Pakana woman Fanny Cochrane Smith speaking her Indigenous language in 1899

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Made over a series of sessions between 1899-1903, these are the first recordings of traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal songs and language. Fanny Cochrane Smith, the last known speaker of the language, can be heard from the third minute of the recording. A century later the Pakana people, including Cochrane Smith’s descendants have decided to revive the language

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Fanny Cochrane Smith wearing a belt with wallaby pelts.
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