The Palawa, also known as Pakana, are the Indigenous peoples of Lutruwita, the island state of Australia now known as Tasmania. Their history and culture, spanning over 65,000 years, represent one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations. Despite enduring profound challenges from European colonization, including dispossession, violence, and attempts at cultural erasure, the Palawa have demonstrated remarkable resilience, actively reviving and sustaining their cultural practices, language, and connection to Country.
The Palawa are a unique Indigenous group, having evolved in isolation for over 10,000 years after rising sea levels flooded the Bassian Land Bridge, separating Tasmania from mainland Australia. Before European contact in the 17th and 18th centuries, an estimated 3,000 to 15,000 Palawa lived across Lutruwita, organized into clans of 40 to 50 people with distinct dialects and territories. Their subsistence relied on hunting land and sea mammals, collecting shellfish, and gathering native plants, with seasonal movements between the interior forests and coastal regions.
The arrival of European settlers in 1803 marked a devastating period for the Palawa. The Black War (1820s–1830s), characterized by violent conflicts and unprovoked attacks by settlers, along with introduced diseases, reduced the Palawa population from approximately 6,000 in 1803 to fewer than 1,000 by 1825. Between 1831 and 1835, surviving Palawa were forcibly removed to Flinders Island in an attempt at “conciliation,” which further disrupted their cultural practices and connection to Country.
The narrative of extinction, perpetuated by colonial authorities, falsely claimed the Palawa ceased to exist with the deaths of Truganini (1876) and William Lanne. However, Palawa communities persisted, particularly on the Bass Strait Islands, where descendants of Aboriginal women and European sealers maintained cultural continuity. In April 2023, UNESCO corrected a document that had wrongly declared the Palawa extinct, reflecting ongoing efforts to affirm their enduring presence.
Palawa culture is deeply tied to the landscapes of Lutruwita, particularly the east coast and Furneaux Islands. Traditional practices included crafting wooden spears, waddies (clubs), flaked-stone tools, basketry, and bark canoes for coastal travel. A significant cultural tradition, dating back at least 2,600 years, is the creation of shell necklaces by Palawa women, using maireener shells (rainbow kelp snails). These necklaces served as adornments, gifts, and trade items, and the practice continues uninterrupted, though recent declines in kelp due to climate change have impacted shell availability.
The Palawa diet reflects their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, incorporating native animals like wallaby, muttonbird, possum, and fish, as well as bush herbs, spices, and occasionally insects. Their spiritual connection to Country underscores a custodial role, with beliefs centered on protecting the land for future generations. Oral traditions, including stories of natural events like the flooding of the Bassian Land Bridge, have preserved complex knowledge systems for millennia.
Before colonization, the Palawa spoke an estimated 8 to 12 distinct languages, unintelligible to mainland Aboriginal groups. Colonial violence and displacement decimated these languages, leaving only fragmented records. Since the 1990s, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has led the reconstruction of palawa kani, a composite language drawn from surviving words and phrases across the original languages.
Palawa kani, meaning “Tasmanian Aboriginal people speak,” is a powerful act of cultural reclamation. It uses lowercase letters for most words, reserving capitals for names and Ancestral collectives, reflecting unique linguistic conventions. The language is taught within Palawa communities and used in protests, media, and place-naming, such as kanamaluka/Tamar River and nipaluna/Hobart. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre maintains control over its use to ensure community fluency before wider dissemination.
The Palawa have actively reclaimed their identity and culture since the 1970s, gaining government recognition and land grants by the 1990s. In 2006, Tasmania became the first Australian state to offer financial compensation for the Stolen Generations, with a $5 million package for descendants of those forcibly removed between 1900 and 1972.
Cultural revival efforts include the wukalina Walk, a Palawa-owned tourism venture along the larapuna/Bay of Fires coast, where guides like Carleeta Thomas share traditional practices such as shell stringing and muttonbird cooking. In 2018, Tasmanian Aboriginal Studies was added to the senior secondary school curriculum, driven by advocates like Sandra Guerzoni, fostering greater awareness of Palawa history.
Traditional crafts, such as stringybark rope-making and canoe-building, have been revived by artists like Sheldon Thomas, who emphasize passing these skills to younger generations. The Palawa also engage in truth-telling through arts and cultural expressions, addressing historical injustices while celebrating their living culture.
A dispute within the Tasmanian Aboriginal community persists over definitions of Aboriginality. The Palawa, primarily descendants of Bass Strait Island communities, hold the authority to determine Aboriginal descent for state services, often excluding groups like the Lia Pootah, who claim descent from mainland Tasmanian clans based on oral traditions. Proposals for DNA testing to establish Aboriginality have sparked controversy, with some Palawa emphasizing cultural and spiritual connections over genetic links.
Environmental changes, such as the decline of kelp forests, threaten cultural practices like shell necklace-making, highlighting the intersection of cultural preservation and ecological challenges. Despite these obstacles, the Palawa remain committed to cultural revitalization and self-determination.
The Palawa people’s story is one of survival, adaptation, and cultural resurgence. Far from extinct, they continue to assert their identity through language revival, traditional practices, and community-led initiatives. Their enduring connection to Lutruwita, coupled with efforts to educate and engage future generations, ensures that Palawa culture remains a vibrant and integral part of Tasmania’s past, present, and future.