Documentary on Tasmania and the genocide of the aborigines Channel 4

No need to shout.

growstuff

RosiesMaw

Most 'interesting' was how, in such a situation, the natives are portrayed back home as monsters who kill innocent women and babies - the white settlers- when in fact the native aborigines are killed in their 1000s in the most violent, sickening and vile way, or shot in the back, or pushed down cliffs into the ocean in their 100s- whilst their land is taken away

You know how in language lessons you used to be given a paragraph and were told to transcribe be it in its entirety in another tense ?.
May I respectfully suggest that the quoted section should be in the past tense because reading it as it is written, OP is claiming these things are happening at the present which is of course, nonsense. (Or sloppy writing)

You may also recall that in literary analysis, the present tense is used.

Indeed- I was clearly talking about history, and what was represented in the documentary. Anyone who believed I was talking about the present must have missed a few lessons back in the day, or be totally disingenuous.

And NOWHERE did I mention the British- but WHITE SETTLERS. It was Callistemon who did, unfortunately.

Yes, of course it does have relevance.

Early white pastoralists are guilty of land grabbing from indigenous Australians after murdering inhabitants, driving survivors from the land, not just in Tasmania.

Relevance to the facts portrayed in the two documentaires- zilch.

Another side of my family, from UK, is very closely related to Captain Watson- guilty as charged too.

For my family, it all started much earlier however, in the 1840s- I have got the documents in front of me.

Yes Geelong is the very place. I have read plenty about it, all the letters sent home to family to tell the story. And in no way whatsoever am I in denial about what it would have meant in many ways. And in NO way whatsoever does it detract from the reality of the two documentaries on Tasmania.

Fleurpepper
I assume those documents forgot to mention the stolen land.

The Flagship Vineyard in Lethbridge, located 30 km north west of Geelong, was originally planted in 1874 by Swiss immigrants and was replanted by the owners of Lethbridge Wines in 1996. This vineyard is managed using sustainable principles, informed by organic and biodynamic practices.

We have developed a special appreciation of where we live, and feel honoured to acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants, and the traditional custodians of this land.
We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.
The Lethbridge winery and vineyard are situated on the land of the Wathaurong people of the Kulin nation and we acknowledge that this land was never formally ceded.

I am sure you could Google informative non-fiction books on Australia.
If you prefer fiction I can recommend Patricia Shaw, whose books are well-researched, as she is a historian and researched her topics.

Callistemon21

^My Swiss relatives emigrated to the Victoria/Melbourne region and planted the first vineyards in the region. All very well documented, a book written on the subject and a PHD too^.

I wondered if they might be, I have read books about that and the way the native Australians were driven from their land.

Perhaps you could give links and further information, I'd be very interested.

Fleurpepper

MayBee- how did you feel watching the two programmes, if you did. Were you shocked and sickened too? I have to admit I had no idea it had been that bad- ethnic cleansing and genocide in the vilest way.

I would be 'happy' to read any opinion, of anyone who has watched the two programmes. Not so from someone who has not, and doesn't want to know, bar making the usual very personal, and totally irrelevant, personal attacks.

I haven’t watched them yet. I’ve got such a back log of things to watch! But I will. I can’t access Ch4 for a week or so. For some reason I can’t get it on my iPad. I can get BBC catchup.

My Swiss relatives emigrated to the Victoria/Melbourne region and planted the first vineyards in the region. All very well documented, a book written on the subject and a PHD too.

I wondered if they might be, I have read books about that and the way the native Australians were driven from their land.

MayBee- how did you feel watching the two programmes, if you did. Were you shocked and sickened too? I have to admit I had no idea it had been that bad- ethnic cleansing and genocide in the vilest way.

I would be 'happy' to read any opinion, of anyone who has watched the two programmes. Not so from someone who has not, and doesn't want to know, bar making the usual very personal, and totally irrelevant, personal attacks.

SueDonim

I can’t believe anyone in this day and age has been unaware of Tasmania’s history until now. 🤔

I didn’t know anything about it and I’ve always been interested in history. In fact, these programmes would have passed me by if Fleurpepper hadn’t mentioned them.

