Those Aussie Mossies!

Warm nights and the house has acquired a nice number of mosquitos over the past week.  After just swatting yet another, I was reminded of this fun song the children used to sing a lot when they were younger.

So, here is the song for you to enjoy, and maybe sing to yourself whilst you go on your next mozzie hunt (as I'm about to do!)

AUSSIE MOSSIE 

Don Spencer/Allan Caswell 

Published by MCA-Gilbey

She’s a little Aussie mossie in her Aussie mozzie cossie, 

And she’s looking for a possie on your unprotected skin. 

When she’s finished her inspection she will give you an injection, 

and you’ll have to itch to show you where the Aussie mossy’s been. 

There’s a great proliferation in the mossie population - 

It’s a constant irritation to us all... 

Yes - it’s - hard to feel affection when she heads in your direction, 

Cos the little Aussie mossie is out to get us all. 

You can hear her coming, buzzing and a-humming, 

But she’s hard to see. 

Travelling incognito, here comes the mosquito - 

With her stinger aimed at me! 

It’s the female of the species that’s biting us to pieces, 

Cos the Aussie mossie’s brother doesn’t bite at all. 

There’s a great proliferation in the mossie population - 

It’s a constant irritation to us all... 

Yes - it’s - hard to feel affection when she heads in your direction, 

Cos the little Aussie mossie is out to get us all. 

You can hear her coming, buzzing and a-humming, 

But she’s hard to see. 

Travelling incognito, here comes the mosquito - 

With her stinger aimed at me! 

She’s a little Aussie mossie in her Aussie mozzie cossie, 

And she’s looking for a possie on your unprotected skin. 

When she’s finished her inspection she will give you an injection, 

And you’ll have to itch to show you where the Aussie mossie’s been. 

There’s a great proliferation in the mossie population - 

It’s a constant irritation to us all... 

Yes it’s hard to feel affection when she heads in your direction, 

Cos the little Aussie mossie is out to get us all. 

lyrics also on Don Spencer's site HERE.

More Australian history finds

There are some lovely recent publications with regard to Australian history available now at our library.  I was really keen to bring them home and enjoy them with the family.

Tony Robinson is already popular here, especially after we'd seen the series 'The Worst Jobs in History" and "Time Team".  Now he's completed a series on Australian history.  The book seems to give a really good summary on the dvd, if not a little more information in parts.

Some Peter Mcinnes books also caught my attention.  Actually, truth be told, one book had pricked my interest some time back when we visited the Australian Geographic store.  That's where I first saw Australian Backyard Explorer, but couldn't afford to purchase it.

I love how these books are set out.  They invite you to jump right on in to the pages, with some fabulous 'hands on' suggestions.  Check out all that the books offer on these pages:  Australian Backyard Explorer and Australian Backyard Naturalist.

We did bring home Australia's Pioneers, Heros and Fools, but I just didn't get enough time to read this properly before having to return it.  It is an easy read, which would be great for a teens.

Hopefully sharing these finds will help others who are learning about Australian history, and you'll enjoy some of these books as much as we have.

A visit to HMB Endeavour

Last week saw the end of us learning about James Cook's voyage on the Endeavour.  This included a visit to the Endeavour replica which is has been circumnavigating Australia.  She's a lovely vessel, and smaller than I'd expected.

Until you're actually on board, you don't realise how cramped it was for 91 men.  Add to that the extremes in weather conditions.  The kitchen would have made the lower decks unbearably hot as they neared the equator.  Then on the other extreme, there was little to keep them warm as they got closer to Antarctica (each man was only issued 1 hammock and 2 blankets).

The dining area was also their sleeping area, where hammocks would be set up once the dining tables were cleared away.

Cook was diligent about hygiene, and made sure every man would wipe down their eating area with vinegar after each meal.  Those kegs above each table is where the vinegar was kept.

To clean their hands, they'd used the frayed rope ends as serviettes.  No paper towelling available!  These frayed hemp strands were then used later for candle wicking.

Another interesting item in this photo above are the lamps.  They were made of tin, with a thin layer of horn to allow the light through.  Glass was far too fragile then.

The dining area here had the most headspace available below deck for the officers.  Most of the other areas required them to hunch over, or work sitting down.  In the above photo, you can get an idea of the ceiling height available in the Officer's Mess.

Of course, the 'Great Cabin' had plenty of head room.  Still, it was tricky trying to get a photo of the room to give you a good idea of what it looked like.  The photo below is taken from where I sat near the captain's table.  To the left of me is Captain Cook's sleeping quarters, and next to the gentleman in this photo is Joseph Banks' room. It's also where Banks' two greyhounds stayed.

A small booklet was available to us for information whilst doing the tour, and it's also available here online.  More information with a virtual tour can be found here.  Also of interest is this page, which shows the Endeavour's layout.  You can clearly see where the extra floor was added to provide more space for the extra men, but at the sacrifice of headspace.

We've been reading a lovely 'living book' about the Endeavour, which has been a wonderful way of learning how the men lived at sea on board this ship, with Jackie French's The Goat Who Sailed The World.  This famous goat had already lived through one sea voyage, being kept for her fresh milk.  It's written through the eyes of Jacob Manley, a 12 year old farm boy who sets out on his very first sea voyage.

I hope that has given you a bit of an idea of what the ship was like.  Of course, the photos really are a poor substitute for the real thing.

Thank you for dropping by!
 

A look at Captain Cook's cottage

Relocated from England to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens, 

the cottage of the Cook family stands in it's beautiful simplicity, with it's ornate herb garden.

The cottage was up for sale in 1933 when Sir Russell Grimwade decided to purchase it.  He then arranged to have the cottage brought to Australia to celebrate Melbourne's centenary of European settlement in 1934.

