The First Inventors: How people shaped a continent

by Billy Griffiths, Larissa Behrendt, Billy Griffiths

This is the story of how Indigenous knowledge shaped the Australian continent. Based on the stunning SBS and Channel 10 TV series, The First Inventors takes readers on a journey through 65,000 years of innovation, diplomacy and design. It challenges everything you thought you knew about the deep history of Australia.

This is what a history of Australia looks like when it has Indigenous perspectives at its heart.

For over 65,000 years, people have made this continent their own through language, song, water and fire. The First Inventors tells their story. It is a history of innovation, diplomacy and design, and a celebration of the survival and resilience of cultural knowledge. It explores how people managed and engineered entire landscapes, and how they orchestrated seascapes according to the stars, tides and relationships with animal kin.

The First Inventors is grounded in the idea of a transformative way of seeing, and relating to, the world. It honours old ways of knowing and relates fresh insights from cutting-edge collaborative from astronomy, navigation and ancient memory systems to archaeology, pottery and international trade.

Based on the stunning SBS and Channel 10 TV series, The First Inventors is a story of hope, wonder and possibility.

Genres: History, Environment, Nonfiction

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

Dr Billy Griffiths is a historian and lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies. His research engages with cultural heritage, Indigenous history, political history, archaeology and seascapes. His latest book, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia, was awarded the Ernest Scott Prize, the John Mulvaney Book Award, the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction and 2019 Book of the Year at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Reviews

[Louise Wilson]

An eye-opener, and essential reading for anyone interested in anthropology, geography, astronomy, and history on the world stage over the past 65,000 years. As an Australian, and as a descendant of a First Fleeter, I felt so sad reading this book. I'm reminded that the First Fleet marine captain Watkin Tench wrote observantly in 1791: "I do not hesitate to declare, that the natives of New South Wales possess a considerable portion of that acumen, or sharpness of intellect, which bespeaks genius". But almost without exception, since the First Fleet arrived from England in 1788 we have conspicuously failed to recognise the agricultural, botanical, environmental, engineering, healthcare and social achievements of, and learn from, the original inhabitants and insightful managers of this continent. They have much to be proud of. They can still teach us a lot.

[Jan]

This excellent book taught me so much. It reads easily belying Billy Griffiths’s excellent writing style noting he wrote the first draft. His book Deep Time Dreaming has the same quality. The stories told are based on the latest research undertaken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collaborators with other scientists. The deeper perspectives obtained compared to earlier writing, that did not include collaborations with Indigenous Australians, are a joy to read and learn from.