‎The First Inventors: Investigating Ancient Australia - Apple TV

TV Show · Documentary · Special Interest

What does it take to become the world's longest surviving culture? In this innovative history documentary, actor Rob Collins leads a team of First Nations investigators uncovering over 65,000 years of invention in what is now Australia. How did people navigate extraordinary distances, how were whole societies organized and could these ancient cultures help determine the future of all Australians?

2023 · 46m

Starring Rob Collins

Director Larissa Behrendt

EPISODE 1

Design to Survive

Could you survive in Australia 65,000 years ago? From engineering volcanic landscapes into fish farms to mastering deadly fire, the unique survival inventions that let First Nations people thrive.
EPISODE 2

The Science of Story

Can oral stories accurately store and share vital knowledge? In this ground-breaking history documentary, actor Rob Collins leads a bold expedition that sets out to prove that the First Nations science of storytelling recorded ice age events ten thousand years ago. Could this tradition of sharing knowledge via stories grant us a better understanding of the world we live in today?
EPISODE 3

A Connected Society

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples built and developed vast communication networks, trade superhighways, and sophisticated kinship systems. In this insightful history documentary, actor Rob Collins looks at how First Nations people built an extraordinarily connected society on the enormous and often inhospitable continent of Australia.
EPISODE 4

Navigating the Future

Could ancient indigenous knowledge be joined up with cutting-edge science to help develop lifesaving medicines and help combat climate change? As actor Rob Collins discovers in this remarkable history documentary, this ancient wisdom is vital, but to tackle humanity's future challenges, first the past needs to be recognized and healed.

The Story of Australia
Equus: Story of the Horse
History Of Life On Earth
Native Peoples of North America
Trick or Treaty?
Chiefs
The Soundtrack of Australia
Going Places With Ernie Dingo
Stuff the British Stole

Rob Collins

Host
Larissa Behrendt

Director
Ben Davies

Producer
Ben Commens

Producer