Author(s): Graeme Calder

First Nations (lutruwita/Tasmania) | Tasmaniana | Always Was, Always Will Be | * Fullers Publishing | - Studies in the History of Aboriginal Tasmania

This is a wonderfully well written and fresh look at one of the few universally known facts about our national history: the fast-moving and terrible fate that overtook the original inhabitants of Tasmania. As Professor Reynolds says in the introduction, 'Calder in Levee, Line and Martial Law represents the most significant new phase in Tasmanian Aboriginal history.' This is the story of the Mairremmener people, better known as the Oyster Bay Tribe and the Big River Tribe, but by reason of a common language and a single culture, one group, one people. Dr Calder traces their history from prehistory, through the arrival of white people on to their organised resistance against the invaders of their land and their eventual capitulation. His scholarship has been recognised internationally and it is a testament to the vibrant story that is the history of Tasmania.