RosiesMaw

^Have the guts to watch, then come back with such comments. I never knew about what happened- and both OH and I have been really shocked to find out. Watch, then discuss^

Bossy too!

Well, I will admit it. I did get very annoyed, and quite rightly, that someone would comment in the way they did- when they did not watch, or clearly had no intention to do so, or be interested in the history at all. And commented for one reason,, and one reason only- a personal attack, as per usual. How bossy and unpleasant is that, again.

Very aware that many Swiss business and banking families were involved in the slave trade. But the documentary had no mention of the Swiss involvement, which was probably very minor and irelevant to this thread. Our relatives in Tasmania are actually from SA, and direct descendants of the slave trade to the Cape btw.

My Swiss relatives emigrated to the Victoria/Melbourne region and planted the first vineyards in the region. All very well documented, a book written on the subject and a PHD too.

Good for you Sue for biting the bullet after the loss of your sister. Sometimes the loss of someone close to us can spur us on to do things we might not have done.
We also went in 2019, I wonder if we were there at the same time. Anyway we went to Sydney and we did meet up with our son’s friend which was nice because we’d known him a long time and my husband used to teach him. We visited the Blue Mountains, explored Sydney, and saw the wildlife. After we embarked on the cruise our first port of call was Melbourne where we spent one day. Some cruises call at Tasmania on the way to New Zealand which I would have liked to do, but our cruise didn’t and crossed the Tasmanian Sea without stopping until we reached New Zealand.

I don’t have any family in Australia, just one or two friends, though not close ones. I went there in 2019 as I’d always had a vague interest in visiting. When my sister died within three months of a brain tumour, I wondered what on Earth I was waiting for and booked a three week trip. I didn’t have time for Tasmania (I was all holidayed out by 2.5weeks!) but had read about Tasmania, first in novels and then looking more deeply online.

We visited some museums that touched on various points of the First Nation’s story, which were very moving and I thought well told, in both Melbourne and Adelaide.

I knew about Australia’s history Sue but not so much about Tasmania. I don’t have any relatives or friends living in either Australia or Tasmania, unless you count one friend of my son’s who lives there now. I’ve only ever spent a few days in Australia before a cruise to New Zealand. During the cruise I learnt a lot about New Zealand and now my daughter lives there I’ve learnt a lot more. But not Tasmania.

I can’t believe anyone in this day and age has been unaware of Tasmania’s history until now. 🤔

It just maybe that some posters are not particularly interested in this too. It all happened a long time ago, and many people want to move on with their lives and live in the present, and not be constantly looking over their shoulders at events which happened so far away and so long ago.

Have the guts to watch, then come back with such comments. I never knew about what happened- and both OH and I have been really shocked to find out. Watch, then discuss

Bossy too!

Bet the person making the program wasn’t a Taswegian, either.

Have the guts to watch
That is really rather a rude comment.

As I said earlier, I have been to Australia very many times, including Tasmania, our visits do not entail staying in a city suburb (built on land now acknowledged to the traditional custodians) and have spent time visiting museums, talking with indigenous peoples and a member of my family works closely with a well-known leader of one of these communities.

Watching a TV programme does not make us experts.

Have the guts to watch, then come back with such comments. I never knew about what happened- and both OH and I have been really shocked to find out. Watch, then discuss

I am surprised that you have never heard of this and other historical events especially since you say you had ancestors who went to Australia in the 1820s.

Just because you and your OH have no knowledge of this and other events does not mean the rest of us have not.

There are innumerable books about this and other events, both fiction and non-fiction available for anyone who wishes to expand their knowledge. Some of the fiction books are extremely well-researched and based on actual facts.

There are innumerable books available, both fiction and non-fiction if you wish to find out more.

Well some of my relatives died at a very young age fighting under the Australian flag in a European war in 1916. It was a long time ago and they were Australians, first generation. Nothing to do with the original inhabitants of Tasmania, long gone. Vikings defeated and killed some of my ancestors long ago. Oh, and before that the Romans conquered Britain. Just how it is. The British were no better or worse than anyone else. Canadians and Americans ? Same thing. C’est la vie.