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if mediated appropriately by the curriculum, are missed. This therefore emphasizes the
importance of the responsibility school History curriculum has in communicating information
that is accurate by not leaving out or omitting important points and details.
Regarding the content of explorers and their interactions with Indigenous Australians, it
appears that there is a type of canon of exploration stories. For example, the stories of
Kennedy and Jacky Jacky; and Wylie and Eyre are included across textbooks. They feature in
Australia: Colony to nation (Dunlop & Pike, 1963) and Social Studies for Queensland
Schools Grade 5 (Department of Education, 1959/1962/1966). Unusual for Indigenous
representations during this era, Jacky Jacky and Wylie are at the centre of the stories as
important figures in narratives that include them. However, overall, regardless of the
perspective taken; whether one of paternalism, equality, historical curiosity or some other
ideological standpoint; Indigenous Australians are consistently represented on the fringe of
mainstream history. As has been demonstrated through the analysis, two main areas of
textbooks where Indigenous representations are included are either as adjuncts or anecdotes
to an historical narrative or as a separate chapter, usually at the end of the textbook, as an
optional case study that positions Indigenous issues as a ‘problem’ or positions Indigenous
people themselves as ‘victims’ of an imposed system.
6.11.3 Narrative style of school curriculum.
Predictably, the narrative styles of textbooks differ according to the school year level for
which they are written. Whilst the secondary school textbooks generally comprise a detached
and formal approach to communicating content, the Social Studies for Queensland schools
series provide students with a vibrant recount of historical narratives. For example, in one
chapter of Social studies for Queensland schools grade 4 (Department of Education,
1954/1963/1966) the narrative is constructed by following two children on a train holiday.
When they see various points of interest along their journey someone in their carriage or who
they are visiting happens to be an expert on this point of interest and tells the students about it
including its historical context, answering the questions the students have. As an early
example of an inquiry-based approach to learning, this presents as an interesting narrative
that school students can feel a part. Other chapters in this same textbook are similarly
constructed into an engaging narrative, with one being a series of letters to and from a
classmate who has moved to Tasmania, who tells his former classmates still in Brisbane, the
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