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Australia's First Nuclear Reactor

Year of production - 1962
Duration - 1min 30sec
Tags - Australian History, Cold War, energy, mining, resources, science, technology, see all tags


Australia's First Nuclear Reactor

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download clip icon Premium MP4 energy_pr.mp4 (11.1MB).


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About the Video Clip





Curriculum Focus


Historical knowledge and understanding
Students analyse the impact of some key wars in the twentieth century such as the Cold War. They analyse changes in technology, medicine and communication.

Historical reasoning and interpretation
At Level 6, students frame research questions and locate relevant resources, including contemporary media and online resources. They identify, comprehend and evaluate a range of primary and secondary sources, including visual sources and use historical conventions such as footnotes and bibliographies to document sources. They critically evaluate sources of evidence for context, information, reliability, completeness, objectivity and bias.


Background Information







Classroom Activities

  1. The video clip:
    1. What is a ‘nuclear reactor’?
    2. What image or impression do you get from the video clip about the process involved?
    3. What impression do you get from the video clip about the purpose of a nuclear reactor?
    4. What image or impression of the purpose of a nuclear reactor does Prime Minister Menzies give in his speech?
    5. The video clip was originally titled ‘Energy Unlimited’. What impression or image of the nuclear reactor is given by this title?
  2. What are the arguments used for and against the building of nuclear reactors in
    Recent debate son this issue? Draw a table to record your answers.
  3. Australia has one of the largest deposits of uranium in the world. We mine very little of this for environmental and anti-nuclear reasons. Recently there has been a proposal by an internationally respected scientist to increase the use of nuclear power to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, which are widely believed to cause global warming. Imagine that you have been asked to help stimulate discussion on the issue of whether Australia should move to nuclear power. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper raising this issue in a way that will help the debate.

Further Resources


Go to Australian Biography and select Sir Marcus Oliphant