PDF (Whole Thesis) - USQ ePrints - University of Southern ...

South Australia and used as a Defence training ground). The reason for this gap is unknown,
however due to its controversy, the textbook authors may not have felt comfortable including
it, or may have considered it not an important episode in history at the time of the textbook’s
publication.
7.16 Category 3: Australia’s Dissociation from Great Britain
7.16.1 Discourses of patriotic dissociation.
The earliest historical example of Australia’s dissociation with Great Britain is in Spanning
time (Power et al., 1985) where an extract originally by Henry Parkes, who supported
Australian federation is included (see Source 7.71).
Source 7.71. “Document study 6: A united people” extract from Spanning time
(Power et al., 1985, p. 214).
By including the primary source document of Henry Parkes’ speech supporting Federation
(see Source 7.71), the textbook authors are communicating to students that the dissociation of
Australian from Great Britain had roots prior to the 1901 Federation (which would continue
throughout the early parts of the 20 th century, escalating in the post-WWII years). Whilst this
is not articulated overtly, it becomes increasingly obvious through the selection of other
historical narratives that are included further in this textbook, such as the involvement of
373