God’s Own Country?

The Anglican Church and Tasmanian Aborigines

Aborigines have told their story many times: to explorers, missionaries, historians, anthropologists, social workers and committees of inquiry.

As the Anglican Church explores its relationship with Tasmanian Aboriginal people, it owes them to begin at a different place, to this time tell our story before we ask again to hear theirs. Before more time, experience, knowledge and sharing of personal pain are asked of Aborigines, the Church needs to do its own work.
This, therefore, is a white history, drawing on predominantly white documents. It is deliberately incomplete. It is not meant to be the whole story, but it is a place to begin.