''First Australians'' is an Australian historical documentary series produced by Blackfella Films over the course of six years, and first aired on SBS TV in October 2008. The documentary is part of a greater project that further consists of a book, a community outreach program and a substantial website featuring over 200 mini-documentaries.

Description

The series chronicles the history of contemporary Australia, from the perspective of its first people, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. The series is essentially a synthesis of well-documented historical information. It relies heavily on archival documents and interpretations from historians and members of both the Aboriginal and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

community and leaders. The story begins in 1788 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, with the arrival of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

and ends in 1993 with Koiki Mabo's legal challenge to the foundation of Australia. The series comprises seven episodes in which it explores what unfolded when the oldest living culture in the world was confronted by the British Empire.Unearthing our first voices
''The Canberra Times'', 14 October 2008 It explores the lives of particular individuals and uses their stories as a vehicle to explain the larger situations of the time. It explains violent aspects of European settlement of Australia, such as killings, battles, wars, as well as acts of friendship and decency between the early European settlers and Aboriginal Australians. Aboriginal Australian history has until recently been clouded by the "great Australian silence", referring to ignorance of the real history of Australia seen as a way for non-Aboriginal Australians to hide shame for their own history. The series was the winner of multiple awards, remains the highest-selling educational title in Australia , and was also sold overseas.

Episodes

A total of seven episodes were filmed. The series was first transmitted in Australia from 12 October to 2 November 2008.

Production

The series was made by Film Australia and the Film Finance Corporation in conjunction with SBS Independent and the New South Wales Film and Television Office. It was written, produced and directed by Rachel Perkins, daughter of outspoken Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins, with episode writing and directing credits including Beck Cole and Louis Nowra. The series was produced by Darren Dale. The series featured writer

Bruce Pascoe Bruce Pascoe (born 1947) is an Aboriginal Australian writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. As well as his own name, Pascoe has written under the pen names Murray Gray and Leopold Glass. Since August 2 ...

and historians Marcia Langton and

Janet McCalman Janet Susan McCalman, (born 5 December 1948) is an Australian social historian, population researcher and author at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. McCalman won the Ernest Scott Prize in 1984 and 2 ...

Community consultation

A significant part of the production of the series involved consultation with the descendants of the individuals portrayed in the documentary. According to the First Australians Documentary website, this involved; checking the content of scripts, usually face to face, seeking permission to film in particular locations, showing the rough cut of the film for comment and showing the film at fine cut. The series was made in accordance with Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights, to ensure the cultural content and the rights of Indigenous people.

Awards and nominations

*2009: AFI Award: Best Documentary Series for Darren Dale, Rachel Perkins,

Helen Panckhurst Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen ...

- 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 The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...

: Outstanding Direction for a Television Documentary - Series - (Freedom for Our Lifetime) for Rachel Perkins - Won *2009:

Australian Writers' Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

Award: Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Episode 1) for Louis Nowra, Rachel Perkins - Won *2009:

Award: Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Episode 3) for Louis Nowra, Beck Cole - Nominated *2009: Deadly Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Film - Rachel Perkins - Nominated

References

External links

*
''First Australians'' website on SBS
on the Minister for Indigenous Affairs website {{Films and television series about Aboriginal Australia 2000s Australian documentary television series Special Broadcasting Service original programming Television shows set in New South Wales Documentary films about Aboriginal Australians 2008 Australian television series debuts Indigenous Australian television series