7 /10 1 Votes
Written by Jacob Hickey Country of origin Australia Final episode date 20 November 2014 Language English | 7.1/10 Narrated by Hugo Weaving First episode date 18 November 2014 Presented by Ray Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genre Reality television
Documentary Directed by Ronan Sharkey
Dora Weekley Composer(s) Matteo Zingales
Russel Thornton Awards Logie Award for Most Outstanding Factual Program Similar Cleverman, First Australians, Redfern Now, Go Back to Where You Came Fro, Mabo |
First contact sneak peek
First Contact is an Australian reality television documentary series that aired on SBS One, SBS Two and NITV. It documents the journey of six European Australians who are challenged over a period of 28 days about their pre-existing perceptions of Indigenous Australians.
Contents
- First contact sneak peek
- Insight s2014 ep40 first contact
- Overview
- Production
- Discussion
- Series overview
- Cast
- Six Participants 2014
- Major Indigenous Contributors 2014
- References

Insight s2014 ep40 first contact
Overview

First Contact shows some of the cultural divisions that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and highlights the lack of awareness many non-Indigenous Australians have about Indigenous Australians and the various different cultures and lifestyles they currently maintain. A stated premise is that 60% of European Australian have never had any contact with Indigenous people, a statistic that may explain the prevalence of the racist, unsympathetic and generally prejudicial attitudes that are often directed towards Indigenous Australians.

In making their 'first contact' with Indigenous Australia, the selected six participants are taken to Aboriginal communities both in the city and the country, and are even processed into a regional prison at Roebourne in Western Australia, where social problems are particularly acute, resulting in incarceration of large numbers of Indigenous Australians, often for quite minor offences. The relationships between Indigenous people and local police in Roebourne are notoriously poor.
Production

First Contact was filmed and set in New South Wales, home to the largest Indigenous Australian population of any state/territory, the Northern Territory, where Indigenous Australians make up a higher percentage of the population than in any other state or territory and Western Australia.
Discussion

After the series aired, First Contact was the topic of an Insight episode, hosted by Stan Grant and featuring a discussion involving many of the people who were involved in the show.
Series overview
The show is estimated to have had a cumulative reach of 1,847,000 Australian viewers.
Cast
(As themselves)
Six Participants 2014
Major Indigenous Contributors 2014
