| History | Historical Concepts and Skills | Chronology | Sequence significant events in chronological order to support analysis of the causes and effects of these events and identify the changes they brought about (VCHHC121) | Learn a chronology of the Pentridge landscape, from Wurundjeri meeting place, through to the present day – the people these changes affected and the physical changes to place. |
| Historical Sources as Evidence | Analyse and corroborate sources and evaluate their accuracy, usefulness and reliability (VCHHC123) | Utilising the latest in immersive technologies, hear a wide range of stories from prisoners, guards, lawyers and other key individuals involved in Pentridge, some of them contradictory in nature. Students must use critical thinking to acknowledge bias and reliability. |
| Historical Knowledge | The Making of the Modern World – Asia and Australia. | Key social, cultural, economic, and political features of one society at the start of the period (VCHHK133) | Understand the strong links between the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 and the expansion of the Pentridge Stockade. Learn about the lawless nature of the gold fields. |
| Intended and unintended causes and effects of contact and extension of settlement of European power(s), including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (VCHHK134) | Learn about the pastoralist land takeover of the area around Pentridge in the 1830s that pushed the Wurundjeri people off Country. |
| Patterns of continuity and change and their effects on influencing movements of people, ways of life and living conditions, political and legal institutions, and cultural expression around the turn of the twentieth century (VCHHK136) | Be introduced to the atrocious living conditions within Pentridge, as the world outside changed, the structure within remained all too familiar. |
| Different experiences and perspectives of non-Europeans and their perspectives on changes to society, significant events, ideas, beliefs and values (VCHHK137) | Learn about the high incarceration levels of Aboriginal Peoples in Pentridge, and the affect that this had on them, including the lasting legacy of children’s homes and a disconnection from Country. |
| Rights and Freedoms (1945-the present) | Causes of the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for rights and freedoms before 1965 (VCHHK152) |
| Civics and Citizenship | Laws and Citizens | | Describe the key features of Australia’s court system, including jurisdictions and how courts apply and interpret the law, resolve disputes and make law through judgments, and describe the role of the High Court in interpreting the Constitution (VCCCL033) | Learn about the role that courts played in determining the sentences of criminals. Students can then critically think about whether these sentences were fair, and whether, contextually, prisoners received a fair trial, when considering factors such as age, social status, gender, race, political beliefs, religious beliefs, etc. |
| Discuss the key principles of Australia’s justice system, including equality before the law, independent judiciary, and right of appeal (VCCCL034) | Learn about many cases of people being imprisoned at Pentridge and facing different sanctions, such as Ronald Ryan – the last man to be executed in Australia. |
| Citizenship, Diversity and Identity | Discuss how and why groups, including religious groups, participate in civic life (VCCCC037) | Learn about the prominent role of the Church at Pentridge, as a place of rehabilitation, reform, and counsel. Be introduced to notable church figures at Pentridge including Father Brosnan. |
| Ethical Capabilities | Understanding Concepts | | Distinguish between the ethical and non-ethical dimensions of complex issues, including the distinction between ethical and legal issues (VCECU021) | Discuss the ethical ramifications of imprisonment in dire conditions at Pentridge Prison, and how the laws affected this imprisonment. |
| Investigate the connections and distinctions between and the relative value of concepts including fairness and equality, and respect and tolerance (VCECU019) | Discuss the fairness of criminal sentences, that may be different based on circumstances even if the crime is the same. |
