Last Tasmanian, The

Synopsis: In 1803 when the British arrived to establish a penal colony there were some 4000 aborigines on the island of Tasmania. By 1876, after a few decades of systematic persecution and atrocity, they had been exterminated. This account of the genocide is told with the aid of contemporary drawings, maps and photographs. Note: When the film was released in Australia the director was strongly criticised by the descendants of full-blood Tasmanian aboriginals and white sealers who have lived on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait since the early 19th century. They contest the film’s assumption that the Tasmanian people and their culture were wiped out. Such a contention, they claim, prejudices their own case for recognition and land rights.
Language: English
Country: Australia
Medium: Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 100 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of production: 1978
Availability: Hire
Sale
Notes: References: ‘The Last Tasmanian’, by Pat O’Shane in ‘Filmnews’, Oct 1978, p. 11. ‘The Last Tasmanian: superb documentary or racist fantasy?', by Anne Bickford, in ‘Filmnews’, Jan 1979, p. 11-14. ‘A re-make: this time with a camera’, by Bobbi Sykes, in ‘Filmnews’, Jan 1979, p. 13. ‘The Last Tasmanian’, by Keith Connolly in ‘Cinema Papers’, no. 18, Oct/Nov 1978
Subjects: Anthropology
Keywords: Aboriginal peoples; Australia; genocide; Tasmania

Director

Tom Haydon

Producer

Ray Barnes; Roger Fauriat

Writer

Rhys Jones; Tom Haydon

Cast

Leo McKern
Rhys Jones

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