"First Australians" is an Australian historical documentary series produced by Blackfella Films over six years and first aired in October 2008. It is part of a larger project including a companion book, a community awareness program, and an extensive website featuring over 200 mini-documentaries.
The series tells the story of contemporary Australia from the perspective of its first inhabitants, the Aborigines. It is a well-researched historical account, drawing on archives and interpretations from historians, members, and leaders of both indigenous and European communities. The narrative begins in 1788 in Sydney with the arrival of the First Fleet and concludes in 1993 with Eddie Mabo's legal challenge questioning the foundations of Australia.
Over seven episodes, the series explores the consequences of the meeting between the world's oldest living culture and the British Empire. Through individual stories, it paints a broader picture of the time, highlighting both the violent aspects of European colonization (massacres, battles, wars) and acts of friendship and respect between the first European settlers and the indigenous Australians. The indigenous history of Australia has long been overshadowed by the "Great Australian Silence," with ignorance of the past serving as a refuge for non-indigenous guilt. The series sparked controversy, as many of these stories had never been told on Australian television, and the Aboriginal perspective on European colonization unsettled some.
2009: AFI Award : Best Documentary Series for Darren Dale , Rachel Perkins , Helen Panckhurst – Won
2009: Logie Award : Outstanding Documentary or Documentary Series – Won
2009: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Script Writing Award for Louis Nowra , Rachel Perkins & Beck Cole – Won
2009: Australian Directors' Guild Awards : Outstanding Direction for a Television Documentary – Series – (Freedom for Our Lifetime) for Rachel Perkins – Won
2009: Australian Writers' Guild Award: Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Episode 1) for Louis Nowra , Rachel Perkins – Won
2009: Australian Writers' Guild Award: Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Episode 3) for Louis Nowra , Beck Cole – Nominated
2009: Deadly Awards : Outstanding Achievement in Film – Rachel Perkins – Nominated
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Seasons and episodes
Miniseries
7 episodes · 2008
Episode 1. They have come to stay
2008-10-12 · 60 min
The first Australians and the British, the most powerful Empire in history, come face to face in Sydney on January 26, 1788. Their differences are immense but apprehension quickly turns to curiosity. Friendships form, some between…
Episode 2. Her will to survive
2008-10-14 · 60 min
The land grab moves south to Tasmania. In an effort to protect the real estate prices, it is decided to remove the Tasmanian Aboriginal people from the island. The Government enlists an Englishmen for the job, who is helped by a young…
Episode 3. Freedom for our lifetime
2008-10-19 · 60 min
The threat of extinction hovers over the first Australians of Victoria at the time Wurundjeri clan leader Simon Wonga seeks land from the authorities. He soon gives up and leads his people to the banks of the Yarra River, claiming a…
Episode 4. No Other Law
2008-10-21 · 60 min
Throughout the history of white settlement, individual white men, good and bad, have significantly affected the first Australians. Supported by pastoralists keen to make their fortune, the homicidal police officer Constable Willshire,…
Episode 5. Unhealthy government experiment
2008-10-26 · 60 min
Jandamurra is born on a cattle station in the Kimberley in 1870s. His hybrid life takes a bloody turn when he trades in his status as a police tracker for his own people. Gladys Gilligan is one of more than 50,000 half-caste children…
Episode 6. A fair deal for a dark race
2008-10-28 · 60 min
Across the continent, the first Australians are governed by ‘protective legislation’ which binds them to reserves, controls their wages, residency, ability to marry and travel. Yorta Yorta man William Cooper forms the Australian…
Episode 7. Finale: We are no longer shadows
2008-11-02 · 60 min
Eddie Koiki Mabo fights for Australian law to recognise that his people own Murray Island, where they have lived for generations. In 1992, six months after his death and a decade after the statement of claim was first lodged in…
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Keywords
miniserieswoman directoraustralian aboriginalaustralian history
