National Indigenous Television (NITV) and Network 10 are launching their brand new documentary series, First Inventors tonight the 15th of June at 8.40PM.
Along this four-part journey, viewers will uncover the secrets of the world’s longest surviving continuing culture, that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Presented and narrated by Logie Award-winning actor and Tiwi Islander Rob Collins, First Inventors promises to be a breath-taking journey into the lives of the traditional owners of our land.
The docu-series will explore 65,000 years of invention and how the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples navigated extraordinary distances and survived in a land where no other human had ever set foot.
From ancient superhighways for trade, long distance communication systems using secret languages engraved into message sticks, and unique social systems built to maintain genetic diversity, The First Inventors not only explores the past, but questions whether this ancient knowledge might hold the answers to humanity’s most pressing modern challenges.
The docu-series is released at a critical moment in Australian history, when Australians are deciding whether they want to stand behind the voice to Parliament.
Senior vice president, Content and Programming, Paramount Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Daniel Monaghan, said the show will help Australian audiences enhance their understanding of the country’s history.
“So I think a series like First Inventors, which is such rich storytelling about one of the oldest civilisations on the planet, is really a great starting point in terms of understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a deeper level.”
And the Indigenous communities want to have their voices heard.
In discussing the production process for the docu-series, general manager, NITV, Peter Noble, said: “They were hugely excited to have their stories shared. There were a lot of exciting and emotional moments where some of the elders we were talking to discovered that stories that they had held over a number of generations, were being proven true”.
“So I think that was an emotional, and very significant part of the show for them. And just being able to share their stories, which the whole country would be able to see and find as meaningful as they have held dear.”
But Monaghan stresses that the co-commission isn’t political.
“It’s not a show about politics. The show is a knowledge sharing process and a learning process for both Indigenous communities and for us on the history of First Nations inventions. It’s about land management, preservation, climate change and medicine. I think there’s a lot of answers to a lot of those topics there”.
“We just need to listen to what we learn and what we discover in the series. And that’s where the focus of this is, certainly on those inventions and discoveries that have been around for a long time.”
Monaghan highlighted there was an incredible amount of interest from brands to get involved.
“This project has been around for a couple of years. It’s taken us a while, thanks to COVID to get made. But when we first announced this show, there was a huge amount of interest from brands straightaway, simply on the announcement without even any vision.”
The co-commission represents the evolution of NITV’s relationship with Network 10, Noble said.
“We’ve got a long standing relationship with Network 10 which we hope to continue but of course, we have other strategic relationships as well. We’re at the heart of SBS, we work with ABC and we’ve announced a series with Netflix”.
“So it’s win win, certainly in terms of our relationship with Network 10. It’s reaching new audiences and larger audiences, but what we bring to the table is an expertise in terms of facilitating First Nations stories.
“It’s been a wonderful relationship so far with 10 that we hope to continue.” commented Noble.
