Dan Bourchier: The Elders

6pm for 6.30pm Tuesday 20th October

Dan Bourchier in conversation with Larissa Behrendt

The Elders is a powerful and evocative journey through the heart of First Nations Australia. Within these pages we're invited to sit down, listen and learn from the keepers of the world's oldest living culture.

Across vast and rugged landscapes - from smoke-hazed Warumungu Country to the ancient songlines of the Larrakia people and the islands of the Torres Strait - this book captures the voices of those who hold the stories, the wisdom and the very soul of the land. Through intimate conversations with Dan Bourchier, we meet Elders such as Aunty Valda Napurrula Shannon Warntaparri, Uncle Ross Jakamarra Williams and Aunty Gail Mabo, and explore the profound interconnectedness of Country, language, kinship and the environment. And we come to appreciate the unique challenges First Nations peoples face today.

This is more than a collection of stories; it is a vital call for truth-telling, healing and the urgent preservation of culture in the face of a changing world. These Elders share the pain of the past - displacement and loss - but they also point the way to a better future.

With grace, resilience and deep spiritual authority, The Elders offers a rare glimpse into the heart of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership. It reminds us that only by listening to the land and those who speak for it can we truly understand our place in the world.

Dan Bourchier is a multi-award winning journalist with over 25 years of experience. He is the General Manager and Editor-In-Chief of National Indigenous Television (NITV) and a senior broadcaster for the multicultural national broadcaster, SBS.

Larissa Behrendt is Distinguished Professor and the Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute at the University of Technology Sydney. She was awarded the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year award and 2011 NSW Australian of the Year. In 2018 she won the Australian Directors’ Guild Award for Best Direction in a Documentary Feature and in 2020 the AACTA for Best Direction in Nonfiction Television. She is the host of Speaking Out on ABC radio.