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Published Articles 

HISTORICAL RESEARCH ARTICLES

Sparking Curiosity

Public Records Office Victoria, November 2024

 

For some of us, the spark of historical curiosity began not with a textbook or in a history class, but with a family story—a tale told by a parent or grandparent or perhaps the discovery of an ancestor’s letters in a dusty box in the garage. When I first heard that my great grandmother had met Ned Kelly, I remember the impression it made. Later her perspective of his kindness challenged some of the views presented to me in history class.

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Image credit: Public Records Office Victoria

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Fairies in the Bush: The Emergence of a National Identity in Australian Fairy Tales

Scholastica, 2017

 

The outpouring of national sentiment as the colonies moved towards Federation heralded a quest for the ‘Australianising’ of children’s books: fairy tales were no exception. European fairy folk were placed in, or perhaps transported to, bush settings as authors re-imagined the ways in which the emigrant old-world creatures could claim a place in the Australian environment. This paper explores efforts of the early writers to locate an Australian fairyland in the ‘bush’ and contribute to the transmission of national identity.

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Image credit: MFLIBRA Antique Books

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Writing Fairy Tales for Australia: Beatrice Wilcken (c. late 1830s/early 40s-1910)

Women's History Network, April 2015

 

AND why not fairies in Australia? Why should not our innumerable ferny glades, romantic valleys, mountainous passes, and lonesome glens, be peopled with fays and elves? Why should not Robin Goodfellow be found sitting jauntily astride the gorgeous waratah, or chasing the laughing jackass from its favourite bough? But all in good time.  

Mermaids in Early Australian Children's 
Literature

Australian Fairytale Society Ezine, Autumn 2019

 

Invariably beautiful. Described as mysterious and enchanting or denergous and seductive, he mermaid as half nubile young maiden and half fish. Rather thanking sweet sea creatures, mermaids bewitched sailors with their singing, enjoyed sinking ships and generally behaved monstrously toward mankind. Despite this, or because of this, the mermaid remains a poplar creature in fairytales and folk tales.   

A relatable History: Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Education Act 1872 in Victoria 

AGORA, History Teachers' Association of Victoria,

March 2023

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The year 2022 marked the 150th anniversary of the Education Act 1872, which continues to shape education in Victoria. The tenet of the Act was that education should be 'free,

compulsory and secular'.' It aimed to ensure that the parents of children of not less than six years, nor more than fifteen years, attended school for a period of sixty days in each half year.

Early Settlers

EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ARTICLES

The Power of Fairytales

Australian Literacy Educators' Association,  2024

 

Once upon a time…Long long ago…In a faraway land… There was once… As soon as we read those words, we know that we are about to be drawn into a tale of magic, enchantment, and fantasy. The reader can also assume that any challenges or problems faced by the central character will be resolved in a happily-ever-after ending which leads to the message or the moral of the story. G.K. Chesterton summed it up succinctly when he said, "Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." No matter how frightening the scenario we can be comforted knowing that the hero or heroine will triumph.

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Bedtime Story

Storytelling – More than just telling a story

Active Babies Smart Kids - GymbaROO, 2016.

 

Children love to listen to stories. Storytelling is embedded in the casual language of families, friends and workmates.  Stories are told by parents and grandparents who want to pass on an event in family history or tell tales about their childhood, or by friends who pass on information, their experiences or simply entertain.  Teachers appreciate the value of storytelling in building a bank of story plots, structures, settings and characters to be drawn on in children’s writing. Storytelling is part of life.

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Image credit: GymbaROO

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The Educational Effect of a 150th School Anniversary

Classroom

Interview with Dr Robyn Floyd

Australian Fairy Review, October 2015

 

It felt as if Olga Ernst chose me. I was completing an Australian children's literature subject and needed to complete an assignment on an early Australian children's author. Olga's daughter Helen taught Christian Religious Instruction at the school where I was teaching and joined in a staffroom conversation on early Australian writers. Imagine my delight when she told me that her mother was one of the authors on my list and in the following weeks discussed Olga's work with me. 

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I live and work on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nations, the first storytellers of this land. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, and honour their deep tradition of storytelling, which has carried wisdom, culture, and connection through generations. May their stories continue to inspire, enrich, and guide us. 

2024 by R. Floyd. Powered and secured by Wix

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