |
analyse information and data, and identify perspectives |
|
|
Skills - Concluding and decision-making |
draw conclusions based on analysis of information propose actions or responses to an issue or challenge that consider possible effects of actions |
draw conclusions based on analysis of information propose actions or responses to an issue or challenge that consider possible effects of actions |
develop evidence-based conclusions propose actions or responses to issues or challenges and use criteria to assess the possible effects |
develop evidence-based conclusions propose actions or responses to issues or challenges and use criteria to assess the possible effects |
Skills - Communicating |
present descriptions and explanations, using ideas from sources and relevant subject-specific terms |
present descriptions and explanations, using ideas from sources and relevant subject-specific terms |
present descriptions and explanations, drawing ideas, findings and viewpoints from sources, and using relevant terms and conventions |
present descriptions and explanations, drawing ideas, findings and viewpoints from sources, and using relevant terms and conventions |
|
|
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
Language |
|
|
understand how to move beyond making bare assertions by taking account of differing ideas or opinions and authoritative sources
|
|
Literacy |
recognise how texts can be created for similar purposes but different audiences
use interaction skills to contribute to conversations and discussions to share information and ideas
plan, create, edit and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive written and multimodal texts, using visual features, appropriate form and layout, with ideas grouped in simple paragraphs, mostly correct tense, topic-specific vocabulary and correct spelling of most high-frequency and phonetically regular words
plan, create, rehearse and deliver short oral and/or multimodal presentations to inform, express opinions or tell stories, using a clear structure, details to elaborate ideas, topic-specific and precise vocabulary, visual features, and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume
|
compare texts from different times with similar purposes and audiences to identify similarities and differences in their depictions of events listen for key points and information to carry out tasks and contribute to discussions, acknowledging another opinion, linking a response to the topic, and sharing and extending ideas and information plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, using visual features, relevant linked ideas, complex sentences, appropriate tense, synonyms and antonyms, correct spelling of multisyllabic words and simple punctuation
plan, create, rehearse and deliver structured oral and/or multimodal presentations to report on a topic, tell a story, recount events or present an argument using subjective and objective language, complex sentences, visual features, tone, pace, pitch and volume
|
describe the ways in which a text reflects the time and place in which it was created
use appropriate interaction skills including paraphrasing and questioning to clarify meaning, make connections to own experience, and present and justify an opinion or idea
explain characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text
plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, developing ideas using visual features, text structure appropriate to the topic and purpose, text connectives, expanded noun groups, specialist and technical vocabulary, and punctuation including dialogue punctuation
plan, create, rehearse and deliver spoken and multimodal presentations that include relevant, elaborated ideas, sequencing ideas and using complex sentences, specialist and technical vocabulary, pitch, tone, pace, volume, and visual and digital features
|
examine texts including media texts that represent ideas and events, and identify how they reflect the context in which they were created
use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions
plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, using paragraphs, a variety of complex sentences, expanded verb groups, tense, topic-specific and vivid vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and visual features
plan, create, rehearse and deliver spoken and multimodal presentations that include information, arguments and details that develop a theme or idea, organising ideas using precise topic-specific and technical vocabulary, pitch, tone, pace, volume, and visual and digital features
|
Critical and Creative Thinking
Students analyse complex questions about class, fairness, loyalty and social expectations, evaluating different perspectives before making evidence-based judgments about Charles's and Liam's choices.
Ethical Understanding
Students explore ethical issues relating to compassion, justice, honesty and responsibility as they consider when it may be right to challenge rules in order to help someone in need.
Personal and Social Capability
Students develop empathy, perspective-taking and relationship skills by listening to Liam's story, considering different viewpoints and exploring how trust and belonging are built within communities.
Intercultural Understanding
Students examine how social class, status and differing life experiences influence identity, inclusion and exclusion, helping them recognise and respect perspectives that differ from their own.
Additional Resources
Additional Clip: Nadia Wheatly reads Charles (1818) - My Place
Episode Stills
Charles punches his brother John
Mr Owen With His Sons, John And Charles
Sarah And Charles Owen
Liam And Charles Sitting On The Fence
Charles
Charles Ready To Strike His Brother John
Liam And Charles
Mr Owen, Sam, Charles And John
Charles and calf
Charles and calf
1
/ 10