Narrated by Leo McKern

The Tasmanian Aborigines were totally exterminated last century. It is the only case on record of a genocide so complete and so swift. The British colonists in Tasmania wiped out the whole race within the lifetime of Truganini, who was the last to die, in 1876. This programme follows the painstaking search by archaeologist Dr Rhys Jones to uncover the full story of the Tasmanians' terrible fate and to reconstruct their unique culture and way of life.

The Tasmanians were a different people from the Aborigines in mainland Australia. During 12,000 years of isolation from Australia and the rest of the world, Tasmanians went 'into reverse', actually reducing their technology to become the simplest society ever known. By the time the British arrived, they could not even make fire.
The genocide began with an official massacre, progressed through bestial atrocities committed by escaping convicts, into full-scale military operations. The last remnants were deported to an offshore island, forcedly civilised, and died rapidly as a result. Even after death, their bodies were stolen from the grave and mutilated.

An Artis Production