School Student Research Competition

Stage 2 and 3 students in primary schools and Stage 4,5 and 6 students in secondary schools within the Cessnock Local Government Area are invited to participate in a research competition in conjunction with the River of Black Gold Festival.

The research project may be submitted as an individual piece of work or as a group effort.

Primary themes

Choose from one of the three research subjects listed below:

What direct impact has the coal industry had on your school community, especially through a coal mine or mines located in your community?
If you do not have a direct link to a coal mine in your community, what other areas have been influenced? eg. timbergetters and sawmills providing pitprops.
Research the life and career of Professor Sir Edgeworth David. Why was he so important to the development of Australia and surrounding regions?

Secondary themes

The topic for the research project is:

Examine an aspect of the history of the South Maitland Coalfields in the context of state and national development.
What impacts, positive and negative arose from that history?

Format

Your research project may be submitted either in printed or electronic form.

If your project is a multimedia project, you will need to provide the technology which will allow it to be displayed.

Be as creative as you can be in the presentation of your project, without overwhelming the important information within. Ensure that your research project has an accurate bibliography.

Sources

You are encouraged to access the collections of Cessnock City Library and the Edgeworth David Museum on the Kurri Kurri High School campus to assist you. Other sources of information may include the University of Newcastle Archives and the local history collection at the Newcastle Region Library.