Tahlia Wins National History Challenge

Year 12 Modern History student, Tahlia Grammatopoulos, has not only been announced as the 2019 National and SA winner of the Indigenous history section of this year’s National History Challenge, and the Year 11 and 12 category winner at the State level, but has also managed a unique ‘three-peat’ in this competition. In 2017 Tahlia won the SA Year 10 and Indigenous history categories in this annual competition and also the title of SA Young Historian. While last year as a Year 11 student she went one step further as the Indigenous and Year 11 and 12 category winner at both the State and National levels. 

For those who do not know, the National History Challenge is a research-based competition for students conducted by the History Teachers’ Association of Australia. It gives students a chance to be an historian, researching world history, examining Australia’s past, investigating their community or exploring their own roots. It emphasises and rewards quality research, the use of community resources and effective presentation. 

The theme of this year’s challenge was People and Power. Tahlia utilised the research that she had undertaken for the Historical Study, a major assessment task in Modern History, to not only investigate her chosen topic: The Power of Perception: An Investigation into the Black Armband Lens and its Influence on Perceptions of Australian History, but also to produce a very high standard written response for the competition. A highlight for Tahlia was the interview that she was able to conduct with Professor Henry Reynolds, from the University of Tasmania, who has long been one of Australia’s most eminent historians and writers on Australia’s indigenous peoples.

Tahlia’s recognition includes being flown to Canberra for the presentation of her award by the Hon. Dan Tehan, Minister for Education at the National Australian History Challenge Presentation Ceremony, to be held at Parliament House on Monday 2 December.