Tasmanian Aboriginal people have lived on lutruwita for more than 40,000 years and remain a living community. The language of extinction once used in museums and histories is false and harmful. Culture, families, Country and political action continued through invasion, violence and forced removal.

Country holds deep knowledge

Sea-level change, fire, seasonal movement, food gathering, stone work, shelters and ceremonial places form part of diverse relationships with land and sea. Archaeological evidence records only part of knowledge held and renewed within community.

Coastal Country at Cape Grim in north-west Tasmania
All Tasmanian landscapes are Aboriginal Country with cultural histories beyond visible sites.Ian Cochrane from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Invasion brought dispossession and violence

British occupation from 1803 expanded through grants, stock, sealing and military force. Frontier conflict, abduction, disease and removal to places including Wybalenna and Oyster Cove caused immense loss. Colonial records often describe Aboriginal people through the priorities of officials and settlers.

Tasmanian Aboriginal people associated with Oyster Cove around 1860
Oyster Cove was a place of forced removal, family life, survival and continuing connection.Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Survival is central, not an epilogue

Bass Strait Islander families, mainland survivors and later generations maintained identity and fought for land, cultural rights and recognition. Language renewal, land management, art and community institutions belong to the present.

Fanny Cochrane Smith recording songs on a wax cylinder
Fanny’s recordings remain connected to descendants, language renewal and living culture.Albert Archer Rollings, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Read Fanny Cochrane Smith as a cultural leader and matriarch, and approach Oyster Cove as a place of survival as well as forced removal. Follow Tasmanian Aboriginal organisations for community perspectives and cultural protocols.