The Indigenous community of Cherbourg in the South Burnett has hosted 30 school principals from southern Queensland in an effort to reshape the way they teach history.

For two days the principals experienced Cherbourg's past, speaking with elders growing up under the Aboriginal Protection Act.

Cherbourg was established in 1899 by the Salvation Army, but was taken over as a Federal Government settlement five years later.

Under the Act different Aboriginal tribes from across Queensland and New South Wales were forcibly resettled into the one community.

The Act gave the government significant control over their lives, including how they were educated, the language they spoke and where they lived.

A sign in the Cherbourg Ration Shed Museum. ( ABC Wide Bay: Ross Kay )

Manager of Indigenous Education with the Department of Education, Sally Lawrence, said Cherbourg's history as a melting pot of different tribes, customs and languages, motivated her to organise the principals' visit.

"Regardless of where our schools are in our region, the Indigenous students have a connection to Cherbourg, so it was important for me to build teachers' and principals' understandings of the links," she said.

The experience included a sleep-over on the wooden floors of a former boy's dormitory, which today serves as the Ration Shed Museum, a tribute to the community's complicated but proud past.

Sally Lawrence said the tough conditions many of the elders experienced growing up in Cherbourg have not been taught to students in the region.

"No longer can we just say 'well I wasn't taught that so I can't teach it'," Ms Lawrence said.

"It's about developing your understanding. Having experiences like this Ration Shed sleep out that draws you closer to that story and also draws you closer to the people," Ms Lawrence said.

Principal of Nambour's Burnside State School, Monique Pfingst said hearing the elders speak was an emotional experience.

An Indigenous man raises the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags during NAIDOC Week celebrations. ( ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos )

"It's really phenomenal but it's also that element of trust," she said.

"The elders trusted us to tell their stories and to know that we all have the same heart and want the same thing, so it's very inspiring."

Ms Pfingst said she intended to bring the history of Cherbourg back her school, which has 71 Indigenous students out of a cohort of 503.

"It makes you reflect on where our kids come from," she said.

"For many of our kids it's about that understanding of the value of family and I think we lose that sometimes."

Ms Lawrence hoped the inclusion of Cherbourg's history in the school curriculum would inspire Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students.

"Their history wasn't always something that they were encouraged to feel proud of. We didn't have kids 10 years ago putting their hands up in the air and saying 'I'm Aboriginal or I'm Torres Strait Islander and I'm proud of it'," she said.