Good morning, we are continuing our Time Walkthrough Australia with Tony Robinson.  Are you tired of the Tony Robinson palette cleanser?   This time, Time is exploring Kalgoorlie in the first episode.  The run time for this episode is 26:08.  In the second episode, Tony explores Brisbane and the run time for this episode is 26:17.  The first episode is not time-stamped but the second episode is.

Tony starts in a super pit.  This super pit is the biggest gold-producing mine in the country.  In the 1980s the government bought out everyone’s leases and just created a giant size the equivalent of five Sydney harbors.  The pit operates 24 hours a day.  Nobody is sure when the gold will run out.  Tony then moves on to a pub that was built over one of the old mines.  Here he learns the differences between Kalgoorlie and Boulder.  There is even a place on the floor where one could see the old mine shafts.  He tosses a coin down the shaft and it ends up in a bucket several feet down into the mine.  Tony takes a tour of the shaft with one of the locals. 

After the trip to the pub, head for the main drag.  He meets up with a statue of Paddy Hannan.  Paddy Hannan bloke likes Tony.  He was an Irishman, constantly looking for gold.  Eventually, they found Kalgoorlie.  He became wealthy from the gold.  The city grew up around the gold.  Kalgoorlie was wealthy and was willing to flex its political muscle.  The city had a choice to join the rest of the provinces to form Australia, while the other choice was to be independent.  The government did not want the city to become a separate state thereby losing access to the gold.  Kalgoorlie would join up with Australia.

Tony continues his walk-through of Kalgoorlie and gold was not the only valuable asset in the city.  Water was valuable and a pipeline would be built between Kalgoorlie and Perth.  When the tap was turned on Kalgoorlie would have fresh water.  However, the celebrations when the pipeline was open were tinged with sadness.  Why were these celebrations tinged with sadness? Why does Tony get into a car when this series is about walking?  Continue to watch this episode to find out more.

Tony explores Brisbane in the second episode.  Beneath the city of steel and glass, there are plenty of stories to be found.  Tony begins the episode at the last remaining tower left over from the days when Brisbane was a penal colony.  It was meant to be a windmill, however, there was no wind in its location.  Instead of being a windmill, it was used to be punishment for the convicts.  The convicts would ground the flour themselves using the treadmill.

After touring the mill, Tony heads on over to the hotel, and the hotel was built to resemble the mill.  This hotel was the site of a protest against apartheid.  After learning about the poorest, he heads down Jacob’s ladder.  He discovers sculptures at the bottom of the stairs.  The sculptures tell the story of Agamemnon and his murder.  However, the sculptures would remind one of Dr. Who and the Daleks.  Tony then learns about World War II and the headquarters of the United States during World War II.  General Douglas MacArthur had his headquarters in Brisbane.  He stayed there after he “strategically retreated” from the Philippines.  The American Forces would transform Brisbane.

However, there were many African Americans who came over to Brisbane as a result of World War II.  The Australian government did not appreciate the invasion because of the “White Australia” policy.  However, they had to deal with it.  Tony then gets distracted by a building that says “John Mills Himself,” and learns the history as to why the building was called that.  Tony heads on over to the City Hall, which is the largest city hall in the world.  Tony then heads to the bathroom and discovers some graffiti left behind by the soldiers.  What else does Tony learn about Brisbane?  Tune into there rest of the episode.

Brisbane was an enjoyable episode and Tony’s discussion on World War II would be a good section to show to a history class.  In the Kalgoorlie episode, you can skip the brothel section which is at the end of the episode, unless you are showing this to college students.

Good morning, we are continuing our Tony Robinson Palette cleanser.  I will do two episodes once again.  In the first episode, Tony explores the city of Adelaide.  The run time for this episode is 25:29.  In the second episode, Tony heads to Northern Tasmania and the town of Launceston.  The run time for this episode is 25:54.

Adelaide is a city of churches; however, it is also home to radicals and rebels.  It is the capital of South Australia.  Tony’s rabble-rousing radar is on high alert.  He comes across the statue of Mary Lee and he tells her story to a group of locals.  Mary Lee was the most influential woman in Australian history.  She fought for the right of women to vote in South Australia.  She took on a man named Ebenezer Black and he was against the right of women to vote.  He planned on wrecking the bill that would allow women to vote.  He stuck an amendment in the bill that would have allowed women to stand in Parliament.  However, his colleagues agreed and got the bill passed.  So not only women could vote in South Australia, but they could also stand in Parliament.

