In Red Dirt Riders, two and four-wheeler obsessed Roebourne kids adventure across their country!

Red Dirt Riders

Weerianna Street Media, 2021

Red Dirt Riders is a 15-minute factual program for 10 to 12-year-olds. Over five episodes, kids from Roebourne in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region venture out on their freedom machines to criss-cross Ngarluma country. They are aided by adults who guide the fun.

Rough and ready, fast and furious: a bunch of funny, cheeky Red Dirt Riders show you a thing or two about off-road riding and share stories about their world!

Episodes

Episode 1

A practice ride to check the safe riding skills of the Red Dirt Riders results in the Pilibara’s first traffic jam. The flat near Jones Marsh is the unofficial test track where the riders prove their skills and receive instructions about navigating around a salt marsh. Living proof of the dangers, a bogged and burnt Toyota - that even adults didn’t rescue stands as testament to the depth of the muddy marsh. Some yarns are shared about being bogged with family.

Episode 2

A trip from the art centre to Bajinhurrba (Cossack) - a ghost town on the coast - involves a stop to see the final resting place of Red Dog - the famous red kelpie about whom three movies have been made. After braving the Ngurin River crossing, the Riders reach the little town, where once upon a time turtles were made into turtle soup. Once there, the Red Dirt Riders create artworks in the heritage Bond Store where the annual art competition is held.

Episode 3 Episode 3

Cherratta Station or Weymul Community is a big drive in the support vehicles south east of Roebourne. A safe riding place with lots of tracks and lots of things to see, the Red Dirt Riders visit a shearer’s shed where a mysterious spirit of the country lives. Some yarns are shared about shearing for work and seeing the little hairy man spirit - the malangu.

Episode 4

The Ngurin River runs to the coast but is often dry. On a rare rainy day, the Red Dirt Riders want to see how much water is in the dam. In this episode the Riders hear about what the river was like before the dam, and they meet some sisters looking at country in the warm winter weather. The trip to the dam is interrupted though, when one of the support vehicles becomes bogged.

Episode 5

Trying for the dam again, the Red Dirt Riders set off on country tracks to reach their destination. The ride to the dam takes them past some fascinating artworks that are the site of an old chook farm. After a visit to the main riverbed, the riders enjoy some arguing about what has been painted on the old water tanks at the farm and then resume the journey to the dam. On the way back, they are treated to fresh damper cooked in hot sand.

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ACTF Education

Red Dirt Riders Resource

Red Dirt Riders is a 5-part factual program for primary-aged students, showcasing Ngarluma Ngurra in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region. The series follows the riders as they venture out on their freedom machines to visit sites of significance on Country. The young adventurers embark on rides to learn about the history of place from the people who remember – learning directly from living memory and oral histories.

Developed for students in Years 3-6, this resource aligns with English, History and Social Science (HASS) and Media Arts content in the Australian Curriculum. It also builds knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. The resource contains a lesson for each of the five episodes, which can be used as standalone modules or presented as a unit of work. Each lesson is arranged as a student-facing multi-modal slideshow (see ‘Screen Sequences’ below) with clips, sound files, images, prompts and printable worksheets. Slideshow content is elaborated on, and curriculum links provided, in a PDF document for teachers. This resource champions First Nations perspectives, inviting students across the nation to experience the rich and layered histories of the Pilbara.

Screen Sequences:

Digital Music Composition Learning Resource

Suitable for Years 3-8, this co-created learning resource introduces students to digital music production as a contemporary mode of composition. The music making process for Red Dirt Riders is explored with reference to the elements of music, planning tools to meet a creative brief, and the importance of listening to our creative instincts to make the best beats.

The student-facing resource can be either set as an independent task or delivered as a sequence of class activities. The videos are designed for students to gain knowledge in music theory and process, with video tutorials, a guided digital drawing workshop and access to downloadable audio and video files, students are empowered to create their own digital music productions.

This resource covers all four of the interrelated strands as outlined in the Music structure in the Australian Curriculum:

Exploring and responding
Developing practices and skills
Creating and making
Presenting and performing

This resource was co-created with NEO-Learning and the Big hART Digital Lab.

NAIDOC Learning Resource: For Our Elders

NAIDOC week is an opportunity to highlight First Nations perspectives in the classroom. In 2023, the NAIDOC Week theme is For Our Elders. We acknowledge the continued achievements, contributions, and knowledges of Elders in our communities.

We are proud to present these engaging learning tasks for students in F-10. The leading knowledge holders who feature on our screens are to be shared for NAIDOC and beyond – to celebrate our Elders.

NAIDOC Week 2024

This resource provides a series of curated, age-appropriate screen stories, with a discussion point and creative response for students in Foundation to Year 10. Invite culture leaders and knowledge holders featured in these screen texts into the classroom for NAIDOC and beyond – to celebrate the resilience, generosity, creativity, and enduring strength of the oldest living culture in the world.