After trousers [Widescreen]

Episode number 4 of Series “Australia: beyond the fatal shore [Widescreen]”.
Art critic Robert Hughes reflects on his relationship to Australia, thirty-five years after leaving the country. Contemplative after his near fatal car accident, Hughes reflects fondly on his childhood in Australia with an appreciation that only came from questioning his mortality. Episode four examines the 200 year history of cross cultural appropriation since white settlers first contact with Australian First Nations people, a period referred to as “after trousers”. Particular attention is paid to the plight of First Nations people in Tasmania, from King Billy and Truganini to the claim by current residents of their First Nations ancestry. Hughes travels to the home of the Bush mob, the last known group to have made contact with whites in 1984 before being reunited with the rest of their Pintubi community. He also visits Hermansburg Mission and speaks of the influence of Christianity, instilled by Lutheran missionaries over the years as well as touching on the Stolen Generations (the enforced removal of First Nations children from their families). He talks to opera singer Deborah Cheetham, one of the Stolen Generations, about her relationship with her biological mother and her thoughts on the matter.