Tony then heads on over to the cricket pitch where the British took on the Australians in a controversial cricket game.  The British played a hard and ruthless game, and the Australians were not going to have it.  When one of their players was seriously injured the Australians were righteously angry.  The cricket tour was nearly canceled, it took an intervention by the Prime Minister to keep the tour going.

Tony’s next stop is the parade ground where Australia sent off its fighting men.  The Vietnam War would prove to be different.  There was national conscription. When the Vietnam Veterans got home they were treated horribly and were often denied jobs.  Tony would catch up with a songwriter who talked about the Australian experience of the Vietnam War.  So where else does Tony go on his Time Walk in Adelaide, tune into the rest of the episode to find out more?

Tony begins this episode by quoting an explorer who found a piece of beautiful land in Tasmania.  Tony begins his Time Walk at Cataract Gorge.  Patsy Cameron is an aboriginal elder who talks about what Tasmanians eat.  She gives him a plant that tastes like a vegetable.  Tony then tries a grub and then after trying a grub he takes a stroll by a grand river.

The river Tamar is the reason why Launceston was built.  There was plenty of fresh water and it provided a route to the sea.  It was a free town and people could make their fortunes in the town.  Tony explores John Battman and John Fawkner.  John Fawkner was a convict and the son of a convict.  He wanted to claim land north of Melbourne, however, he was brought up on assault charges.  The judge sorted those out and Fawkner was prevented from leaving because he had lots of debts.  He managed to dodge those debts and manage to get out of Launceston.  However, the captain recognized him and nearly brought Fawkner back.  Fawkner tricked the captain telling him that he was sick and the captain agreed to keep him on board.  He managed to make his way back to mainland Australia and would become a member of Parliament.

Tony then heads across town and the site of the Tasmanian Cricket association oval.  He goes back to 1851 when the first match between Australian colonies took place.  Tasmania won that match.  Tasmania was the senior colony and Launceston was the senior town.  That changed when gold was discovered near Melbourne and Tasmania’s fortunes fell.
Tony then finds himself at the Zoo and is looking at monkeys that are from Japan.  They were given in a trade for wallabies.  He uses it to reflect on the relationship between Launceston and Hobart.  However, Hobart and Launceston have been great rivals.  Tony catches up with the mayor of Launceston to talk about that animosity.  So why are Hobart and Launceston great rivals?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more.

Both episodes were very cool, but I would have to say that Launceston had a higher degree of coolness.  The story about burying the hatchet between Hobart and Launceston was very cool and Tony was in his element talking about archelogy.

Well, after that disastrous TV series we are due for a palette cleanser.  Who would be a better palette cleanser than Tony Robinson?  Tony Robinson explores Australia in his series Time Walks.  I am going to do two episodes of Time Walks.  The first episode is about Townsville and the run time for this episode is 25:33. The second episode is about Canberra and the run time for this episode is 26:15.

Today Tony explores Townsville, a place he feels deserves a better name.  He starts up on Castle Hill and moves his way down and through the town.  Castle Hill overlooks the town and many people have climbed it over the years.  He points out a stick figure that is painted on the mountain.  He meets the man who painted the stick figure on the mountain.  After his trip to Castile Hill, he goes to the beach.

However, he is not able to swim at the beach because of the jellyfish.  There are also green ants at the beach.  The then explores the origins of his name.  The name came from a man Robert Towns.  He had only come to the settlement once and he complained about it.  Tony then goes into public to start a campaign to change the name of the town.  He feels that it should be named after John Melton Black and he was the man who created the town.  He built the first house and brought culture to the settlement.  Tony wants to call it Blackville, however, the locals are not persuaded.  It was the men with the money who got towns named for them.

Tony then learns about Eddie Marbo who fought for aboriginal rights.  He went to court to settle who own Australia before the British.  He won the case but did not live to see his victory.  Tony catches up with Eddie’s friend about the type of man he was.  Then Tony moves on and explores the impact of World War II on Townsville.  He goes into a surviving air raid shelter.  The people of Townsville prepared for war because they felt like the Japanese were going to invade them.  Townsville residents needed to be prepared for war.  So what else does Tony learn about Townsville?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more.

