Great Southern Land (ATOM Study Guide)

Prof. Steve Simpson is on an epic journey across Australia, looking at the nation from a unique aerial perspective, revealing otherwise hidden patterns, networks and systems that keep us moving, fed, alive and thriving. Great Southern Land is the story of Australians doing the crucial jobs that keep the nation ticking along, jobs that, in many cases, most of us probably never knew existed. It is a documentary all about us.

The series is delivered in three ways. Firstly we see the country from the eyes of the presenter, Steve Simpson, as he flies, jumps and glides his way over this huge island called Australia. The second angle shows the country through the eyes of workers, profiling everyone from farmers, firefighters and security guards, to shop owners and pipe cleaners. The third element of this documentary is told through graphics and visualisations based on GPS data obtained from institutions like Geoscience Australia, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Airservices Australia. This is a story about the systems and structures that keep us alive.

Great Southern Land applies to several strands of the Geography curriculum: Physical, Population, Development, Economic, Environmental and Sustainable Geography.