Year 7 History Excursion

On our excursion, Yr 7 Mawson & Joshi ventured to Circular Quay via train. During the first half of the tour, we were situated at the Big Dig site where we learnt about the history of Sydney and what life was like back then.

We discovered the life of people who lived exactly in the spot that we were in and the conditions they had lived in. Surprisingly, where we stood was one of the places that had the first working toilets in Sydney.

In the second half of the excursion, we traversed to Observatory Hill where the old Fort Street High School resided. We searched for clues about the past around the area, conducting a site study fuelled by a question sheet. Unfortunately, it was absurdly windy which made it extremely difficult to compose ourselves for the task at hand.

At the end of the day, we learnt that Fort Street has been excellently preserved and well-adapted to the surroundings. We deduced countless concepts due to deductive reasoning and thinking like a historian.

On Wednesday the 27th August, Year 7 Joshi and Mawson went on a history excursion to the Big Dig and the original site of Fort Street High School in Observatory Hill. At the Big Dig, we explored with Sydney’s past through a guided exploration of excavated remains and historical artifacts, gaining insight into the daily lives of people living in the 19th and 20th century. The visit offered a rare opportunity to observe preserved foundations of 19th-century homes and learn about what life was like in the past. We then continued to the site of the original Fort Street High School, where we learnt about the original buildings, the rotunda, the gun, and a bust of Hans Christian Anderson, where we learnt several unexpected facts, including that the purpose of the original Fort St buildings were as an army hospital. The excursion provided a valuable learning experience, deepening our understanding of Fort Street, and Australia’s early history.