This paper examines the contestations surrounding the life-sized statue of Robert Towns in Townsville, north Queensland. Unlike many of the cases catalogued by Contested Histories, this statue was erected in recent history–in 2004–with funds from the local council, in spite of instant controversy. Towns was a merchant entrepreneur and ‘blackbirder’, whose ship ‘Don Juan’ brought one of the earliest shiploads of South Sea Islanders from present-day Vanuatu to labour on his Queensland properties in 1863.
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Project Citizen: engaging students in the active exercise of responsible citizenship
Helping all student answer challenging questions about the causes of historical events and developments
Action Research: projects as active methods to develop civic skills
How do we decide what we believe? – Helping students learn how to question beliefs and test claims to become more (self) critical and evidence based in their thinking
Augmentative Communication: the creation of visual vocabularies as a support in the study of works of art