Tiwi Meet the Future

The Tiwi people of Bathurst and Melville Islands are the proud custodians of Australia's most ancient and enduring history, a history that began in the Dreamtime and continued, long before 1788, when Macassan seafarers came to the islands and when Dutch navigators sailed past as long ago as 1636. In 1705 a party of Dutchmen spent several weeks in close contact with the Tiwi. The white men left the most comprehensive early descriptions of the first Australians. Ever since 1705 the Tiwi have been at the centre of Australian history and they are the focus of sustained efforts to create an independent and resilient Tiwi society within modern Australia. This important book introduces the Tiwi and tells of their past and their hopes for the future.