History comes alive from beyond the grave

For Year 6 student Kadeyn Duggan and the rest of his classmates, the project came with lots to learn about Australia’s colonial history and one particular character: namely, for Kadeyn, the 19th-century Ballarat gold miner John Dunlop.

“He discovered Ballarat. Well, Aboriginals discovered it, but he made it sort of famous and discovered gold there,” Kadeyn said.

Unfortunately for Mr Dunlop, as his 21st-century likeness explained, fame and wealth can be but fleeting delights.

“He tried to keep it a secret, and he did for a week, until someone followed him,” Kadeyn said.

“Then everyone started going there and made it a town.”