In the undulating hills of Tasmania's Southern Midlands, landowner Bridget Hickman is seeing her property through the eyes of its first inhabitants.

Key points: The ALCT says there is "unprecedented" interest in returning private land to Aboriginals

The ALCT says there is "unprecedented" interest in returning private land to Aboriginals Some owners want to protect land from development, others feel it is "the right thing to do"

Some owners want to protect land from development, others feel it is "the right thing to do" The hand-back process is described as as "a powerful journey" of mutual learning and relationship building

Walking alongside her is the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania (ALCT) manager Graeme Gardner, who keenly points out the rich tapestry of Indigenous occupation in the landscape.

He pauses under the shade of a gum tree where he notices a piece of quartz glinting in the midday sun.

"Wow look at that," Mr Gardner says, turning the sharp stone over in his palm,

"This would have been used to skin a wallaby."

Mr Gardner was invited on the Campania property after Ms Hickman contacted the ALCT, curious about the land return process.

She is one of a growing, number of property owners who have made the first step towards returning private land to the state's traditional custodians.

"We've probably had three other Tasmanians interested in creating that first step, and we've also had inquiries from the mainland, [from people] wondering how they can go about it in their state," Mr Gardner said.

It comes in the wake of the Teniswood family's return of half their east coast property in February, a move widely considered the first private return in Tasmania's history.

Bridget took Graeme around her property as she considers her options. ( ABC News: Phoebe Hosier )

"I started to think about this place and this parcel of land and the bigger picture of things," Ms Hickman said.

"That really started sowing the seed for us to think how can we offer this place for people to reconnect to."

Ms Hickman's 345-hectare property was once home to the Big River mob and was once a meeting point where four different clan groups traded some 60,000 years ago.

"It's been fascinating to hear them tell us about the place and how it fits in to everything else around it," she said.

"It's given us new eyes to look through and we're still learning, so it's been fantastic."

While only in the early stages of the process, Ms Hickman said she looked forward to inviting communities to camp under the stars and among the wildlife, to learn about their traditional lands.

Graeme Gardner says many people are inquiring about how to hand land back. ( ABC News: Phoebe Hosier )

Land return 'a powerful journey, not an instant thing'

Mr Gardner said the Teniswoods' return several months ago had "awoken people's senses" but that it was important to dispel commonly held myths about the process.

"It's about building relationships and that's a beautiful thing, which I really encourage people to take that chance," he said.

Ian McKenzie and his partner Charmian Eckersley don't want their land to fall into hands of developers. ( ABC News: Colin Kerr )

On the New South Wales central coast, Ian McKenzie and his partner have considered a similar move.

They own an 80-hectare conservation property in Tasmania's north that neighbours the Narawntapu National Park.

Concerned by a rapidly changing climate and ever increasing population, the couple are keen to bequeath their land to protect it from future development.

"We've been thinking about what to do with it when we die and we don't want it to be lost or in the hands of people who develop it," he said.

"The Tasmanian Land Council seemed like, not an obvious choice at first, but a good choice of an organisation with similar conservation ideals and goals."

Their Badger Head property contains an abundance of the state's highest-quality ochre, used in ceremonies and traded by the North Tribe for centuries.

"It would be nice to think that what we did with [the land] not only achieved conservation goals but also reflected the correcting of an injustice from more than 200 years ago," Mr McKenzie said.

Mr McKenzie says having his property in hands of Aboriginal people makes sense. ( Supplied. )

Keen to protect the land for future generations, Mr McKenzie said leaving the bush property in the hands of the state's First Nations people made sense.

"They're part of the land, they understand the land and they understand the importance of the land," he said.

With the last government land return occurring in 2005 when Cape Barren and Clarke Islands were handed back, some owners expressed frustration with the State and Federal governments' inaction on the matter.

"The governments have been somewhat lazy in their efforts but people power seems to be the way," Mr Gardner said.

"What we're seeing now is individuals saying 'I can do that, I will be in control of what I want to give and not at the whims of others who may have other views'," he said.

"I think if you sit back and wait for someone else to do it for you it's too late – I think we need to start doing it now," Ms Hickman said.

"It's about reconciliation and action and walking that pathway together," she said.