1838: Davey
Davey is a stable boy who loves the mare, Duchess. When he learns she’s been sold to the tannery, he risks everything to save her. Along the way, he encounters bushrangers and teasing from the Owen boys, and must rethink his ideas about courage, loyalty and justice.
The 1830s were a decade of pastoral expansion, frontier settlement, and growing conflict as colonies pushed into new lands for wool and grazing. New towns and pastoral runs reshaped landscapes and local economies.
1835: Early land deals and settlements around Port Phillip accelerated invasion of the district.
1836: The colony of South Australia was proclaimed, formalising new patterns of settlement.
1838: Frontier violence, including the Myall Creek killings, exposed the harsh realities of frontier conflict and prompted legal and public debate.
1830s: Wool exports and pastoralism expanded rapidly; bushrangers and escaped convicts challenged the colonial order; migration increased to meet labour and settlement needs.
First Nations Focus: Students can explore how pastoral expansion, introduced disease and frontier violence disrupted access to Country, food systems and movement. Despite dispossession and intense pressures, First Nations Peoples maintained strong cultural identities, knowledge systems and ongoing responsibilities to Country, and continued to care for Country in ways that sustained communities and knowledge across generations.
Provocation Question
When is loyalty brave and when is it risky? How do communities decide what is right?
Clip 1: Horsewhipping
Mr Owen has Davey demonstrate whip cracking to his grandsons but then gives Davey some sad news about his favourite horse, Duchess. Despite Davey's protestations, Duchess is headed for the tannery.
Tuning In
As you watch, notice:
- How Davey cares for Duchess and what that care looks like
- How adults talk about animals, work and value
- The moment the tannery decision is revealed and who benefits from it
As a class, discuss:
- What does the clip show about who has power in the town?
- How do people decide what is valuable?
- How do emotions and economics come into conflict?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
Work in small groups to explore the economic, ethical and emotional dimensions of what Davey is experiencing and the adult perspectives. Choose one of the following group tasks:
Stakeholder map: list everyone affected by Duchess’s sale (owner, stable boy, tannery workers, townspeople, the animal) and annotate motivations and power.
Primary source hunt (teacher‑led): examine short-period sources or images about tanneries, horse use and 1830s town economies; identify one fact that explains the tannery decision.
Role-play: write a short monologue from Duchess’s perspective or from Davey’s point of view the night before the sale.
Ethics checklist: create a classroom checklist for making decisions that affect others (people, animals, community). Use it to evaluate Mr Owen’s choice.
Making Connections
Individual or paired task:
Recall a time you felt powerless about something you cared for. What did you do and what might you do now?
Design one small, practical action a class could take to show care for animals or community resources (poster, fundraiser, letter to a local shelter).
Extension Task: Compare 1830s animal economies with a modern industry (e.g. factory farming) and present findings.
Clip 2: The Bushranger
While out with Duchess, Davey and Alice see a bushranger fleeing soldiers. They misdirect the soldiers to help him escape and later face teasing about Duchess’s fate.
Tuning In
By working together, we can help each other in times of need. As you watch, notice:
- How fear, sympathy and loyalty influence Davey and Alice
- How stories about bushrangers shape community attitudes
- The social consequences of helping someone on the run
As a class, discuss:
- How do rumours and stories change how we judge people?
- When does loyalty become risky?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
Work together in pairs or small groups to investigate motives, community context and consequences as you complete a mini research task. Find short, teacher‑selected extracts about bushrangers (who they were, why they existed).
After you have completed your research, rewrite the scene as a newspaper report from the town the next day. Practise objective vs sensational language.
Making Connections
As you examine the actions of Davey and Alice, write a short reflective piece: Was helping the bushranger brave or dangerous? Use evidence from the clip and your research.
Class discussion: Identify modern parallels where people help someone who is breaking the law. What factors influence public sympathy?
Clip 3: The Shooting
On the run with Duchess, Davey witnesses bushrangers shoot Mr Owen and steal from him. The violence forces Davey to reassess his assumptions about bushrangers and justice.
Tuning In
Violence and the emotions involved in violent acts can have a lasting impact on children and adults. As you watch, notice:
- How violence changes the moral landscape of the story
- Davey’s emotional and cognitive response to seeing someone he knows harmed
- How the clip complicates simple ideas of heroism and villainy
As a class, discuss:
- How does witnessing violence affect what someone believes about a person or group?
- What responsibilities do witnesses have?
- How do communities respond to violent crime in small towns?
Finding Out & Sorting Out
A teacher-led class discussion will assist students in choosing one of the following group activities to deepen ethical reasoning and practical responses.
Moral Decision Tree: build a decision tree showing Davey’s possible choices after the shooting and likely consequences for each path (reporting, hiding, confronting, fleeing).
Witness responsibilities task: research (teacher‑selected) historical practices for reporting crime in the 1830s and compare to modern procedures. Create a short poster: What to do if you witness a crime.
Perspective swap writing: write a letter from Davey to Alice explaining how his view of bushrangers has changed.
Ethical debate: hold a structured debate on the motion: “People who break the law can never be trusted.” Use evidence from the clip and historical context.
Making Connections
Civic action prompt: draft a short class code of conduct for responding to dangerous situations that prioritises safety and reporting.
Extension task: Analyse how Davey’s moral understanding changes across the three clips, using specific evidence and historical context. Students produce a short podcast episode interviewing classmates about how they would respond to moral dilemmas, editing together diverse viewpoints.
