ABC NEWS launches Deep Time
A unique, immersive digital treasure chest sharing the ancient story of Australia’s First Nations peoples
ABC NEWS launches Deep Time today, giving all Australians the opportunity to experience the awe-inspiring ancient story of our continent and its people.
Deep Time is not just a story.
It is an interactive tool that brings together thousands of years of oral histories that have been passed down for generations.
These stories help users understand what it really means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture to have survived and thrived for 65,000 years.
How people lived alongside megafauna.
How they migrated across the land.
How they survived an ice age.
There is no other resource like this.
You can experience Deep Time at abc.net.au/deeptime
Voices of First Nations knowledge holders are at the heart of the project: over 130 cultural stories gathered via a consultative interview process with more than 65 traditional knowledge holders in at least 45 communities and language groups.
The project spans the country, reaching from Broome in the west to the Torres Strait in the north, Tasmania in the south, and everywhere from the central Tanami desert to Lake Mungo in between.
Deep Time Project Co-Lead Solua Middleton: “The deep history of Australia is a story we should all know. We’ve worked with knowledge holders from across Country to spotlight the richness and beauty of our wonderful but sometimes unknown history.
“I hope everyone who visits Deep Time takes one story away that they connect with through a familiar place to embark on their own journey to learn more about the Indigenous history of that area.”
ABC Director, News Justin Stevens: “The ABC NEWS team involved in this project has created an unprecedented piece of work that speaks to a history that goes back thousands of years.”
Experience Deep Time from Sunday 19 October at abc.net.au/deeptime. Watch the Deep Time panel discussion on ABC NEWS channel on Monday 20 October at 2:30pm (AEDT). Listen on the ABC listen app, ABC Local Radio on Monday 20 October at 8pm (local time) and ABC NewsRadio at 9pm (AEDT).
Deep Time Background
Across five years designers, developers, journalists and editors from ABC NEWS Story Lab have worked tirelessly to bring the Deep Time Australia project to life.
Deep Time Australia has been co-led by Torres Strait Islander woman and journalist Solua Middleton alongside Story Lab visual journalist Margaret Burin. Other key members of the project included Story Lab Editor Matthew Liddy.
Together, they drove the community consultation work, with assistance from journalists Karina Hogan (Indigenous woman from Northern NSW and South Sea Islander), Alexis Moran (Yuin with Wakka Wakka connections), Jillian Mundy (Palawa), Maddie Whitford (Indigenous woman from NSW mid north coast), Maree Yoelu (Wadjigany).
The stunning illustrations of Gubrun, Barngarla and Ngadju woman and ABC journalist Abby Richards help communicate these remarkable stories with colour, vibrancy and spirituality.
Dozens of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge holders have contributed. In addition, the team has collaborated with a wide range of institutions and scientists to help bring this story to life. These include:
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS); First Nations Media Australia; First Languages Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH); Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (CIEHF); Research Centre for Deep History at the ANU; Queensland Museum.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
