I acknowledge and pay respect to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of this land about which I am learning and acknowledge Elders – past and present.
Next week I’m travelling to Hobart, Tasmania for the first time – to present a new design at the Dark Mojo Retreat hosted by A Stitch in Time. I’ve always wanted to visit Tassie and can’t wait to meet everyone at the retreat. Being a researcher at heart, I’ve been soaking up as much as I can about Tasmania before I go, and I thought I’d share some of the most easily accessible resources I found.
I hope these will be of interest, whether you’re coming to the retreat, or want to learn more about this amazing island. Keep an eye out here and on Instagram (@mojostitches) for lots of photos from the retreat, and for the release of a new design created specially for it. The design will be available after the retreat exclusively from A Stitch in Time and I can’t wait to share it with you!
In the meantime, you might like to explore these resources about Tasmania (not a comprehensive list by any means):
- A free documentary on the landscape, flora and fauna of Tasmania by Into the Wild Films
- An episode of the podcast Ologies, where the host, Alie Ward learns more about the Tasmanian Devil, Quolls and Tasmanian life with Dasyurologist Jarrah Ward (ep. 157 of the podcast, and a language warning).
- Sites about Tasmanian history: Our Tasmania, The University of Tasmania’s Companion to Tasmanian History and links to photo collections, newspapers and heritage information at Libraries Tasmania.
Tasmania is called ‘lutruwita’ in palawa kani, the language of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has a wonderful map of the island using Aboriginal names. I am actively seeking out more learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, and the following are only a starting point:
- At a range of sites about Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural heritage, history and culture: Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, a timeline of Tasmanian Aboriginal history by Tasmanian Geographic and information about the exhibits at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (including videos), which is on my list to visit.
- This article about Truganini (formerly referred to as the ‘last’ Tasmanian Aboriginal woman’) shows the devastating effect of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the deep need for reconciliation and to honour their resilience.
- The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
I’ve also be reading and re-reading some books based in Tasmania, ‘In Tasmania’ by Nicholas Shakespeare, and ‘The Hunter; by Julia Leigh. I’m still reading the first, but the latter is a wonderfully evocative novel about an unnamed man traveling through the vast Tasmanian wilderness seeking the last Tasmanian Tiger. If you’re interested in these books, please do try to get them through an independent bookshop, as these are vital, important community hubs.
I hope this random list helps get you into the mood for the retreat if you’re coming, and I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for learning more. See you in Hobart soon!
Mojo Stitches 