AustLit

'Tasmania has been lauded for its natural beauty and sublime landscapes by European arrivals since the late nineteenth century. It took another century for the island's biodiversity and unique ecologies to be recognised for their inherent values. In 1995, something occurred that many thought impossible -  Tasmanian Aboriginal land rights were granted to a people whom popular history had declared were gone forever. In addition, a burgeoning conversation movement in Australia has increasingly recognised that Western models of ecological value based on rarity, diversity or threat are able to embrace the principles of ethics and knowledge emerging from Indigenous lifeworlds. This has resulted in what Philip Toyne has described as 'a green black alliance to stem the tide of destructive elements in our society', embracing our responsibilities to the past and recognising the deep values and connections that make a place an enduring home?' (Introduction)