In episode two of this review, Tony overlooks Canberra and talks about the origins of the name.  He starts at Red Hill and ends at Mitchell in the north.  Canberra is the capital of Australia and it was designed for political purposes.  How did Australians decide where to put their capital?  The number one thing was that it needed to be New South Wales and there was a need to have cold weather to bring up Australia.  However, there are people who at sneer Canberra.

Tony takes a detour down Canberra Boulevard and notices a funeral home.  Across the street from the funeral home, there is the Russian Embassy.  Next door to the funeral home is where the Australians had their secret service and where the Secret Service would spy on the Russians.  Australians are famous for coming up with nicknames for their Prime Ministers.  The Australian first prime minister was a huge drinker but was a brilliant man.  He was in an advertisement for soap.

Tony visits the National Archives and visits the artifacts of the 17th Prime Minister.  His drowning death shocked the nation.  Tony reflects on the life of this prime minister.  Then he takes off for the art museum and talks about Jackson Pollock’s painting.  It was a painting that caused controversy when it was purchased because it purchased over one million dollars.  Tony encounters children to paint a version of the Jackson Pollock painting.

Tony then moves on to the parliament building.  He talks about the opening of the Parliament building and what a disaster that was.  He then highlights more drama that happened at the Parliament House. So what happened as a result of this drama?  What else does Tony find about Canberra?  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more.

This is such a nice palette cleanser after watching 24 Hours in the Past.  I would suggest both of these episodes for a geography classroom.

Let's continue with a Fun and Frivolous December with Time Walks!  Tony Robinson has another series Time Walks.  He walks and explores the history of a particular area.  This is different from Time Travels and its search for hidden history.  This series happened over two series and explores the cities of Australia and New Zealand.  Tony brings his storytelling style to this series.  The series kicks off with Freemantle and ends with Alice Springs.  What will Tony Robinson learn about Australia?
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Tony highlights the isolation of Australia.  Why would you put a colony in Australia?  You could not grow anything there.  The limestone crumbles easily.  It was only when the British Empire decided to dump convicts in Australia, there was enough labor to turn Australia into a country.  Tony starts his travel in Freemantle, Australia.

He kicks off his walk in the roundhouse.  It was the oldest building in Australia.  It was a prison at one time.  It was built in the round to help the prison guards watch their charges.  Even though it is no longer a prison, there is a particular time-keeping method still kept.  An important person would shoot a cannon and one o’clock, a ball would drop, and the ships in the harbor would set their chronometers.  Tony is invited to shoot the cannon.  The cannon is loud.

Tony then continues onto fishing boat harbor.  Freemantle was a rough place and then America’s Cup came into town.  Tony explores this with a tourist promoter.  This brought a higher class of people and it became the center of the Yachting world.  Freemantle’s residents rose against the developers to prevent them from tearing down their history.  The residents won.  He then heads on to the Maritime Museum for murder and mayhem. 

He tells the story of Batavia.  The Batavia was looking for spices but it was grounded.  Tony tells Batavia’s stories with the tourists in the museum.  The Batavia was hijacked and sailed away.  One hundred and twenty-five people were murdered.  The ringleader was executed.  This was a delightful section in Tony’s Time walk.

In the 1880s gold was discovered again in Australia.  People started flooding into Freemantle to find gold.  Gold flooded into the economy and new buildings were built.  Freemantle was the only city with a city square, only it is not in the center of the city.  Toney then makes it to the wharf.  The dockworkers were treated badly and there was a strike.  In 1919, an event called Bloody Sunday happened.  The dockworkers and the scabs, people were killed during this event.

Tony makes his way to one last prison.  This newer prison had 125 cells.  This prison held a special prisoner.  This prisoner drew the artwork on his cell.  This prison was also the site of a great escape.  It is 1972 and a man pranked the prison to make his escape.  This escape involved the prison radio and a man who was good at electronic repairs.  The guards asked this man to repair the electronics in the prison hospital.  He did more than that and was able to make calls outside the prison.  The man escapes and goes into a getaway car.  The men were caught again three months later. 

Tony concludes his walk with Freemantle is not another suburb of Perth.  It is a city that continually reinvents itself.

Time Walks is a short show with a run time of about twenty-six minutes.  This would be a good series to show for a geography class or independent study geography students.  If you are a geography teacher and have a substitute teacher in the classroom then you can go ahead and show this series.