Australian Curriculum Links
|
Year Level |
Content Description |
Inquiry Sprint + Clip link |
CCP Integration |
|
Year 3 |
Causes, effects and contributions of people to change; significance of events and symbols; similarities/differences in community life |
Clip 1 – Horsewhipping: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4072?tab=History Tuning In: notice Davey’s care for Duchess; how adults talk about animals, work and value; who benefits from the tannery decision; Sorting Out (choose one): Stakeholder map; Primary source hunt; Role‑play monologue; Ethics checklist; Making Connections: recall a time you felt powerless; design a class action to show care |
First Nations Peoples’ connections to Country; impacts of pastoral and town economies; effects of settlement on local resources;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars) — these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Year 4 |
Diversity of experiences before/after 1788; effects of colonisation; cultural and social identity |
Clip 2 – The Bushranger: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4079?tab=History Tuning In: notice fear, sympathy and loyalty; how bushranger stories shape attitudes; social consequences of helping someone on the run; Sorting Out (choose one): Historical mini‑research; Role‑play mapping priorities; Narrative rewrite; Drama improv; Making Connections: reflective piece on bravery vs danger; class discussion on modern parallels |
Effects of colonisation; community responses to lawlessness; resilience of First Nations communities;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars) — these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Year 5 |
Causes of colonial expansion; roles of significant individuals; influence of people on places |
Clip 3 – The Shooting: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4087?tab=History Tuning In: notice how violence changes moral choices; Davey’s response; complexity of hero/villain; Sorting Out (choose one): Moral Decision Tree; Witness responsibilities poster; Perspective‑swap letter; Ethical debate; Making Connections: draft class code for responding to danger; optional extension: podcast on moral dilemmas |
First Nations knowledge and displacement; law, order and frontier conflict; shared histories and consequences;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars) — these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Year 6 |
Significant people/events leading to democracy, migration, and interconnections with other countries |
Clips 1–3 Synthesis: use Value & Voice Map, Choices & Consequences Chart or Moral Decision Tree to analyse power, loyalty and justice across the episode;
Extension task: extended response tracing Davey’s moral development with historical context |
First Nations ongoing contributions; colonial legal responses and community ethics; interconnections across regions;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars) — these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Year Level |
Strand |
Content Description |
Inquiry Sprint + Clip link |
CCP Integration |
|
Years 3–4 |
Literature |
Describe how characters, settings and events develop; how texts reflect contexts |
Clip 1 – Horsewhipping: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4072?tab=History Tasks: analyse Davey’s care for Duchess; create a Stakeholder map; write a Duchess or Davey monologue; evaluate Mr Owen’s choice with an Ethics checklist |
Understanding diverse identities; recognising First Nations stories alongside settler narratives;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars); these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Years 3–4 |
Literacy |
Interact, discuss and present ideas; interpret multimodal texts |
Clip 2 – The Bushranger: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4079?tab=History Tasks: historical mini‑research summary; role‑play assigned roles and map priorities; rewrite scene as a newspaper report; drama improv and oral presentation |
Cross-cultural communication; respectful questioning; exploring community narratives;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars); these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Years 5–6 |
Literature |
Explain how ideas are developed through characters, settings and events; how texts reflect context |
Clip 3 – The Shooting: https://myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/clip/4087?tab=History Tasks: build a Moral Decision Tree; write a perspective letter from Davey; participate in an ethical debate; produce an extended analytical response on changing moral views |
Compare colonial narratives with First Nations perspectives; representation of law, violence and community memory;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars); these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Years 5–6 |
Literacy / Language |
Use vocabulary, sentence structures and multimodal features to create and interpret texts |
Clips 1–3 Combined: synthesise evidence across clips to compose narratives from different viewpoints; create posters or podcasts for Making Connections tasks; optional extension: compare 1830s industries with modern equivalents |
Use respectful language for First Nations histories and migration stories; build vocabulary related to ethics, law and community;
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging, small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence, and Asian seafarers (lascars) — these shaped trade, labour and port communities in the 19th century. |
|
Organising Idea |
Curriculum Link |
Episode 18 Connection |
|
Country/Place |
First Nations Peoples have deep spiritual, cultural, social and economic connections to Country/Place |
Contrast settler animal economies (tannery, pastoralism) with First Nations custodial relationships to Country; consider access and care. |
|
Culture |
First Nations cultures are diverse, dynamic and continuous |
Explore how First Nations people responded to frontier pressures in the 1830s and how cultural practices persisted. |
|
People |
First Nations identities are shaped by Country/Place, culture and community |
Discuss differing responsibilities to animals, land and community and how these shape identity and roles. |
|
Shared Histories |
Colonisation has had significant effects on First Nations Peoples; resilience and continuity |
Situate bushranging, settlement, introduced disease and frontier violence within broader colonial impacts. |
|
Knowledge Systems |
First Nations Peoples’ knowledge systems continue to influence Australian society |
Link classroom inquiries about animal care, land management and local ecology to First Nations knowledge and practices. |
|
Shared Futures |
Australia has shared histories and shared futures |
Reflect on how listening to settler and First Nations stories about land, animals and justice contributes to shared futures. |
|
Organising Idea |
Curriculum Link |
Episode 18 Connection |
|
Asia’s diversity |
Students explore the diversity of Asian cultures |
Consider early Asian contacts and migrant labour patterns that influenced regional economies and port towns. |
|
Asia–Australia connections |
Historical and contemporary connections between Asia and Australia |
Note early Asia–Australia links: Macassan trepanging; small pre‑gold Chinese labour presence; Asian seafarers (lascars) connecting ports and labour networks. |
|
Asia’s contributions |
Asian peoples’ contributions to Australian society |
Explore how Asian skills, labour and trade supported colonial economies (maritime, market gardening, labour) and local communities. |
Additional Resources
Davey and George inspect Duchess
Davey With Duchess The Horse
John Owen, Mr Owen And Davey
Mr Owen, George And Davey In The Stable
Davey On The Road
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