First Australians

An Illustrated History

Edited by Rachel Perkins and Marcia Langton with Wayne Atkinson, James Boyce, RG Kimber, Steve Kinnane, Noel Loos and Bruce Pascoe

The companion book to the epic SBS TV series, First Australians tells the story that gave birth to the nation.

Opinion

'. . .This collection of essays builds into a fragmented portrait of a modern nation, set against darker themes that lurk within its memory'
Nicolas Rothwell, The Weekend Australian, 29/11/08

'First Australians is a history project so important it makes a little history of its
own.'
Time Out Sydney, 17/12/08

About this Title

First Australians, the companion book to the epic SBS TV series, is the dramatic story of the collision of two worlds that created contemporary Australia. Told from the perspective of Australia's first people, it vividly brings to life the events that unfolded when the oldest living culture in the world was overrun by the world's greatest empire.

Through a vast collection of images and historic documents, seven of Australia's leading historians reveal the true stories of individuals-both black and white-caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia's most transformative period of history.

Their story begins in 1788 in Warrane, now known as Sydney, with the friendship between an Englishman, Governor Phillip, and the kidnapped warrior Bennelong. It ends in 1993 with Koiki Mabo's legal challenge to the foundation of Australia.

By illuminating a handful of extraordinary lives spanning two centuries, First Australians reveals, through their eyes, the events that shaped a new nation.

Table of Contents

Prologue (Marcia Langton)

Ngura Barbagai: Country Lost
1 'They Made a Solitude and Called it Peace' (Marcia Langton)

Towlangany: To Tell Lies
2 'What Business Have You Here?' (James Boyce)

Wurrbunj Narrap: Lament for Country
3 How It Starts (Bruce Pascoe)

Altyere: Dreaming
4 The Sea Met the Desert and the Desert Met the Sea (RG Kimber)

Marda-Marda: Two Bloods
5 Blood History (Steve Kinnane)

Ngariarty: Speaking Strong
6 The Schools of Human Experience (Wayne Atkinson)

Kara Ged: Homeland
7 The Dawn is at Hand (Marcia Langton and Noel Loos)

Epilogue (Marcia Langton)

Notes
Acknowledgements
Picture Credits
Index

About the Author

Rachel Perkins (editor) is from the Arrernte and Kalkadoon people. She directed the films Radiance, One Night the Moon and Bran Nue Dae, and is one of the directors, writers and producers of First Australians.

Marcia Langton (editor) is Foundation Professor of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne. She is trained as an anthropologist and geographer, and contributes to policy and debates on Aboriginal land and resource issues, as well as the visual and performing arts and other social and cultural matters.

Wayne Atkinson is an elder of the Yorta Yorta Nation. He is a Senior Lecturer and Fellow in Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, and Chairperson of the Dharnya Action Group.

James Boyce is a Hobart-based writer and historian. He is the author of Van Diemen's Land (2008), which was shortlisted for six major literary awards including The Age Book of the Year. He has a PhD from the University of Tasmania, where he is an Honorary Research Associate of the Centre for Environmental Studies.

RG Kimber arrived in Alice Springs as a school teacher in January 1970. Appointed Honorary Ethnographer at the SA Museum, he is a renowned expert on the history and cultures of Central Australia. He is the author of Man From Arltunga and Wild Bird Dreaming as well as numerous articles on Aboriginal culture.

Steve Kinnane is a descendant of the Miriwoong people of the East Kimberley, and was raised in Noongar country in the south-west of Western Australia. He is a writer, researcher and lecturer in Indigenous Studies and Sustainability, and collaborates on a range of community cultural heritage and development projects.

Noel Loos teaches the history of black-white relations in Australia at James Cook University in Townsville. He has conducted close research into Aboriginal mission history, frontier conflict, the place of Aborigines in colonial society and the evolution of government policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. A Friend of Koiki Mabo for twenty-five years, Professor Loos edited Edward Koiki Mabo: His Life and Struggle for Land Rights (1996).

Bruce Pascoe is an award-winning writer. His books include Shark, Ruby-eyed Coucal, Ocean, Fox, Earth and Nightjar. Convincing Ground is his latest book, after he compiled a Wathaurong language dictionary.