A cottage with only a few rooms.  The kitchen and small bedroom downstairs.  

The main bedroom upstairs (pictured) with another small bedroom right next to it.

Herbs and vegetables were grown in the garden.  

In the 18th century, some poultry and other animals would have also been kept.

The bronze statue of Captain Cook with his naval instuments.  

This is believed to be close to his actual size of 6ft 3in. 

Thank you for dropping by!

Discovering Australian History

Mariposa has been working through some Australian history with me this term.

Starting with Indigenous Australians, we took trip to the Melbourne Museum and found walking through the Aboriginal Cultural Centre there was very interesting. We also had timed it well as they were putting on a puppet show of a Dreamtime story. What really grabbed our attention, though, was the coat made from possum skins. The curator explained that the coat is started once the child is born. Then it's added to as the child grows, until a full-sized coat has been made. It's just like an heirloom quilt, always being added to by family members. I can't share any photos of the things we saw here, but you can check out this webpage for an example.

From there we move to the earliest explorers who made their way to Australian shores (or close to it!)

We had a brief discussion on how the Spanish were the first to come by in search of this land, but Torres didn't know it when he saw it and he sailed on.

Then it was via the spice trades that the Dutch caught news of this land in the south. Several attempts were made to explore this land over a 90 year period in the 17th century. We looked up places named after discoveries made such as Tasmania, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Dirk Hartog Island and the Swan River.

We have also taken up the opportunity to learn about how precious spices were for trade, and learn how they are grown. We've been watching a series on SBS called 'The Spice Trail' where Kate Humble travels to where each spice is grown. She has the most wonderful personality, and involves herself with the people as she learns how they live to produce what we now take for granted.





Back to our learning about explorers, we then began looking at the first Englishman to come south and explore New Holland.  We had discussions about being a pirate .. um, yes, not the Walt Disney version.  Dampier's story does turn around when he decides to give up being a buccaneer and returns to England to share his report.  He didn't have anything favourable to say after his landings along western shores.  However, his name lives on with the Dampiera flower which is a prominent flower in Western Australia.

This now brings us to Captain James Cook, of whom we've been learning about last week and will continue through this following week.  Cook is renowned for his navigation skills.  We've done some discussion on the tools used by sea captains. We're regular visitors to Williamstown, so we have also gone to the Williamstown Historical Society Museum there.  All sorts of delightful things were on display, including a collection of early navigation tools, just like ones on this site.

A replica of Cook's ship, Endeavour, is currently circumnavigating Australia again, and we're hoping to see her in Melbourne in the later half of April.  If you'd like to check when she's visiting near you, have a look on this site.   A flyer about the tour can be found here.  You may also choose to do a VIRTUAL excursion (including teaching notes and transcript).  I also enjoyed reading Jennifer Byrne's account of reliving life on Endeavour earlier this year.

On Tuesday, we will go to see Captain Cook's cottage, which is set up in Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens.   It's a while since I've been there, but I remember that the garden is just lovely.

Hopefully I've shared some useful ideas for anyone else studying Australian history this year.  There is SOOooo much you can cover and I know I've only touched on each 'chapter' lightly.

Next term we'll start learning about Australia's settlers.

Thank you for dropping by!

Ginger Meggs is 90 today!

Who remembers the comic strip of Ginger Meggs?  I'm sure many do.  Even Maestro remembers reading some old comics; "Yes, he was very arrogant!"

Ginger started his life in 1921, in the Sydney Sun before being relocated to the Sunday Telegraph in 1951.  He's the 12 year old Aussie larrikin who had a healthy disrespect for authority.

In 1982, a movie was released featuring Paul Daniel and Gary McDonald.  I actually don't recall ever seeing it before, but after watching this small part remembered the satire about a young lad dealing with the tougher side of society.




I have better memories of seeing a film based on the musical "The Girl from Moonooloo" with Jacki Weaver.  This was set in the 1930s, where Jacki's character ends broadcasting Ginger Meggs on a radio show.  If you ever come across a recording of this, it's well worth the viewing. In fact, I'd take the children to see this musical if it ever came back to the stage in Melbourne!

Australian working song - Click go the Shears

Maestro has his violin exam this weekend; it's only days away now. The extra times spent practicing with the accompanist are very exciting, as the music just comes to life.

One of his pieces this year is the Australian working song "Click Go the Shears". Learning about how this song came about and what some of the lyrics mean has been part of the necessary preparation.

Years ago, I had a recording of this sung by the Play School group, and the singer used to pause before each verse to explain the slang. I wish I still had that recording, as it was excellent. (The album was called "There's a Bear in There" (1987).)

picture from here

Click Go the Shears

Out on the board the old shearer stands,

Grasping his shears in his long, bony hands,

Fixed is his gaze on a bare-bellied 'joe'

Glory if he gets her, won't he make the ringer go.

Chorus: Click go the shears, boys, click, click, click,

Wide is his blow and his hands move quick,

The ringer looks around and is beaten by a blow,

And curses the old snagger with the blue-bellied 'joe'

In the middle of the floor in his cane bottomed chair

Is the boss of the board, with eyes everywhere;

Notes well each fleece as it comes to the screen,

Paying strict attention if it's taken off clean.

The tarboy is there, awaiting in demand,

With his blackened tar pot, and his tarry hand;

Sees one old sheep with a cut upon its back,

Hears what he's waiting for, 'Tar here Jack!'

I found a page where the terms are explained here.

This has been a lovely way to tie in violin lessons, music/songs, poetry, Australian history and art (see painting) into an impromptu lesson.