Clip description

In this recording, Fanny Cochrane Smith talks about being the last of the Tasmanians. She then sings in both English and her own language. It is part of a series of recordings made between 1899 and 1903.

Curator’s notes

The quality of the recording is rather scratchy, but it is still amazingly clear. Fanny Cochrane Smith sang into the bell of the gramophone to record these songs on wax cylinders.

Her spoken introduction before the song begins with 'I’m Fanny Smith. I was born on Flinders Island. I’m the last of the Tasmanians.’ This recording was made by Horace Watson at the Royal Society of Tasmania on 5 August 1899.

Read more at the University of Sydney AustralHarmony resource page.